Elder-friendly Communities. Implications to an urban region of Greece Kleio Koutra, Kiottou Tsampika, Kakouli Konstantina, Loukas Sparos, Kosmas Tabakis, Nikoleta Ratsika Laboratory of Local Community Development (LoCoDe), Social Work Department, Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Crete, Greece Aims This study aims to investigate the degree of friendliness of the inhabitants of the Edessa community to the elderly and to explore the community’s social capital. Conclusions Methods The study, proves that Edessa's environment degree of friendliness and the social capital level are both low. Therefore, housing, transport, accessibility, services, labor, market, social/cultural and values need to be improved in order to develop policies to respond as much as possible to the needs of the elders. Cross sectional analysis Housing Transportation Accessibility Services Work Shopping Social/culture Values Sample Is my community elder friendly? 200 people aged 20-40 years old Permanent residents of Edessa Stratified sampling Community elder friendly score Social Capital Questionnaire Questionnaires Implications The life among the elderly is complex. Social workers and other health and social service providers should invest in a more trustful environment by encouraging trusting attitudes and creating possibilities for social participation of the elders. Planners and policymakers must envision elder-friendly communities for the future. Results The majority of the sample responded that the elderly are not provided with vocational opportunities, education and participation in voluntary actions. The elderly are treated to a small extent with friendliness and respect, the opportunities of participation are limited and general population are not interested in being informed about the needs and problems of the elders. Contact information: Dr Kleio Koutra, Lecture Social Work Public Health, e-mail: kkoutra@staff.teicrete.gr