Age-friendly planning
Bill 23/185 Implications on the Region of Peel Official Plan
As per Ontario Bill 23 (More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022) and Bill 185 (Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024), the Region of Peel Official Plan (RPOP), as of July 1, 2024, will be deemed to constitute an official plan of Peel’s lower-tier municipalities of Brampton, Caledon, and Mississauga. For more information on the status of the RPOP, refer to Download the Official Plan.
What is an age-friendly community?
An age-friendly community treats everyone with respect and enables people of all ages to engage with the community by providing opportunities to be active, maintain physical and mental wellbeing, stay connected, and access relevant services, facilities and programs, regardless of age.
Peel’s population is aging
Demographics show that Peel’s older adult population is experiencing significant growth. Older adults aged 65 years and over increased by 20 per cent from 2016 to 2021, representing the fastest growing age group in Peel Region. It is forecasted that one in five Peel residents will be older adults in 2051, an increase from one in seven in 2021.
Peel Region is preparing for its aging population by supporting the vision to make Peel more age-friendly, where older adults have access to services that enable them to age safely and with dignity, while maximizing their quality of life.
In June 2022, Peel completed an Age-Friendly Planning Built Environment Assessment to gather information on the diverse older adult population in Peel and elements of the design in Peel communities. The report summarizes Peel-wide analysis and neighbourhood audits and identifies gaps and opportunities in Peel to address healthy, active aging, and universally accessible design in the built environment and public spaces. The report provides 80 recommendations, across seven themes, for Peel, local municipalities, and community stakeholders to foster an age-friendly community by improving Peel's built environment, policies, and services.
Since the completion of the report, Peel and local municipal staff have met on an ongoing basis to coordinate efforts and move forward on report recommendations and identify resources needed to support implementation. Below is an overview of progress made on recommendations within each theme.
Outdoor spaces and buildings: The design of buildings, parks, and streets to enable older adults to live with mobility, independence, and quality of life.
- Applying a healthy development lens that supports universal design features in new developments
- Investing in public areas and parks to support multigenerational amenities, public washrooms, group seating areas, and shade structures
Community support and health services: Quality, accessible, and appropriate services to maintain health and independence.
- Building community hubs that incorporate an accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion lens and providing resources and programs to support aging in place
Transportation: Safe, convenient, and accessible active transportation and public transit infrastructure and options to support mobility and promote healthy lifestyles.
- Enhancing pedestrian safety (Vision Zero), implementing traffic calming measures, and improving pedestrian infrastructure, accessibility, and connectivity
Housing: Diversity of accessible, affordable, secure, and culturally appropriate housing options to enable older adults to age-in-place.
- Permitting additional residential units and gentle density
- Supporting Inclusionary Zoning
- Providing capital grants for affordable rental units
- Creating more older adult focused units and enhancing partnerships to support aging in place
Social participation: Diversity of older adult-focused and multigenerational leisure, social, cultural, and spiritual activities and spaces to contribute to positive health outcomes and social supports.
- Expanding culturally appropriate recreational amenities for different groups, older adult-specific programs and encouraging broader participation in parks
Civic participation and employment: A range of volunteering, civic engagement, and employment options with accommodations as required.
- Collaborating with older adult advocacy groups, such as the Peel Council on Aging, to better understand needs and plan for age-friendly communities
Communication and information: Staying connected with institutions and people to get timely and practical information, supported by internet access and technological literacy, to manage life and meet personal needs.
- Improving access, reliability and affordability of broadband internet, meeting accessibility requirements for online public consultations, and offering road safety education in multiple languages
To learn more about how Peel Region and the local municipalities are supporting age-friendly planning, review the latest progress report.
Other Resources:
For more information, email Regional Planning or call (905) 791-7800 ext.4963.