Sandnes Municipality is committed to becoming an age-friendly community, as outlined in the Municipal Master Plan 2023–2038. One of the plan’s overarching goals is to ensure that “Sandnes shall be an inclusive and diverse society.” Diverse residential environments are designed to provide housing adapted to different life stages and to enable residents to live at home for as long as possible. Inclusive and well-designed neighborhoods and public meeting places are intended to foster safety, belonging, and identity, and must be accessible to all. Shared spaces and intergenerational interaction are key to promoting social cohesion and community engagement. By facilitating housing for all age groups and ensuring accessible local environments and meeting places, Sandnes lays the foundation for an age-friendly society.

The Urban Space and Street Use Plan (2023) provides strategic guidelines for public streets and urban spaces in the city center. As part of the action plan development, a comprehensive participatory process was conducted with older residents, including site visits and café dialogues to map movement patterns and preferences. Particular attention was given to identifying which urban spaces and streets were perceived as safe/unsafe, engaging/unengaging, and universally accessible/inaccessible. These insights highlight the needs of the population and serve as a basis for prioritizing future initiatives.

The “Sandnes Becomes Older” project was launched in 2021 to address the rapidly growing older population in the coming years. The project focuses on four main areas: housing, service development, age-friendly communities, and digitalization. The action plan for an age-friendly society includes the following key areas:
• Strategic planning for age-friendly environments through targeted community and spatial planning
• Further development of indoor and outdoor meeting places
• Strengthening volunteerism by engaging more seniors in their local communities
• Enhancing collaboration with local businesses, particularly in the development of a dementia-friendly society

Sandnes Municipality actively participates in several national and regional networks, including the Network for Age-Friendly Local Communities and the Universal Design Network. To support older residents, the municipality has established a dedicated website, Senior i Sandnes, which provides information and services aimed at improving everyday life for seniors.