Representative Bureaucracy, Age-Friendly Planning, and the Role of Gender, Public Engagement, and Professional Management

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231183000
• Author: Mildred E. Warner,Xue Zhang
• Date: 01 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231183000

Administration & Society

2023, Vol. 55(9) 1738 –1757

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/00953997231183000

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Article

Representative

Bureaucracy, Age-

Friendly Planning, and

the Role of Gender,

Public Engagement,

and Professional

Management

Mildred E. Warner1,2 and Xue Zhang1,2,3,4

Abstract

What leads to more age-friendly cities: professional management, passive

gender representation in management, or active public engagement? In a

survey of 1,378 local governments, age-friendly features were measured

in the community comprehensive plan, zoning codes, and economic

development plan. Gender representation does not distinguish level of age-

friendly planning, but public engagement promotes age-friendly practices in

all three areas: comprehensive plans, zoning, and economic development

plans. Structural equation models find professionalism and public engagement

matter more than gender representation in management, as they promote

active representation, which leads to more age-friendly practices.

Keywords

gender, age-friendly planning, professionalism, local government, public

engagement, representative bureaucracy

1Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

2Department of Global Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

3Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health, Syracuse University, NY

4Center for Policy Research, Syracuse University, NY

Corresponding Author:

Mildred E. Warner, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

Email: mwarner@cornell.edu

1183000AAS0010.1177/00953997231183000Administration & SocietyWarner and Zhang

research-article2023

Warner and Zhang 1739

Introduction

Public administration scholars are giving more attention to gender represen-

tation, but this has been understudied with respect to female city managers

(Hamidullah et al., 2015). Women are underrepresented in local government

management in the United States (Caceres-Rodriguez, 2013; Holman, 2017)

and hold under 17% of city/county management positions (ICMA, 2019).

This article presents results from a nationwide survey of US cities and

counties to assess which factors distinguish communities with more age-

friendly planning and zoning (such as mixed use zoning and walkability). It

explores the effect of professional management, passive gender representa-

tion in management, and active public engagement in planning for child and

age-friendly cities. Models analyze the level of attention to age-friendly

issues in comprehensive plans, zoning codes, and economic development

plans by gender, professional management, and level of public engagement.

This research enables us to explore the effect of professional management

and gender in distinguishing communities with more age-friendly planning.

We are also able to explore the effect of public engagement on age-friendly

outcomes: planning, zoning, and economic development. Public administra-

tion recognizes the need to address a wider set of residents, especially chil-

dren and older adults who have traditionally been marginalized in the

planning process. This paper helps clarify the importance of active represen-

tation of the public, gender representation in management, and the profes-

sional council manager form of government.

Literature Review

Professional Management and Active Public Engagement

US society is aging, but cities are only beginning to recognize the challenges

this brings for city services, comprehensive planning, and the built environ-

ment (Lehning, 2012; Warner & Zhang, 2022; Wolf & Amirkhanyan, 2010).

The World Health Organization (WHO, 2007), United Nations Children’s

Fund (UNICEF, 2004), and the American Association of Retired Persons

(AARP, n.d.) have outlined the key domains where cities need to give atten-

tion to the needs of older adults and children. These include housing, trans-

portation, services, built environment, public engagement, and social

inclusion. The American Planning Association (APA, 2014) has articulated

guidelines for age-friendly cities, that call for attention to the needs of chil-

dren and older adults in comprehensive plans, zoning and land use, and eco-

nomic development. While these frameworks for age-friendly cities give