Cities are trying to make life better for its older residents. In many ways, there’s little choice, since people over 65 are the fastest-growing age group in the U.S.
As a result, The Wall Street Journal reports, urban areas are searching for innovative ways to meet the needs of this booming demographic.
Five big ways cities in the U.S. are planning to improve the quality of life for seniors include:
• Intergenerational home sharing—Almost 90% of seniors say they want to age in their own home, but maintaining the two- and four-bedroom homes that make up 80% of U.S. housing stock can be difficult for some. Take on a younger tenant or housemate, and aging in place suddenly gets easier.
• Housing for grandparents and grandchildren—According to the Census Bureau, there are more than 2.6 million seniors raising grandchildren who live with them, but often times the grandparents are on limited income and children are not allowed at senior housing developments, so cities are bridging the gap with a new form of affordable housing.
• Pre-K in retirement homes—In Oklahoma and Kansas, dozens of 4- and 5-year-olds go to public school in classrooms inside nursing homes, which benefits the children and the seniors.
• A park designed for seniors—When the City of Wichita, Kansas, surveyed residents of its Tri-S neighborhood, which has a large share of grandparents caring for grandchildren, they said they wanted a park suitable for multiple generations. In 2013, half-acre Grandparents Park opened, featuring pleasant landscaping, an exercise station for people over 50 and a playground for those closer to 5.
• Flexible public transportation—Roughly 8.4 million Americans age 65 and older don’t drive, according to AARP calculations based on the 2017 National Household Travel Survey. Denver is working on a new online trip planner that many local seniors may find more useful than the trip planners you find on most transit agency websites or Google Maps.
Read the full story from The Wall Street Journal about these innovations for aging residents.
