Age-Friendly Innovation Center

A program of The Ohio State University College of Social Work, we improve social, built and service environments that support livability for people of all ages and abilities.

Older person with a yellow headband on a bus talking to a younger person

Marisa Sheldon talking to a person outdoors sitting on a bench

Person in a blue jacket being interviewed for the AFIC

Team

Research

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Mission

To innovate with older adults through research, education, and engagement to make our communities age-friendly.

Since 2016, Age-Friendly has:

7,000+

Engagements with older adults through focus groups, interviews, and walk audits.

200+

Students have worked with the Age-Friendly Innovation Center.

24,000+

Attendees at AFIC presentations across local, national, and international meetings.

Group of individuals, including a person in a wheelchair and a person with a service dog, standing together in front of a large government building, representing inclusivity and community engagement.

Principles

AFIC is committed to a set of principles that guide and ground the work of the Center.

Striving Towards Culture Competence
Accessibility
Community Engagement
Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Areas of Commitment

Featured Media

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USAging honors COAAA and OSU's Age-Friendly Innovation Center (opens in a new tab)

Read about the USAging Award in the Circleville Herald

5-minute read • circlevilleherald.com (opens in a new tab)

New Publication: Sociodemographic correlates of food security status among older adults in central Ohio: Toward a typology of risk (opens in a new tab)

Read the new publication from AFIC Affiliates, AFIC leadership, and AFIC Scholars. The paper explores 2021 Central Ohio Regional Assessment on Aging data to better understand the risks factors for food insecurity in Central Ohio.

10-minute listen • foodsystemsjournal.org (opens in a new tab)

/cdn/Award being presented to Katie White, Director, COAAA

Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging and Ohio State College of Social Work's Age-Friendly Innovation Center Named Recipients of Prestigious Aging Innovations Award from USAging (opens in a new tab)

5-minute read • coaaa.org (opens in a new tab)

Scholar Alumni Highlights

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Spencer See ('21) (opens in a new tab)

Chad Gibson’s City and Regional Planning graduate planning studio won the American Planning Association’s Small Town and Rural Planning award for best student project for their updated land use plan for Darke County, Ohio. The award will be presented at the APA’s National Planning Conference in Minneapolis on April 15.

April 1, 2024 • knowlton.osu.edu (opens in a new tab)

Emily Long (opens in a new tab)

AHACO is proud to invite you to the June 8th premiere of Anita Kwan's short film: "United: the Hidden History of the Humble Duplex". This is a powerful story of how the duplex rose as a symbol of Columbus’ middle-class mobility, was nearly outlawed in the era of segregationist zoning, and is now reemerging as a tool for growth, wealth, and individuality.

June 9, 2025 • linkedin.com (opens in a new tab)

Corrina Hyde ('22) (opens in a new tab)

If Central Ohio is going to become a greener place, more of us will need to ride COTA. So what’s keeping us away? For a good number, it appears to be the intimidation factor. Learning to ride a bus is a bit like picking up a foreign language. And if you don’t have a good teacher, you’ll probably never have the courage to speak in a different tongue. Well, turns you can get a COTA teacher—and her name is Corrina Hyde. For about a year, she’s served as the bus authority’s social services program manager. And as part of that job, she offers “travel training”—tutorials on the basics of COTA, including how to pay, find maps and schedules, transfer to other buses, exit and board vehicles, and use online and digital resources like the Transit app.

January 17, 2024 • columbusmonthly.com (opens in a new tab)