Aspirations and expectations of participation in age-friendly cities: Perspectives from across four European case studies

The Age-friendly Cities and Communities framework is widely used by policymakers seeking to create environments that support well-being and inclusion for older people as they age in place. However, there is limited empirical insight into how participation is understood and interpreted within age-friendly programmes. To address this gap, this paper examines how policymakers and delivery partners understand and approach older people’s participation through a multi-case study of four long-established European age-friendly cities: Brno, Oslo, Brussels and Bilbao. The case studies drew on semi-structured interviews ( n = 42) and observational fieldwork in each city, supported by in-country experts. The analysis identified four key themes: individualised participation linked to active and healthy ageing; civic and democratic engagement in decision-making; everyday participation in social and community life; and concerns around inclusion and exclusion. Findings show that participation is understood in multiple and sometimes competing ways, combining aspirations for inclusion and well-being with expectations that older people remain active and contribute to their communities. This reveals a tension between participation as an opportunity that older people can take up on their own terms if they wish to do so, and participation as an expectation associated with active ageing. The paper shows how such expectations can shift attention away from unequal opportunities to participate and the barriers faced by marginalised groups. The paper argues that, without critical attention to this tension, age-friendly participation risks reproducing rather than addressing inequalities.