Although I have lived nearby West Anaheim- about 15 min away- I never really knew much about this neighboring district. To provide a brief overview of Anaheim/West Anaheim it is widely diverse in culture and age groups. This neighborhood is particularly attractive to locals and tourists alike due to being the popular location host of Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center. And, outside of these famous features the neighborhood is overall quite age-friendly. Based on my report, I can say that the WHO domains with the greatest strengths include: outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, social participation, and community support and health services. However, some of West Anaheim’s weaknesses are housing as well as communication and information. West Anaheim has a vast amount of green spaces provided with well-kept parks, a variety of resources for volunteering and employment available, and great transportation systems. However, the weaknesses previously mentioned are considered so because these domains were quite difficult to locate information on and/or had limited availability of these aspects. For example, there are a limited number of housing units dedicated to low-income seniors. This project was very eye-opening, and definitely has me, personally, looking out at other neighborhoods to see if it's suitable for those of all ages. I am fortunate enough and am glad to know that my grandparents live nearby in a neighborhood, West Anaheim, that allows them an ample amount of resources, services, green spaces, and inclusion. The WHO checklist is so comprehensive, and I think these domains are items others should definitely learn and note to see if their neighborhood is age-friendly or not. This, also, leads to another reason why this NAP project is so impactful because by identifying gaps in these checklists it can lead to possible policy implications to be addressed and acknowledged.
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Katie HuynhArchives
June 2020
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