Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Aging Research Volume 2012, Article ID 173247, 9 pages doi:10.1155/2012/173247 Research Article The Importance of Social Connectedness in Building Age-Friendly Communities Charles A. Emlet1 and Joane T. Moceri2 1 Social Work Program, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA 98401, USA 2 Nursing Program, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA 98401, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Charles A. Emlet, caemlet@u.washington.edu Received 11 May 2011; Revised 13 July 2011; Accepted 30 September 2011 Academic Editor: Frank Oswald Copyright © 2012 C. A. Emlet and J. T. Moceri. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The purpose of this paper is to further elucidate the importance of social relationships and social connectedness with aging in place and in developing elder-friendly communities. The process used in this study was inclusive of younger adults (age 40–65) as well as older adults (65+) in order to further understand how they envision a community that could support their own aging in place. A community forum, using the World Cafe´ format, was conducted in order to engage community members, 40 years and older, in conversation about the importance of social connectedness in elder-friendly communities. A second purpose of this forum was to obtain data on what would keep aging boomers in their community as they age. Three major themes emerged from qualitative analysis of the forum: social reciprocity, meaningful interactions, and structural needs/barriers. The results of this study reinforce the importance of social connectedness in creating and maintaining elder-friendly communities for older adults, as well as soon-to-be retired individuals, wishing to maintain life connectedness to their community. The study suggests the possibility of using more nontraditional research techniques (such as the World Cafe´ process) for gathering community level data. 1. Introduction Increasingly, gerontological researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and planners are concerning themselves with the growing importance of aging in place. Aging in place does not have one single deﬁnition but broadly is considered to be the ability to continue to live in the environment of one’s choice, even when declining competence reduces or threatens independence [1], while allowing for consumer choice in the types of services delivered [2]. Lawler [3] suggests that aging in place strategies can minimize inappropriate care and work best as a comprehensive and holistic approach to the needs of aging individuals and communities. Lau and colleagues [4] have conceptualized a framework for aging in place safely and acknowledge the importance of multiple factors, including the biological and psychological characteristics of the indi- vidual, the network of social support, formal services, the need for medical services, and the structure of the home and neighborhood. This and other frameworks clearly recognize that aging in place strategies must consider not only the personal (micro) environment, including housing, but also community and structural components as well [4, 5]. 2. Theoretical Frameworks Before embarking on a discussion of elder-friendly commu- nities, it is important to discuss a number of theoretical frameworks and conceptualizations from gerontology that help inform our understanding of aging in place. There are numerous frameworks that are relevant to aging in place including ecological theory, person in environment, and social inclusion/exclusion. In addition, the area of environ- mental gerontology has speciﬁc relevance to this discussion. Ecological theory [6] suggests that there is a mutual relationship and mutual reciprocity between individuals and their environment and that this interaction occurs at multiple levels, including the micro-, exo-, mezzo-, macro-, and chronosystems levels [6]. Ecological theory is important