The AARP media release for one of my most recent reports, "What is Livable? Community Preferences of Older Adults":
April
25, 2014
Media
Contact:
Nancy
Thompson
(202)
434-2506
NEW AARP REPORT
OUTLINES WHAT OLDER AMERICANS WANT IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, HOW MANY ARE THINKING
OF MOVING
Washington,
D.C.
– The vast majority of people age 50 and older plan to remain living
independently in their communities, a new report from the AARP Public PolicyInstitute concludes. The report which surveyed boomers and older adults
found that both value secure neighborhoods, safety, good schools, safe streets
for walking, access to transportation, parks and affordable housing as
community qualities. With these resources in place, communities enhance
personal independence and foster resident engagement in community civic,
economic and social life, qualities that AARP has traditionally used to
describe the livability of a community. Most importantly, these resources
allow residents to age in place successfully.
“What
older Americans and Millennials want in terms of their community is not all
that different.” said AARP Executive Vice President for Policy, Debra Whitman.
“What is livable differs for each of us, whether we want a warm climate or a
dense city, for example,” she said. “But this report tells us that the
fundamental elements of a community that will please America’s aging population
will equally serve future generations.”
The
new report, “What is Livable? Community Preferences of Older Adults,” is based
on focus groups and a survey of more than 4,500 participants. It
reaffirms the historic trend that most people ages 50 and older want to age in
place. Adults ages 65 and older are even more likely (87 percent) to say they want
to age in their current home or community than those ages 50 to 64 (71
percent).
A
small portion of adults age 50 and older – about one in six – say they plan to
move in the next three years. This thought is more common for members of
minority groups, those with low-incomes, those who don’t drive, or those living
in metropolitan areas.
According
to the report, many factors play into the hierarchy of a person’s community
preferences. Household income influences the importance of local
government spending priorities on schools, transportation, personal safety, and
proximity to various amenities. Race and ethnicity play a role as do health and
life stage. African American and Latino respondents ranked affordable
housing more highly than respondents in general, for example, while caregivers
and people with disabilities rate the availability of specialized
transportation more highly than those who are not in those categories.
Participants
were also asked, “What community amenities do you want close to home?” Access
to public transportation, food and green space topped the list.
The
research reported in “What is Livable? Community Preferences of Older Adults”
was conducted in part to inform the development of a web-based tool expected to
launch next year that will allow individuals to measure the livability of their
community (or a community to which they are considering a move). It will also
allow community leaders to identify the livability of their towns and cities
and measure year-over-year progress toward improving their livability goals.
The focus groups and survey used in this research were specifically designed to
investigate the diverse needs and wants of the older adult population and to
support the development of the index to measure livability as we age.
The
20-minute survey of nearly 4,500 people ages 50 and older, was conducted
between September 2012 and January 2013. The sample was drawn from a
probability-based web panel. The sample includes an oversample of certain
underrepresented populations, such as nondrivers, racial and ethnic minority
groups, households with people with disabilities (including people with
disabilities, people who live with people with disabilities, and family
caregivers), and people living in low-income households.
The
full report “What is Livable? Community Preferences of Older Adults” can be
found at http://bit.ly/LivIndex. For
more information about livable communities and aging in place, visit www.aarp.org/livable-communities
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