POLICY BRIEF
Public Health Rev.
URBAN HEALTHY AGEING IN ROMANIA: POLICY OPTIONS FOR AGE-FRIENDLY CITIES AND LONG-TERM CARE REFORM
Universitatea Lucian Blaga din Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
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Abstract
ABSTRACT Background: Romania's rapid population ageing now unfolds primarily in cities, where health, social care, housing and mobility intersect. Within metropolitan areas, older residents face unequal access to community long-term care (LTC), digital services and health-promoting public space. Analysis: Framed by European Commission and WHO agendas, this brief examines Romania's national strategies on health, ageing and LTC through an urban lens. It identifies a persistent rhetoric–implementation gap: municipal services remain underfunded and fragmented, and prevention or person-centred models are only weakly embedded in urban planning and budgeting. Policy Options: Five priorities could align ageing policy with urban health: intersectoral city governance with transparent equity dashboards; legal and financial recognition of informal caregivers; expansion of community hubs integrating primary care, social work and rehabilitation; digital inclusion programmes for older adults; and health-promoting urban design that improves walkability, thermal comfort and access to green/cool spaces. Conclusions: Converging city governance, LTC reform and urban design can translate policy aspirations into measurable gains in equity, autonomy and healthy life expectancy among older urban residents.
Summary
Keywords
digital inclusion, Equity, governance, healthy ageing, Long-term care
Received
08 October 2025
Accepted
09 March 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Corman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Sorina Corman
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