by Julie Fitzpatrick
“One in three Americans is age 50 or older. Is your community a great place for people of all ages? By 2030, one out of every five people in the US will be 65 or older. Will your community be ready?” - AARP Livable Communities National Conference
During mid November, I had the opportunity to attend the National AARP Livable Communities Conference in Charlotte. Many of the sessions that I attended were related to housing and transportation needs, but honestly, there were topics running the gamut of community revitalization themes and skill levels. If you ever have a chance to attend in the future, I would highly recommend it!
I attended with the intent and hope to develop insights into how both Elm Street and Main Street programs in PA can strategically position themselves now and in the future as our populations’ needs are shifting. I think with any change, whether it’s a demographic shift of age, race, ethnicity, or gender, or an economic shift of how and where we spend our money or the types of occupations we have, our communities need to be prepared to adapt in order to stay relevant. The AARP Livable Communities Conference provided a variety of sessions on exactly how we can be prepared and create communities for people of all ages.
AARP uses the framework from the World Health Organization’s Eight Domains of an Age-friendly City: transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communications and information, community support and health services, and outdoor spaces and buildings.
The session on Lifelong Housing Options discussed the need for consistent building and construction standards, the certification of ‘aging in place builders’, consistent marketing on real estate listings, and the formation of a National Coalition to Promote Universal Design/Better Living Design. As a model, Oregon has a thorough program called Lifelong Housing which includes a certified standards checklist of over 75 modifications that one can make to an existing home or include in new construction requirements. The concept identifies accessibility options for visitors, everyday living and custom features. These kinds of modifications could be adopted by Elm Street programs or municipal governments to assist in making their homes more accessible and to encourage aging in place in their communities. Possible funding sources for these programs are: Keystone Communities – Accessible Housing Grant and USDA Rural Development’s Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants (Sec. 504).
The Missing Middle Housing Mobile workshop lead us to the neighborhood around Hawthorne Lane. At first glance, it reminds you of a typical post-WWI neighborhood, lovely brick homes nestled among lots of tree-lined streets. But look a little further (you might have to search for the utility meters as a clue) and you’ll see a variety of multi-family units tucked throughout the neighborhood of single family homes. Some of the units were duplexes, fourplexes, and even an eight-unit, all cleverly disguised and well integrated into the neighborhood.
As a passerby, you have no idea how densely populated this neighborhood was designed to be. Typically, the single family homes are at 5 dwelling units/acre, but some of the other units are able to accommodate 18-23 dwelling units/acre, fairly impressive for a quiet little neighborhood. This is a successful example of how a variety of housing options, meeting the needs of a variety of residents can co-exist for the last hundred years and hopefully at least another hundred.
Another insightful session was the Future of Transportation: Universal Mobility as a Service. With over a third of Americans not driving, transportation accessibility is becoming an increasing issue in urban, suburban, and especially rural communities. Communities that are thinking outside the box are Portland that has a non-profit program for transportation for human services that functions much like Uber for senior transport; Wickenburg, AZ has the “Freedom Express” that uses trained Salvation Army volunteers as transport providers; and Denmark’s FlexDenmark has over 500 providers who work on an on-demand platform. Any of these projects could provide a host of entrepreneurial opportunities for businesses at the hyper-local level that understand the specific needs of the communities they serve.
The conference provided an opportunity for volunteers and professionals from many different perspectives to reflect on common strategies that can be implemented throughout the country. PDC will continue to explore some of these concepts and look forward to hearing how Pennsylvania communities are responding to their changing needs and opportunities to provide communities for all ages.