The Rome Workshop: Building Child and Age Friendly Communities: Lessons from Rome . . . for New York City

What makes a city child and age friendly? Students in the Cornell in Rome program focused on four peripheral neighborhoods in the Eternal City (Rome, Italy) to try to find the answer. Rome revealed surprising insights into what makes a place hospitable for children and the elderly. First is the physical layer — transportation, land use planning, housing, services, and public space. Next is the social layer — community groups, market associations, libraries, schools, senior centers, and residents. The researchers found that while the physical layer is important, the social layer can ameliorate or exacerbate deficiencies in physical planning.…