Atlanta Regional Commission Becomes 11th Age-Friendly Region in Georgia

Kay Sibetta

ATLANTA, Georgia — The AARP Network of Age-Friendly States & Communities welcomed the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) into the network during an in-person designation ceremony on July 10, 2024. The 11 counties represented by ARC serve over five-million Georgians of which 18.82% are older adults 60 years old and over. ARC joins 818 other communities around the country that have committed to preparing for an aging population.

Launched in 2012, the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities (NAFSC) is an organizational affiliate of the World Health Organization Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, a program launched in 2006. Through the age-friendly program, AARP helps participating communities to become more livable and age-friendly by creating safer and more walkable streets, needed housing and transportation options, better access to key services, and opportunities for residents to participate in community activities.

“The Atlanta Regional Commission is proud to formally join AARP’s network of age-friendly communities,” said Anna Roach, ARC Executive Director and CEO. “ARC has a long history of working toward the creation of healthy, safe, and livable communities for all of metro Atlanta’s residents. We look forward to collaborating even more closely with our partners at AARP as we explore new and expanded opportunities for the Atlanta region’s older adult population to live and age well.”

“We are so excited that the Atlanta Regional Commission has joined our age-friendly network,” said Kay Sibetta, Associate State Director of Community Outreach for AARP Georgia. “We are also grateful the ARC appreciates the values of becoming an age-friendly region and look forward to strengthening our collaborative efforts in creating a Metro Atlanta that is One Great Region for people of all ages to thrive.”

The NAFSC provides a structured process that guides change and serves as a catalyst to educate, encourage, promote, and recognize improvements that benefit residents of all ages and life stages. Enrollment in the network provides member communities with the resources to become more age-friendly by tapping into national and global research, planning models and best practices.

Georgia is home to the nation’s first age-friendly community – Macon-Bibb County– which celebrated its 10-year NAFSC anniversary in 2022. In total, there are 152 Georgia communities that are currently part of the NAFSC. For more information, visit www.aarp.org/livable.