Cross-Agency Collaboration to Address Rural Aging: The Role of County Government

Age-friendly community planning and design mainly focus on urban aging and may be less applicable in rural communities. We collaborated with the Tompkins County Age-Friendly Center for Excellence in New York State to assess strategies for rural aging. This commentary argues that density and mixed-use development, as age-friendly development strategies, leave rural communities underserved. County governments, by supporting cross-agency collaboration and encouraging civic engagement, can link the age-friendly domains regarding built environment, service delivery, and community together to help address age-friendly issues and support rural aging.