The Relationship between Age-friendly Cities and Community Development in a Thai Context
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Abstract
Thailand will reach the era of the elderly in 2021. As a result, the growth of the elderly group becomes critical in terms of capacity development in order to increase the community’s level, generate revenue, and establish an economic structure. Therefore, this research investigates the causal relationship between the age-friendly cities and community development that promote the capacity of older people to continue to contribute to their communities. Employing a quantitative-methodology based on a sample of 260 people in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province, this study examines the relationship between two latent variables (and the observed factors that contribute to them): a city’s “age-friendliness” cities and community development. The results show that age-friendliness has a significant effect on community development but that housing does not affect community development, likely because Thai people place more focus on health services for older people more than on residential concerns. The policy suggestion for Thailand government: 1) the government should implement a tax policy to provide relief to private bodies on an exceptional basis. This policy would encourage the private sector to enable older people to join activities or programs that offer unique services and that create
a friendly city for older people; 2) the government should involve older people in the policy-making process by providing a platform for them to express their opinions about the public services available to older people in their communities; 3) the government should implement a health insurance policy for older people.
Keywords: Age-friendly City, Community Development, Older People
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