It’s an indisputable fact of life that most seniors prefer to live where they are as they grow older. That location is where their friends and often their families and their doctors and drug and grocery stores are. There’s comfort in the familiar.
What is new is that local governments can follow a low cost and relatively simple set of indicators to determine whether or not the services in a seniors’ community meets their needs and expectations.
A study, Livable Community Indicators for Sustainable Aging in Place, points to the best communities for those who are aging. Those communities offer accessible transportation, affordable housing opportunities, (if seniors should want to downsize their housing) neighborhood safety, support services connected with health care, familiar retail outlets, opportunities for social integration, and walkability. Indications that senior needs can be met using information that is readily available and adaptable to local governments, said the study.
The study was produced by the Stanford Center on Longevity and the MetLife Mature Market Institute. The Institute, in earlier research, found that people generally prefer to remain where they are as they age.
Communities can now make assessments and begin to implement change with readily available public data, said Sandra Timmermann, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
Amanda Lehning, who collaborated with the Stanford Center on Longevity on the report, said that although every community is unique, local governments should think about how best to adapt these indicators to best meet the needs of their residents. Efforts to help older residents who want to stay in place also can improve the community as a whole. They make valuable neighbors, caregivers and volunteers. And they patronize local businesses.
Following are critical characteristics seen as an age‑friendly livable community:
- Accessible and affordable housing. Zoning laws that permit flexible housing, such as assisted living facilities or private homes on small lots.
- Mass transit with senior transport programs, walkable areas safe for pedestrians.
- Safe neighborhoods with low crime rates and emergency plans that take into account needs of senior residents.
- An adequate number of physicians, including specialists, hospitals with preventable‑care programs.
- Home and community‑based care‑giving support services, the availability of home health care, meals‑on‑wheels, and adult care.
- Retail outlets within walking distance, restaurants and grocery stores offering healthy foods, and policies supporting farmers markets.
- Programs and organizations that promote social activities and intergenerational contact. Places of worship, libraries.
- Museums and colleges, if feasible.
The indicator system in the report was developed using these sources: a review of existing livable communities, a review of existing research literature on community characteristics that have an impact on senior health and well‑being and ability to age in place, and interviews with aging‑in‑place experts.
Of course, many communities may well have other priorities. But the study does show how providing the indicated facilities and policies can make life more livable for those who want to grow older where they presently reside.
The mission of the Stanford Center on Longevity is to redesign long life, the report said. The Center studies the nature and development of the human life span looking for innovative ways to use science and technology to solve the problems of people over 50.
The MetLife Mature Market Institute has had 16 years of research on senior issues.
Tait Trussell is an old guy and fourth-generation professional journalist who writes extensively about aging issues among a myriad of diverse topics.