WHO maps the research behind age-friendly communities
Health services are heavily studied. The evidence on transport and employment is thinner.
The World Health Organization has released an interactive map of research into the places and services that shape life in older age. The project organizes 1,542 systematic reviews, published from 2002 to 2025, into categories ranging from housing to public transport and civic life.
The largest body of research concerns community support and health services. The organization found fewer reviews of transport, employment and inclusion, even though these are part of how older adults reach services and participate in their communities.
Only two reviews examined age-friendly city and community programmes as a whole. WHO also identified gaps in rural research and in studies that measure the cost or quality of local services.
