Challenges ahead include rethinking city design and facing a housing shortfall:
America is rapidly aging in a country built for the young – The Washington Post
“Although we seldom think about them this way, most American communities as they exist today were built for the spry and mobile. We’ve constructed millions of multi-story, single-family homes where the master bedroom is on the second floor, where the lawn outside requires weekly upkeep, where the mailbox is a stroll away. We’ve designed neighborhoods where everyday errands require a driver’s license. We’ve planned whole cities where, if you don’t have a car, it’s not particularly easy to walk anywhere — especially not if you move gingerly.”
Harvard study flags housing shortfalls for nation’s elderly and disabled – Boston Business Journal
The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and the AARP Foundation report that “the number of adults in the U.S. aged 50 and over is expected to grow to 132 million by 2030, an increase of more than 70 percent since 2000. But housing that is affordable, physically accessible, well-located and coordinated with supports and services is in too short supply.” (Many other significant issues are also addressed in this article.)
And the simple cost of housing is out of reach for many, not only seniors. The Los Angeles Times published this useful interactive link that allows you to determine where in the metropolitan area you can afford to rent an average two-bedroom apartment or buy a median-priced house. Spoiler alert: An income of $100,000 is not enough!
