The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced an award program to recognize outstanding community planning and strategies that support active aging.

The Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging Awards will be presented to communities that demonstrate the best and most inclusive overall approach to implementing smart growth and active aging at the neighborhood, tribe, municipality, county, and/or regional levels.

Two types of awards will be made — the Commitment Award and the Achievement Award. The Commitment Award recognizes communities that have developed and begun to initiate a specific plan to implement smart growth and active aging principles. The Achievement Award will be given for overall excellence in building healthy communities for active aging.

Active aging refers to maintaining regular physical activity after age 50. Communities can promote active aging by implementing an array of accessible physical-activity programs, and helping to make more accessible self-directed physical-activity opportunities for those 50 years and older.

Smart growth development practices support national environmental goals by preserving open spaces and parkland and protecting critical habitat; improving transportation choices, including walking, bicycling, and transit, which reduce automobile emissions; promoting brownfield redevelopment; and reducing impervious surfaces, which improves water quality.

Applicants must be public-sector entities in the United States and coordinate with their local Area Agency on Aging. Public-sector entities include all levels of elected governments, from city councils to state legislatures and their subdivisions such as planning departments and other executive branch divisions.

Applications are due Oct. 17. Winners will be announced at the 7th annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities Conference in Washington, D.C. in February. Application, award guidelines and entry rules can be found at:

www.epa.gov/aging/bhc/awards

The EPA’s Aging Initiative is spearheading this multi-agency effort which was developed in partnership with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Council on Aging’s Center for Healthy Aging, and the National Blueprint Office. 

Additionally, the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, through its Active for Life program, will support a Healthy Communities for Active Aging Learning Network for participating communities, and Native American tribes and the CDC Healthy Aging Research Network will provide technical assistance.

Queries can be sent to: aging.info@epa.gov.

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