Enhancing qualify of life for older adults

June 15, 2026

These strategies, and more, help create a community where older adults can age in place safely, stay connected and access the services they need - now and into the future.

The Age-Friendly Tempe Action Plan, presented at last week's Tempe City Council meeting, will guide the city's work over the next five years. It is the centerpiece of Tempe's AARP designation as an Age-Friendly Community, achieved in 2022.

The Age-Friendly Tempe Council Subcommittee, led by Vice Mayor Doreen Garlid, with Councilmembers Nikki Amberg and Randy Keating, spearheaded the effort to update Tempe's Action Plan for 2026-2030. The city enlisted a 29-member action team and conducted listening sessions and a community survey to shape the plan.

"Improving opportunities and services for older Tempe residents has been a priority for me," said Vice Mayor Garlid. "That's why I led the city's efforts to renew our AARP city designation and advocated for enhancements like more access to volunteer and recreation opportunities, strong digital literacy programs and easier ways to engage with the city."

Cities like Tempe with the AARP Age-Friendly Community designation focus on eight target areas of livability: outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and community and health services.

Residents will begin seeing enhancements across each of the eight target areas. For instance, Tempe will:

• Expand pathways to employment through tailored job fairs and job readiness workshops.
• Promote meaningful volunteer opportunities such taking part in ASU's Friendship Bench initiative, which encourages older adults and students to sit together and talk about anything they'd like. Tempe will explore installing city-maintained "buddy benches" to encourage similar interactions.
• Support housing stability and residents' desire to age in place by making connections to financial counseling, streamlining referrals for home safety assessments and modification services and sharing information on the benefits of accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
• Expand where and how older adults receive information by supporting technology education, promoting Arizona 211 as a key community resource and distributing age-friendly information at places like health clinics.