THURS-035 - A City on Track to Being Age-friendly Despite Its "Not-so-friendly" History

Brief Abstract Summary: Hear about the City of San Leandro's fascinating journey to becoming an Age-Friendly City. Participants will "be in the shoes" of project team members including city council members, city commissioners, city staff, consultants, community-based partners, and residents as they collectively face the challenges resulting from a history of the city not always being "friendly" to everyone. Some key lessons related to the "-Isms" (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism, classism, and etc.) surfaced in the course of the project. Participants will meet, and be inspired by, the resilient people who helped produced the city's first Age-Friendly Action Plan. Participants will also learn about the effective practices that not only helped the team persevere, but leveraged the opportunity to reflect, learn, educate, and further the City's social justice efforts.

Detailed abstract description: This presentation focuses on the City of San Leandro's efforts to prepare for its Silver Tsunami by creating and implementing the city's first Age-Friendly Action Plan through a community-participatory approach and with an equity lens. Nationally, approximately 45 million Americans are age 65 or older. By 2030, the number will grow to 73 million. By 2034, the United States will--for the first time-- be a country comprised of more older adults than of children. The City of San Leandro is being proactive to prepare for this population shift. At the core of its Age-Friendly project's philosophy is the importance of diversity and addressing the core reason why we need a Plan. Without considering the "-isms" we miss out on an opportunity for community growth, change, and connection. The project team looked at the "-isms" through the lens of equity, inclusion and belonging. In order to do that, the team thought about bias as both implicit (i.e., unconscious, subconscious and unintended) and explicit (i.e., conscious and intentional) and how both can potentially lead to discrimination. The City of San Leandro is on the path to being an age-friendly city where all people benefit from 'care infrastructure': policies and programs that make the city walkable, numerous transportation options, access to key services, opportunities to participate in community activities, and housing that is affordable and accessible. This vision was met along the way with implicit and explicit biases that presented obstacles that tested the project team and the project's philosophy.

The project team found creative ways to raise awareness about the new initiative and its engagement opportunities, such as posting eye-catching videos featuring diverse older residents on social media, publishing language-specific op-eds in the local newspapers, presenting to City Commissions and civic organizations, and setting up interactive displays at community centers, libraries, local businesses, and non-profit organizations. Through listening sessions and a community-wide survey, the project team collected and analyzed the priorities and preferences of hundreds of residents, representing a diversity of backgrounds, ages, genders, races, and incomes. The community input was the single most important factor driving the final recommendations outlined in the Plan. The City of San Leandro's Age-Friendly Action Plan is both the culmination and a "spark" of a process driven by the passion and advocacy of its community, including elected official, city commissioners, city staff, community-based partners, and residents. The city now has a five-year roadmap, outlining the work still to be done to make the city a more livable for all its residents. The presentation will show some best practices for galvanizing key stakeholders, creating a strong shared vision, and will share lessons learned to address implicit and explicit biases that may surface along the way.