Growing Smarter,
Living Healthier
A Guide to Smart Growth and Active Aging
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Protecting the Health
of Older Americans
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Contents
Introduction 2
1. Staying Active, Connected, and Engaged 4
Where and how we choose to live can affect
our health and well-being
2. Development and Housing 8
Healthy neighborhoods offer diverse housing
choices, gathering places, and ways to connect
3. Transportation and Mobility 12
We can build choice back into our transportation system
— and make it easier for people of all ages to get around
4. Staying Healthy 19
Finding healthy food, keeping active, and getting help when
you need it can be easier in an age-friendly community
5. Conclusion: Next Steps 26
How you can get involved and act
Resources 29
Links to more details and strategies
Community Self-Assessment 31
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Introduction
Age-friendly
communities use
Smart Growth
principles (develop-
ment that improves
the community,
environment, econ-
omy, and public
health) to become
healthier places to
grow old in — and
better places for
people of all ages.
This guidebook is intended for older adults who are interested in
how our communities work and how we might help them become
more 'age-friendly.' Many of us have longed for the kind of age-
friendly neighborhood that has different types of homes for people
at different stages of life; walking paths and public transit to make it
easy to get around without a car; and parks, shops, services, and
homes that are closer together. Older adults are finding that by
designing new neighborhoods differently — as well as redeveloping
existing neighborhoods and roadways — we can make places that
are healthier for ourselves, our neighbors, and the environment.
Rather than let aging limit our options, we can actually become more
independent by
reducing our depen-
dence on the auto,
increasing our travel
choices, and improv-
ing our quality of
life right when
we've started to
have time to enjoy
it. We can enrich
our own remaining
decades, as well as
hand off a more
sustainable commu-
nity to future
generations. That is,
if we decide to do
something about it.
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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In this guide, we address the
basic principles of neighbor-
hood and town design. But it
is also intended to help you
understand why community
design matters, and how
becoming involved in your
community's decisions about
growth can make it a better
place in which to grow old.
You'll find suggestions for ideas
to try, and links to resources
to learn more about how to
remake your neighborhoods to
be easier to get around, wheth-
er you live in a city, suburb, or
small town. We'll also give you
a few ideas for getting involved
and staying engaged, providing
more housing options and
gathering places, eating healthi-
er, and making it easier to carry
out your daily activities. After
all, our age group spans decades,
and some of us are very active,
while others have limited
mobility.
Active Aging concepts (activities that increase
endurance, strength, flexibility, balance, and
the principles of injury prevention) can also be
built into community design and development
to encourage walking, biking, and active use of
parks, so that people of all ages get exercise in
the course of daily life.
The first chapter, Staying Active,
Connected, and Engaged, out-
lines why our choices of where
and how to live can have an
impact on our health and well-
being. The next three chapters
— Development and Housing,
Transportation and Mobility,
and Staying Healthy — outline
strategies and include project
examples that address these key
issues. Within each chapter, the
What You Can Do section pro-
vides some ideas for what you
can work on with your friends
and neighbors. The Conclusion:
Next Steps chapter summarizes
additional follow-up ideas. In
the Resources chapter, you'll
find links to more detailed
strategies, websites, and infor-
mation about each of the ideas
discussed in the guide. We
included a community self-
assessment checklist for you to
identify what your community
is already doing, and where
you might want to focus your
energy — so get together, and
get moving!
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Staying Active,
Connected, and
Engaged
Where and how we choose to live can
affect our health and well-being
Where and how we choose to live makes a difference. It matters
even more as we get older. The neighborhood and housing we select
can help keep us active, connected, and engaged — or make these
critical needs difficult to achieve.
• Staying active — walking, wheeling, and getting moderate regular
exercise — helps with both our physical and mental well-being.
The way our neighborhoods are designed and built can make
carrying out our daily activities an easy task or a chore. Does our
neighborhood have sidewalks and public transportation, or do we
need to get in a car to run errands?
• Staying connected with friends, family, and community is critical
to remaining healthy, vital, and active, and is easier if our neigh-
borhood is designed to support interactions. Staying active socially
is good for us and good for the community. Connecting with
friends and family and sharing our time, wisdom, and experience
helps us maintain a sense of purpose, gets us out of the house, and
keeps us engaged, focused, and learning.
• Staying engaged also benefits the community at large. Many
nonprofits, boards, and commissions would be unable to function
without the time and dedication of older volunteers. Places of wor-
ship depend on older members' wisdom and labor. Businesses know
that mature workers are among their most productive, with strong
work ethics, flexible schedules, can-do attitudes, and decades of
experience.
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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What we need from home and
community changes over time.
Traditional downtown neigh-
borhoods (pre-1950s) and rural
small towns have a range of
housing types that fit the needs
of individuals, couples, friends,
and families throughout each
stage of life. As we age, we may
choose to stay near friends and
family in the same home (ag-
ing in place) or neighborhood
(aging in community) or choose
to move to a smaller, easier-to-
maintain home or new com-
munity. That choice directly
influences how we get around,
how we stay connected, and how
we get help when we need it. We
may also discover that we want
to be involved in how our com-
munities grow and redevelop.
Age-friendly communities
have gathering places that are
within walking distance of
homes, or a short bike ride,
drive, or shuttle trip away.
These critical neighborhood
'meet-ups' can include parks,
libraries, community centers,
places of worship, gyms,
Internet cafes, ice cream stores,
or neighborhood diners. Small
neighborhood parks, town
squares, and plazas are great
places to sit and read, catch up
on e-mail, talk with friends, or
watch kids play. Larger parks
and greenways can offer walk-
ing trails, bike paths, and
sports fields.
Having grocery stores, restaurants, and cafes with-
in walking distance — along with sidewalks to walk
on — is the best predictor of how much older adults
will walk, according to a recent Seattle study led by
Abby King. Fordie Ross, 93, goes on a three- to four-
mile walk nearly every day around his Beacon Hill
neighborhood, where every street has sidewalks.
"Safe? Oh, yes. I've never had any safety problems,"
he said. Seattle's Comprehensive Plan identifies
25 urban villages to be built in areas that had old
warehouses and empty lots. Residents of retirement
communities in the redeveloped Northgate neigh-
borhood will find them safer to walk. A new, 141-unit
senior residence will be connected by pathways to
retail shops and the transit center.
New growth and public services are directed into
urban villages that include apartments, condomini-
ums, or townhouses along with commercial uses,
small parks, and schools.
New development must be designed to accommo-
date pedestrians and include wider sidewalks, out-
door seating, dining, and public plazas to encour-
age activity.
As we age in place, whether in
the same house or the same
community, these gathering
places become even more
important. Getting to these
meeting places provides some of
the physical activity that keeps
us healthy. Being there in the
company of friends provides the
critical social interactions that
keep us connected and engaged.
Being part of a community also
triggers an informal network of
folks who might keep an eye out
for each other. As a recent study
of low-income Hispanic seniors
found, traditional neighbor-
hoods with 'eyes on the street'
(porches, stoops, windows, and
buildings along sidewalks just
above street level) showed
improved physical functioning
for older residents over a three-
year period; they also showed
more social support and re-
duced psychological distress.
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Long-time residents of Manoa, a traditional
Honolulu neighborhood near the University of
Hawaii (UH), were excited when a new senior
housing project was added to a community park.
They could continue getting the benefits of living
in a great neighborhood while enjoying the advan-
tages of new housing that meets their changing
needs. It is on a bus line, a short ride to the UH
campus and downtown — just $30 for an annual
senior pass — and a short walk to their neighbor-
hood shopping center, plate lunch stand, churches,
coffeehouse, and sports fields. Because it is next
to the elementary school, residents can stay
involved with intergenerational activities and help
maintain the adjacent community garden with
their friends and neighbors.
Staying connected can be-
come more difficult over time.
Families and friends can move
away, or we may downsize or
move to another community.
Many older adults find that
maintaining a large house
becomes a burden, physically
and economically, especially
with rising energy prices. Others
choose to move for climate,
economic, health, or quality of
life reasons, or to be closer to
a family member. Those who
want to stay in the same house
may find that their community
lacks the accessible gathering
places, or the non-driving ways
to get there, which might be
found in a traditional neighbor-
hood. Those who want to move
to a smaller home might find
their choices lacking if they live
in a more conventional neigh-
borhood developed in the last
60 years. If they are fortunate
enough to live in a more age-
friendly neighborhood, it is like-
ly there will be other options.
Staying engaged and learning.
Staying engaged is easier for
people who live in an age-
friendly community. In addi-
tion to the interactions that are
just 'part of daily life,' more
organized opportunities are
available. Communities are
co-locating senior centers and
housing near schools, libraries,
or daycare centers, and find-
ing that developers of senior
housing and medical facilities
want to locate nearby as well.
In Burlington, VT, the McClure
MultiGenerational Center
houses the Champlain Senior
Center, which provides meals,
educational, health, social,
and recreational programs for
those 50 and older. Across the
shared hallway is Burlington
Children's Space, which runs
early child care and preschool
programs. This intergenera-
tional shared space helps con-
nect older adults with children
both informally and in more
structured tutoring, classes,
and storytelling.
Colleges like Tompkins-
Cortland Community College,
in rural Dryden, NY, have
established satellite campuses
to make courses more acces-
sible. Their downtown Ithaca
campus is in an old department
store on the Ithaca Commons,
an active pedestrian mall in a
historic downtown. A nearby
elementary school on the town
square was redeveloped into
residential condos, with lower
floors occupied by tenants like
Moosewood (a well-known res-
taurant) and the Ithaca Guitar
Works, offering lessons on all
kinds of instruments.
Universities, senior centers,
and school districts are
establishing learning initia-
tives that older adults can
access in their neighbor-
hoods and churches, like
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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the Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute at the University of
Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.
Participation in learning ac-
tivities in our neighborhoods
provides double the benefits.
Researchers have long known
that physical activity keeps both
our bodies and brains in shape,
and that mental exercise helps
keep our brains younger.
Participating in community
activities doesn't just benefit
us. It can be a rewarding op-
portunity to give back, to share
our hard-won wisdom, to pass
on our skills and experience.
Older adults are a tremendous
resource, and we often have
the time — and patience — to
spare. When the elementary
school is next to our homes,
when the places where we pass
time are next to the playing
fields, when the lifelong learn-
ing center is across the street
from the library or co-located
across the hall from a day-care
center, it is much easier, more
convenient, and more likely
that we will spend some time
mentoring, coaching, cheering,
teaching, or just plain interact-
ing with the community. Foster
grandparent programs, pairing
seniors with elementary and
preschool students, have long
been effective at making these
intergenerational connections
— but there is no organized
substitute for just being around
and available informally
for the young people in our
communities.
What You
Can Do:
Use this guide
to make
connections
Follow up on something that matters to you. As you
read the following sections, think about whether the
issues raised would apply to your own neighborhood,
your housing situation, the streets or parks you use,
and the growth and development issues your com-
munity faces. Look at both short-term and long-range
plans for how and where you will live, the choices you
prefer, and whether they are available — or whether it's
time to roll up your sleeves and initiate or join a group
working to make your community more age-friendly.
Look around you and talk with others about what
you have discovered. This guide is intended to spark
your interest; the Next Steps and Resources chapters
will lead you to more detailed information, programs,
organizations, and guidebooks for the strategies you
want to work on. You're not alone. Efforts like AARP's
Mobility Agenda, The Project for Public Space's
Citizen's Guide to Better Streets and Placemaking
Guidebook, and others are listed for you to reference.
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Development and
Housing
Healthy neighborhoods offer diverse housing
choices, gathering places, and ways to connect
Photo courtesy c
Healthy neighborhoods offer plenty of housing choices, for us,
our friends, and our relatives, so we don't have to leave behind the
people and places we know and love. With a diverse housing mix
(single-family homes of all sizes, duplexes, small and large apart-
ments, studios above garages or shops, condominiums, and lofts),
most traditional neighborhoods allow people to stay near friends,
families, work, and worship as they move through life. While we
like to maintain our independence, staying connected can greatly
improve our lives as we age. Maintaining access to services, shop-
ping, activities, work, and volunteer efforts will help keep us active,
healthy, and engaged. Whether staying in the neighborhood or
moving to another that has more housing options and a vital cen-
ter, having access to a broad range of housing choices is one key to
remaining independent.
Most residential neighborhoods built in the last 60 years do not
provide this mix of nearby destinations and different kinds of hous-
ing. Developers built big groups of similar houses of the same size and
price, separated from another group of larger or smaller houses by
unusable open space. Housing was segregated by income and family
size, mostly separated from commercial destinations. Some develop-
ments included a large block of apartments, or a retirement commu-
nity, or maybe a school or library. One positive result was that, in
many new subdivisions, parents were similar in age, in career status,
and in the ages of their children. This encouraged lots of group
activities. However, as individual and family status changes, many
people eventually move out of these more homogenous neighbor-
hoods to find new housing that fits their new circumstances: an
apartment for a newly single parent, a house with attached studio for
an aging grandparent, or a smaller house or condo for the empty
nester. Although these housing options are not usually available in
conventional residential developments, Smart Growth activists are
8
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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finding that such neighborhoods
can be redeveloped over time to
increase choice in housing,
mobility, and activities.
Smart Growth
development
Developers of new Smart
Growth neighborhoods have
learned that providing a wider
range of housing choices within
one community helps make it
more attractive and interesting,
provides community charac-
ter, and holds value over time.
Rather than build a few hun-
dred of one house type here,
and a different type over there,
each with its own private 'ame-
nity package,' Smart Growth
neighborhoods mimic older,
traditional places. They add
amenities like parks, trails, and
community centers that create
places for generations to gather.
Housing options vary accord-
ing to where they are located
in the community. Typically,
more compact housing types
like apartments, lofts, condos,
and townhouses are built closer
to the town center or on major
streets to make it easy to walk
to activities. Single-family
homes and cottages are on qui-
eter streets a few blocks away,
but still within walking and
wheeling distance.
Smart Growth principles
can also be used to redevelop
underused properties along
Photo courtesy of Carlton Eley
roadways at the edge of exist-
ing neighborhoods, replacing
aging shopping centers and
cleaning up neglected proper-
ties. Redeveloped properties
are a convenient destination for
shopping, activities, and catch-
ing an express bus to down-
town. When the time comes to
choose a smaller or more acces-
sible home or apartment, the
town centers provide a number
of options — without having to
leave the neighborhood. Since
developers often prefer to devel-
op in outlying 'greenfield' areas
rather than to redevelop exist-
ing places, helping to facilitate
such redevelopment is a perfect
volunteer activity for residents
of surrounding neighborhoods,
and an opportunity to make
sure developers get it right.
Eyes on the street can make us
safer. Traditional development
concepts can actually make
our neighborhoods safer and
improve mobility. Architects
use the term 'eyes on the street'
to refer to buildings that have
windows, doors, and porches
overlooking streets and neigh-
borhood parks. Communities
like Norfolk, VA, have discov-
ered significant decreases in
crime in neighborhoods and
public housing that redevelop
using these principles. Many
are starting to change develop-
ment codes to require eyes on
the street instead of blank walls
in new buildings. Development
with buildings that have eyes
on the streets are not only safer
for everyone to use, they also
encourage a community to stay
connected. There is no better
crime deterrent than you sitting
on your porch, or watching
over your block or neighbor-
hood park from the front
window.
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Each year, 40 to 50 homeowners in Santa Cruz, CA, take advantage of the city's
award-winning Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Program to increase housing
choice by making accessory units easier to build. The Program helps homeown-
ers convert garages or build new structures they can either rent out or move into
themselves — giving them extra income while creating more affordable housing.
To make it easy for homeowners to implement, the city provides 7 preapproved,
architect-designed plans for 500-square-foot units, as well as an ADU How-To
Manual to guide homeowners through approvals, construction, making the unit
neighbor-friendly, and being a good landlord. They also revised zoning to no
longer require covered parking and to allow garage conversions.
Housing options
Accessory Dwelling Units
(ADUs), which we used to call
'granny flats' or garage apart-
ments, are a traditional housing
option currently returning to
favor. These are typically a
converted or expanded garage,
a basement apartment, or a
newly built cottage. Accessory
dwelling units actually provide
homeowners housing flexibility
on site, along with added in-
come. Homeowners can rent
them out while remaining in the
larger house, or move into the
smaller, easy-to-maintain, fully
accessible unit when downsizing.
Whether the main house is
occupied by other family mem-
bers or rented for extra income,
the homeowner is able to stay in
the neighborhood and stay
connected. Despite their many
benefits, ADUs are usually
prohibited by local zoning
ordinances. Some communities
are changing zoning codes to
allow ADUs on any lot, as well as
providing preapproved designs
and other program support.
Others, like rural Fluvanna and
Louisa Counties in Virginia, are
offering programs to help
provide modular units or kits
that can be quickly erected when
the homeowner needs a fully
accessible unit.
Cohousing is collaborative
housing; typically small-scale
neighborhoods made up of indi-
vidual houses and shared com-
mon facilities, like open space,
courtyards, gardens, play areas,
and a common house. The com-
mon house serves as the com-
munity gathering space, with a
large kitchen and dining room,
a playroom, sometimes a library
or lounge, and a shared laundry
room and workshop. While
individual homes have kitchens,
residents typically eat together
a few times a week, sharing
cooking and cleanup. Individual
units can be smaller, since the
common house is available for
parties, and often has a guest
bedroom for visitors.
Silver Sage Village in Boulder, CO, is a 50+
cohousing community with 16 accessible homes
around a common courtyard and an accessible
two-story, common house with a guest bedroom
for friends and family and a large great room for
community meals and celebrations. Ten homes
are market rate; six are permanently affordable.
The project won Best of Senior Living from the
National Association of Home Builders.
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GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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Residents are committed to
living as a community, par-
ticipating in its design and
operations, and ensuring
the neighborhood encour-
ages social interaction while
protecting individual private
space. Generally 20 to 40 units
of single-family or attached
homes centered on a walkway
or courtyard, cohousing proj-
ects have also been developed
in downtown neighborhoods
and commercial buildings.
Although most cohousing
is intergenerational, several
newer projects are restricted to
active seniors. Elder cohousing
typically consists of attached,
accessible units, often focused
on wellness and staying active.
What You
Can Do:
Get involved
in planning
Get involved in planning projects, programs, and
policies — one of the best ways to help our communi-
ties become more age-friendly. Older adults who have
fewer family duties and a more flexible work schedule
often have time to join committees, boards, and work-
ing groups. Local planning and zoning boards, regional
transportation committees, bicycle and pedestrian
advisory groups, affordable housing task forces, etc.,
are all fueled by volunteer members. You can look for
ads in the paper or on the web or call your local plan-
ning department — the positions are rarely highly com-
petitive. Since many strategies outlined in this guide-
book are still not permitted by each locality's codes
and zoning regulations, it will take time and patience
to identify and correct the contradictions.
Participate in or initiate a community planning pro-
cess — an exciting way to make a difference. You
can help create a broad regional vision, a neighbor-
hood plan, or just work on a single intersection. Often
conducted in day-long workshops, or in a week-long
intensive series of design meetings called a charrette,
these efforts require active, committed community
participants to be effective. A well-designed process
meshes the technical expertise of agency staff, the
creativity and fresh ideas of outside consultants, and
the in-depth local knowledge of residents and business
people. (See Resources.)
11
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Transportation and
Mobility
We can build choice back into our transportation system
— and make it easier for people of all ages to get around
We all cherish our freedom to move around: from those early halt-
ing steps to our first time behind the wheel, from running errands to
a drive in the country. The freedom to move around feels like a fun-
damental American right — to connect with our families, friends,
and neighbors; to conduct business; to access work, shopping, and
volunteer activities; to go to worship; and to vote. Both government
and business have made significant investments to support that free-
dom since the country's birth — from our ports and fleets, to river
barges and railroads, to the Interstate Highway System. For the last
60 years or so, that freedom has mostly depended on the automobile
— and boy, have we loved the ride. Our favorite songs, restaurants,
vacations, movies, and memories are still with us in the front seat as
we start looking back along life's highway.
Most of us drive, and expect to
continue driving as long as we
are able. Overall, we're pretty
safe drivers too: observant, ex-
perienced, and cautious. Some
of us have more flexible work
or volunteer schedules. We
can avoid the crowds at rush
hour; stay off the bigger, faster
roads if we are lucky enough to
have an alternative; stay home
during inclement weather;
and, at some point, reduce or
eliminate night-time driving.
As much as we love our cars
Photo courtesy of Liisa Ecola
12
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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Realizing that 40 percent of the population is adults
over 60, local leaders in Dunedin, FL, decided
to improve sidewalks and intersections to make
them easier and safer to use. By widening side-
walks, installing curb ramps and curb extensions
to reduce crossing distance and slow traffic, and
adding extra time to crossing signals, they made
it safer and more pleasant for older adults — and
people of all ages — to walk around the compact
city. They also added a new senior center along the
Pinellas Trail through downtown, making it easy
for older adults and the center's walking club to
access the trail.
and our memories, maybe it's
time for us to look ahead to
how we will move around in
the future. Conventional de-
velopments of the last 60 years
were a great place for many of
us to grow up, go to school,
and raise our own families.
However, we probably didn't
build enough options into
them — for getting around
by walking, biking, transit,
or even for short car trips off
the main highways. Increasing
traffic congestion can lead to
delays, frustration, and even
road rage, limiting the times
of day we are comfortable
driving. The growing national
conversation about energy
costs and availability, coupled
with awareness of the impacts
of global climate change, have
amplified the need for a long,
hard look at how our daily lives
and independence are affected
by the way our neighborhoods
developed. And maybe — for
some of us — now is the time
to start building some choice
back into our communities. To
paraphrase Robert Kennedy
and Rabbi Hillel: When — if
not now? Who — if not us?
Rather than let aging limit our
options, we can actually become
more independent. We can
reduce our dependence on the
car, increase our travel choices,
and improve our quality of life.
Right when we've started to have
time to enjoy it. We can enrich
our own remaining decades,
and hand off a more sustainable
community to future genera-
tions. That is, if we decide to do
something about it.
Community design
influences how
we get around
Elders and kids are the
'canaries in the coal mine' of
walkability. If we build places
and streets that make it easier
for our oldest and youngest to
navigate, we all will benefit. Of
course, the reverse is also true.
Many communities built when
gas was cheap and housing was
booming followed a model of
bigger lots and wider roads.
They dumped drivers onto
even wider, faster highways that
were often the only way to get
to work, shopping, or schools.
As we grew farther out, all that
new traffic required us to go
back in and widen the roads
through existing neighbor-
hoods so that outlying drivers
could get to work, while mak-
ing it harder for downtown
residents to get around.
The good news is that this
challenge — of redefining and
rebuilding American neighbor-
hoods and roadways — is real-
istic and achievable, and older
adults are well-equipped for
it. We understand how things
work; how decisions are made at
town meetings, city boards, and
state agencies; and we have the
patience and tenacity to attend
meetings, conduct research, and
take action. Activists, profes-
sionals, and elected officials
13
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have been working on solutions
for a couple of decades. Called
by many names, such as Smart
Growth, New Urbanism, walk-
able neighborhoods, livable
communities, or sustainable
development, one central theme
has been making places that
work for people, not just for
cars. Our infrastructure invest-
ments can benefit older adults:
safer streets and intersections,
expanded bus and rail, and
more accessible parks and trail
systems. It's not rocket science,
either. There are many guide-
books (see Resources) that help
citizens remake their communi-
ties by increasing transportation
choices, offering greater housing
options, and weaving a stronger
social fabric, healthier environ-
ment, and more vital economy.
We can 'complete
the streets'
It's not just about walking.
Complete Streets work for
everyone. We can restore an
age-friendly network of smaller-
scale streets as we reinvent sub-
urbia and rebuild downtowns.
Our youngest and oldest drivers
then can safely move around
the community instead of being
forced onto those fast-moving
five- and seven-lane roads. The
same 'traffic-calming' strategies
that communities have applied
to reduce speed and improve
safety in existing neighborhoods
can be used to design street net-
works that 'get it right the first
time.' These new designs are
called 'Complete Streets' since
they work for all users: walkers,
bikers, drivers, and transit users.
With narrower lanes (to slow
traffic speeds and reduce run-off),
safer intersection designs (to re-
duce crashes and encourage cross-
ing in the right place), curb ex-
tensions and median crosswalks
(to shorten crossing distances and
have a stopping place), bike lanes
(to give bikes the same treatment
as cars), wider sidewalks and
Over 19,000 older residents in Kirkland, WA,
can move around more safely after the
Kirkland Senior Council and the Active Living
Task Force got involved. They helped City
staff design and implement innovative pro-
grams and policies like the Complete Streets
Ordinance, to design streets for walkers,
bicyclists, and drivers, including wider side-
walks, pedestrian-friendly medians, and
in-street bike lanes. For more immediate
impact, the PedFlag Program placed yellow
flags at over 60 crosswalks that walkers pick
up and carry across to remind drivers to
yield to pedestrians, and then return flags to
another holder after crossing. The Flashing
Crosswalk Program incorporates flashing
lights embedded into the pavement for
30 crosswalks at busier intersections.
Photo courtesy of the City of Kirkland, Washington
14
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
-------
street trees (to make walking a
safe, pleasant option), and a host
of other details, we can build
Complete Street networks that
make it easier for everyone to
get around: driving, walking,
wheeling, or taking transit. A
well-planned system of clear,
easy-to-read signage will also
help us to get where we're going,
however we choose to travel.
Rebuilding along the
highway corridors
Commercial highway cor-
ridors running through our
downtowns, small towns, and
suburban strips are a great
place to make better connec-
tions. Downtown commercial
districts started to fade, fol-
lowed by adjacent suburban
shopping centers and mini-
malls as development moved
further out. These fading 'grey-
field' properties — named for
the acres of little-used asphalt
parking surrounding shopping
centers — are often bordered
by residential neighborhoods
concerned by the properties'
condition. These neighbor-
hood residents would likely
support well-designed new uses
for nearby greyfields. Many
of these properties are being
converted to new town cen-
ters that are modeled on older
traditional neighborhoods and
downtowns. They usually pro-
vide a range of housing choices
Older residents, activists, and business own-
ers along US 29 in Albemarle County and
Charlottesville, VA, decided that the aging subur-
ban strip needed an update. While they knew that
the regional highway needed to carry lots of traffic,
they also wanted a redesign that would provide an
interconnected Complete Street network parallel to
US 29 so local pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers
had more choices for short trips. They enlisted the
Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission
(TJPDC), the regional planning agency, to work
with the county, city, and Virginia DOT to create
Places29, a joint transportation and land use plan
for the rapidly developing corridor. The solutions
will reduce congestion and improve safety on US
29; guide development toward compact, mixed-
use, walkable, transit-ready neighborhoods and
centers; and support development of an enhanced
regional transit system. The planning process
included extensive community participation by
residents, business owners, and the Jefferson
Area Board for Aging and the Senior Center.
and a gathering place that is
easily accessible to surrounding
neighborhoods, via a walkable
network of smaller streets.
Creating a community plan
can coordinate redevelopment
of a string of similar aging
properties, typically found
along a commercial roadway.
The resulting street network
through the redeveloped prop-
erties can provide complete
streets for local travel paral-
lel to the busy main highway.
It can also connect existing
neighborhoods to the newly de-
veloped 'town centers,' as well
as to each other, and support
more efficient transit service. If
the new centers are developed
as compact transit targets (focal
points for improved bus or rail
service) with a mix of homes,
stores, and workplaces, many
roadway corridors would even-
tually have the ridership need-
ed for fast, frequent, depend-
able transit. However, this kind
of planning requires significant
15
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community involvement over
a long period to make sure the
plans meet community needs
and that projects are actually
built according to the original
vision. Older adults are espe-
cially capable of participating
in, tracking, supporting ap-
provals for, and watching over
project implementation.
Providing travel
choices can
save money
Seniors have a well-deserved
reputation for watching the
bottom line. We learned the
value of a buck, like to hang
on to what we've saved, and
expect our elected officials to
use what we give them wisely.
With extreme fluctuations in
gas prices and housing values,
and transportation agency
budgets dwindling, it seems
worth trying a new approach.
We can't afford to keep ex-
panding and then maintaining
the current publicly funded
road system. One advantage of
the corridor-based redevelop-
ment approach outlined above
is that many of the new roads,
walkways, parks, and gathering
places would be built by the
private sector as development
occurs. This would save signifi-
cant public investment. If fuel
costs are high, those on fixed
incomes that live near or in
The average annual cost of owning and operat-
ing a car is $8,121 for fuel, maintenance, new
tires, insurance, depreciation, and financing (at
$2.94/gal and 15,000 miles/yr, perAAA). A com-
pact costs over $6,000, and an SUV over $10,000.
Although seniors drive fewer miles on average,
car ownership might be one of the largest items in
their household budget. Maris Grove, an Erickson
retirement community near Philadelphia, has
partnered with PhillyCarShare to give residents
and staff an affordable, easy-to-use option — a
shared Toyota Hybrid. Membership is free, and
reservations can be made over the phone or
online. According to resident Joe Peronace, "You
don't have to buy a car, no maintenance, no insur-
ance, you use their gas card and pay an hourly
rate," Peronace said. "It's too good to be true. If
you sit down with pencil and paper, it's a big sav-
ings." PhillyCarShare estimates members save
over $4,000/yr over owning a car.
the new neighborhood-scaled
developments will have plenty
of low-cost ways to get around,
and easy access to community
gathering places. Some of those
travel choices might reduce our
dependence on foreign oil, cut
greenhouse gas emissions, and
help mitigate the effects of cli-
mate change. All while keeping
us active and healthy.
Build choice back into the
transportation network.
Although many of us might
say 'the bus is not for me' or
'I'd rather drive than walk,'
it's really about providing
ourselves with more choices
than we currently have. More
transportation options give
us the chance to stay active
and independent. More than
one-third of Americans over
65 report no daily physical
activity, while research shows
that just a half-hour of activity
three times a week can greatly
improve our health and sense
of well-being. By adding places
we can walk or wheel to from
nearby neighborhoods, and
16
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
-------
making streets pleasant and
safe, the walk to the library,
the store, or to meet friends in
the park provides us with an
opportunity to be active. Even
the driving trips on neighbor-
hood streets can be shorter and
safer with the right community
design. And though many of us
don't see ourselves as bus riders
right now, we might eventu-
ally live in some of this newly
developed housing — a down-
town loft, a quiet townhouse,
a charming cottage, or a well-
located assisted living commu-
nity. Having the choice to get to
downtown shopping or cultural
events on our own terms and
schedule, rather than waiting
for a friend or an on-call van
can ensure independent living
for much longer.
17
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What You
Can Do:
Make it easier
to get around
Start a walking group with a sense of purpose — at
the park, on downtown streets, even at the mall. Read
some of the resources outlined in this section and dis-
cuss issues and strategies as you exercise together.
Join or start a car-sharing program. If one is available
in your region, call and try it out. Work with your local-
ity, university, or transit agency to gauge local interest.
Focus on specific walkable neighborhoods near transit
stations.
Try transit. Check out the bus (or train, if you're lucky).
Get a schedule, grab a friend, and see where it goes.
Ask if the agency provides 'travel training' for older
adults. If it stops nearby but isn't easy to get to, do
an informal walking audit to see what improvements
would make you and your neighbors more likely to ride.
Make one street safer. Older adults are often prime
movers of such efforts, as demonstrated in Albemarle
County, VA's Hillsdale Drive Safety project (see Places29
sidebar). The senior center and Jefferson Area Board
for the Aging were concerned about speeding on the
adjacent suburban road. When a slow-moving grand-
mother was almost hit crossing the road, they asked
the regional transportation agency, TJPDC, to come up
with a solution. Gathering local and state agency staff,
they conducted a walking audit and a series of commu-
nity workshops with area residents and businesses to
develop a safety improvement plan. Solutions included
safer median crosswalks (at places participants indi-
cated they wanted to cross), sidewalks, lighting, nar-
rower lanes, bike paths, and landscaping. Since it was
their plan, area seniors have been strong supporters of
the project as it worked its way through design, fund-
ing, and construction.
18
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
-------
Staying Healthy
Finding healthy food, keeping active, and
getting help when you need it can be easier
in an age-friendly community
Eating healthy food
Finding, preparing, and eating healthy foods is critical to our well-
being as we age. We tend not to eat as much, which makes it harder
to get critical nutrients. Sometimes we just don't feel like eating, are
tired of cooking, or are worried about the cost of fresh ingredients.
Meals-on-wheels programs, which deliver prepared meals to older
adults, are finding it harder to absorb increasing food costs, and
their volunteer drivers can be hit hard by higher fuel expenses for
deliveries. Such programs are often the only link to healthy food
available to low-income seniors as their personal mobility fades. In
the long term, building more places with compact, walkable neigh-
borhoods might make it easier for volunteers to deliver meals on
three-wheeled bikes, or in small electric vehicles. However, we also
need to address the 'supply side' by developing more local sources of
fresh, healthy food.
Community gardens are
located on public or donated
land, with small plots assigned
to individuals. The concept of
taking individual and com-
munity action in a crisis to
grow our own food is not new.
Remember the World War II
Victory Gardens planted
proudly in every front yard?
Since many of us travel to
visit friends, family, or far-off
places, a new twist or two could
update the Victory Gardens'
success. Community gardens
Photo courtesy of Julianne Sammut
19
-------
are often neighborhood-based
and support social interaction,
so a group of older adults could
work the plots cooperatively,
taking care of each other's
weeds and harvests when they
are traveling or under the
weather. Since community gar-
dens usually have long waiting
lists, senior organizations could
promote new sites, find loca-
tions, and help operate them.
Community-Supported
Agriculture (CSA) is an up-
date of the truck farm, which
grows produce just outside the
city to truck into weekly farm-
ers' markets. The CSA business
model is a way for community
members to share farmers'
business risk, while providing
early capital for seeds, fertilizer,
and equipment. Customers buy
'shares' of a season's produce,
paying part or all up front, and
then receive a weekly share
of the grower's harvest. Some
CSAs also encourage customers
to spend a day or two help-
ing to plant and harvest major
crops in spring and fall. Senior
centers make an ideal drop-off
point for the weekly deliver-
ies, and overall costs could be
reduced if volunteers agreed to
help bag and box the individual
shares for pickup. Another way
to help reduce food costs is
to form buying clubs or food
co-ops, which buy food in
bulk (usually pre-ordered by
individuals), then divide it up
on delivery. This can also be a
rewarding social activity.
Keeping active
Healthy neighborhoods have
plenty of opportunities for
older adults to remain active,
whether informally as part of
daily life, or in more organized
activities. If our neighborhood
has great places within walk-
ing or biking distance, just
going to meet a friend or pick
up a few things can add up to
regular activity. The doctor-
recommended 30 minutes per
day (or at least 3 times per
week) can be broken into 10- or
15-minute segments and still
add up to significant health
benefits. The average transit
user walks or bikes 20 minutes
as part of his or her regular
transit trip; a 5-minute walk
to the park or cafe becomes a
10-minute round trip. Having
nearby parks for tennis, swim-
ming, jogging, or speedwalk-
ing can also keep us active and
connected. As we stay healthier
and active longer, many older
adults are remaining involved
in organized sports like Softball
or swimming competitions.
In extreme heat and cold, we
like to stay indoors, but that
doesn't have to slow us down.
Suburban shopping malls have
long opened early so seniors
could get their exercise in a
group mallwalk. The communi-
ty college in rural Dryden, NY,
20
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
-------
Photo courtesy of the City of Rogers, Arkansa:
reserves its downstairs hallways
for exercise walking during
inclement weather. Many public
facilities can find some time to
set aside for indoor activities for
older adults: an hour scheduled
in the school pool or gym, or
special daytime hours in the
bowling alley. And, of course,
there is the traditional senior
center, with organized activities
just for us.
A new approach
to senior centers
Many active older adults don't
yet see themselves as 'senior
center types,' and a new model
is emerging. These multipur-
pose lifestyle centers fit with
the kind of intergenerational,
age-friendly neighborhoods
we are choosing to live in.
Designed to attract and retain
active, 50+ older adults, they
are typically located in urban
or neighborhood settings,
integrating them into the com-
munity social life and making
them more accessible to drop
by as we make our way around
downtown.
From the street, they could be
a business-friendly coffeehouse
(a 'Starbucks for Seniors'), a
place to meet with clients or
hang out with friends, surf the
net, or catch up on e-mail. You
might see groups discussing
books, sports, art, or a concert,
or a small group getting help
on a new computer program.
Larger places may also have
gyms, yoga and dance work-
shops, or educational classes in
a learning center. As we try to
integrate our own active aging
fully into the place we live in,
maybe creating a new kind of
community center at the heart
of it all isn't a bad way to start.
Older adults in the
Chicago area can
find a new kind of
gathering place that
fits active lifestyles
in a community set-
ting. Mather LifeWay
Cafes are more like
typical coffee shops
than senior centers,
with attractive, invit-
ing, hip interiors to
appeal to 50+ adults
and their friends.
Usually located
in a downtown
storefront-type
building, they are
technology-friendly
to connect older
adults with Internet,
e-mail, and com-
puter classes, and
often have learning
centers and gym/
exercise facilities.
Some even have
full restaurants and
entertainment — but
customers say the
cafes feel more like
a coffeehouse than a
typical senior center.
21
-------
Getting help
when we need it
We all want to remain inde-
pendent for as long as possible.
That's human nature, and most
of us put off asking for help as
long as we can, even when we
might really need it.
There are basic tasks we have
to do to live on our own —
feeding ourselves, dressing,
walking, getting out of bed,
bathing and hygiene, drink-
ing and taking medication —
and more complicated tasks
like preparing meals, doing
housework, driving, shopping,
and managing our money.
Eldercare professionals can
advise families when such help
is required, and what kind, but
that advice is not usually trig-
gered unless someone — family,
friend, or neighbor — notices
the need.
The signs that people need
help are usually obvious to
those who know them well
and see them often. In an
age-friendly Smart Growth
neighborhood or small town,
regular interaction with people
is more possible, more con-
venient, and more frequent.
The people we interact with
are more likely to be from the
same neighborhood. Whether
In 2001, long-time residents of Boston's Beacon Hill
neighborhood decided they wanted to age in place
in their own homes — but with the same access
to services, maintenance help, home care, and
social activities they might receive in a retirement
community. They founded Beacon Hill Village,
a member organization that links area seniors to
'discounted, vetted, guaranteed' service providers,
home health care, classes, and activities.
Photo courtesy of the City of Kirkland, Washington
in a park down the street, a
neighborhood diner or coffee
shop, or library or place of wor-
ship, odds are someone in the
room lives a block or two away
and is concerned about our
well-being. We're used to hear-
ing the phrase 'it takes a village'
refer to raising children, but the
same is true at our own end of
the timeline. With a neighbor-
hood structure that allows and
encourages us to get out and
about, and nearby places that
are worth going to, we're more
likely to be noticed, and our
absence noted as well.
Once the need for help has
been identified, actual assis-
tance may be easier to obtain
in an age-friendly neighbor-
22
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
-------
hood, where people of all
income levels and ages live
nearby. In rural and suburban
neighborhoods, the econom-
ics of driving around to several
houses daily to provide low-
wage assistance are even more
difficult in an era of rising gas
prices. Compact communities
offer the potential for both paid
assistants and volunteers to
have low-cost, efficient access
to multiple clients in a day,
whether walking, taking a bus
from another neighborhood, or
a shorter drive.
Caregiving
In traditional neighborhoods,
caregiving was primarily an
extended family affair. There
were usually enough brothers,
sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins,
and grandkids in the com-
munity to help keep an eye
out and take care of family
elders. As we scattered across
the country, and more house-
hold members worked outside
the home, a need emerged for
organized networks of caregiv-
ers, both paid and volunteer.
Area Agencies on Aging and
other senior-focused groups
have developed programs to
address caregiving needs, and
private companies have found
strong market demand for af-
fordable home healthcare and
personal services. The most
successful programs have been
community-based nonprofits
that coordinate both paid pro-
fessional and volunteer services
of local residents to provide
healthcare and nursing, social
connections, and help with
chores and maintenance to
older neighbors.
This core idea of neighbor help-
ing neighbor is key to making
the community-based approach
work. It works best in a real
neighborhood or small town
where people know and care
about each other. The in-home
health care and companion-
ship help older adults stay in
their homes and connected to
their communities, avoiding
both the extra cost and re-
duced quality of life in a nurs-
ing home. Where family and
friends are available, their assis-
tance can be coordinated by the
community organization. This
approach saves money for the
aging adults and their fami-
lies, enables families to share
caregiver management tasks,
and reduces costs compared to
institutionalization. In tradi-
tional mixed-use neighbor-
hoods — with workplaces near
homes — family members can
arrange to drop by on a lunch
break or before and after work,
to help with meals, shopping,
or medication, or just to visit.
Elderberry Institute's Living at Home/Block
Nurse Program helps seniors stay healthy and
connected while living in their own homes.
Started in St. Paul, MN, it has expanded to local
efforts across the country.
• Seniors receive in-home social support, health
care, and chore services from a paid and volun-
teer network, administered by a local nonprofit.
• Elders live at home longer, avoiding nursing
home expenses, and staying productive and
socially connected — while reducing overall
community costs.
• The program also coordinates assistance from
family and neighbors.
23
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Homesharing is another
emerging option, where two
or more unrelated people share
a home, with their own pri-
vate space and common living
areas. It can work well in rural
areas, where organized caregiv-
ing can be harder and more
expensive to deliver. Frequently
coordinated by a local non-
profit, the homeowner benefits
by receiving 10 to 15 hours per
week of household help, like
cooking, shopping, or cleaning,
and the roommate (often a stu-
dent) receives free rent. Having
someone in the home infor-
mally helps keep an eye out for
changes in the homeowner's
condition, while the older adult
gets to remain at home and
independent longer, enjoy-
ing the help and the informal
companionship.
Older and disabled homeowners who need assis-
tance with daily living can stay in their homes,
after organizations like HomeShare Vermont link
them with individuals who desire free or low-cost
housing. The roommates help with housework,
yard work, meals, transportation, and compan-
ionship, or whatever is negotiated, in return for
free or reduced rent. For seniors who need more
help, caregivers provide more personal services
like bathing, dressing, shopping, and cooking, in
return for room, board, and salary.
The organization can also arrange for paid live-in
or hourly non-medical caregiving.
Photo used with permission of Eric Vance
24
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
-------
What You
Can Do:
Staying
healthy
Find healthy food. Locate a Community-Supported
Agriculture farm and join up, with your friends, neigh-
bors, or a group like the senior center. If you can't find
one, talk to neighbors and friends to see if there is suffi-
cient interest to inspire an area farmer to start one. Join
or start a community garden — there is always land
available somewhere. You might try it on some of the
leftover space at public buildings, apartments, senior
centers, schools, churches — or in a park. Organize a
food co-op (buying club). Make ordering, picking up,
and dividing the food a social event, and even deliver it
to those who can't get out.
Make a gathering place. Talk with local senior organiza-
tions, nonprofits, and housing developers about explor-
ing the market for a new kind of lifestyle cafe. Take
advantage of other gathering places — like your place
of worship, the library, the courthouse steps, or wher-
ever it is in your town — and test out some of these
ideas with neighbors you don't yet know.
Look out for others. Keep an eye out for someone
who needs help — on your block or on your street.
Connect them with some of the resources mentioned
here. If they have a need that isn't available, see what
you can do about it. Talk with your friends and com-
munity organizations about whether a neighborhood
caregiving and home-services group (1) is needed in
your community, and (2) what it would take to get one
started. Explore the home-sharing idea with local ser-
vice organizations and housing nonprofits.
25
-------
Conclusion:
Next Steps
How you can get involved and act
At the end of each chapter, the What You Can Do sections list ideas
to get you thinking about how your community influences your
everyday decisions. Where to live. Where to go and meet friends,
or if there is even a place to meet in your neighborhood. How to get
there. Whether it is safe to cross the street. How to fit exercise into
the day's activities. Where to find healthy food. How and where to
get help when you can no longer do everything yourself. Altogether
overwhelming, if you had to deal with all those issues at once.
Fortunately, you don't have to.
Follow up on something that matters to you. Pick an easy item
from the What You Can Do sections and get started today, while do-
ing some more homework on longer-term strategies. Use the leads in
the Resources section. Call your community's planning department
and ask about openings on boards and commissions, or look on
their website or the bulletin board in city hall. At the same time, ask
if there are any upcoming planning workshops, and get your name
on the mailing list. Use EPA's Community Self-Assessment checklist
(see page 31) to understand what kinds of policies and programs
your community has that support active aging, and identify missing
ones you could work on.
Walk or bike around the neighborhood to explore these issues.
Better yet, do it with a friend or group. You can learn a lot about
neighborhood planning and design just by walking around and com-
paring places that feel comfortable with those that do not seem meant
for walking. Many of the publications in Resources have checklists or
forms you can use to rate your neighborhood or street, identify what
you like, and uncover problems that need to be addressed. The Local
Government Commission (www.lgc.org) has published several easy-
to-use guides and videos on Smart Growth and streets.
26
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
-------
Photo courtesy of the City of Portland, Oregon, Bureau of Transportation
• Streets and Sidewalks, People
and Cars: The Citizens' Guide
to Traffic Calming includes
forms for measuring street
details and evaluating speed-
ing and traffic.
• Real Towns: Making your
neighborhood work contains a
RoadWork section at the end
of each chapter to help you
compare your neighborhood's
buildings, blocks, and streets
with others.
• Street Design Guidelines for
Healthy Neighborhoods has
simple standards for what
makes a walkable, comfort-
able street.
Learn more about planning
issues. The organizations in
the Resources section provide
guidebooks and training for
the strategies you may want
to work on. The Project for
Public Spaces (PPS), in part-
nership with AARP, devel-
oped a series of publications
on what citizens can do to
effect change in their com-
munities, especially focused
on streets and transportation
planning, all available for free
download (www.pps.org —
see Resources). PPS also offers
training programs including
Streets as Places and How to
Turn a Place Around. The PPS/
AARP series includes:
• A Citizen's Guide to Better
Streets: How to Engage Your
Transportation Agency shows
citizens how to interact ef-
fectively with transportation
agencies.
• Streets as Places: Using Streets
to Rebuild Communities shows
citizens how to enhance
streets to become lively,
walkable, community-friendly
environments.
• The Quiet Revolution in
Transportation Planning:
How Great Corridors Make
Great Communities describes
how planning transportation
within the context of a larger
corridor can benefit both mo-
bility needs and community
quality of life.
Explore Smart Growth strate-
gies. Smart Growth America
(www. smartgrowthamer ica
.org) is a terrific resource
for ideas to improve hous-
ing, transportation, economy
and environment, open space
and farmland, and health and
aging. One of their best new
publications is Choosing Our
Community's Future: A Guide
to Getting the Most Out of New
Development, which includes
descriptions of many of the
issues and strategies in this
guide, along with tips on work-
ing together to plan and imple-
ment them.
Connect the dots. Go back
and look through the What
You Can Do sections and see
how many issues are relevant to
your neighborhood or com-
munity. As you toured your
27
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neighborhood and talked with
friends, did you notice sites
that could become a gathering
place, or a farmer's market? Are
there housing options nearby
if you want to move? How
about improving and con-
necting parks with greenways,
or finding locations for a new
park? Are there any neglected
properties that could be rede-
veloped? While you are reading
some of the other guidebooks,
keep your own neighborhood
in mind. If your community
already has an organized plan-
ning process, join in — and be
the person who asks the ques-
tions about making the plan
more age-friendly.
Initiate a community plan-
ning process. If there is not an
existing group or effort to join,
make it happen. Many of the
guides mentioned above and
in Resources can equip you to
get something started. A well-
designed process meshes the
technical expertise of agency
staff, the creativity and fresh
ideas of consultants, and the
in-depth local knowledge of
residents and business people.
Coupled with training in Smart
Growth principles and work-
shop facilitation, walking tours
of the neighborhood, and broad
participation, a community
planning effort will help get
creative plans implemented.
Look out for others. Keep an
eye out for someone who needs
help, on your block or street,
at the library, or your place
of worship. If the assistance
needed is not readily avail-
able, look into whether there is
enough interest in organizing a
new program.
Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Regional Commission
Citizen activists in Honolulu were pleased
when the city introduced Smart Growth princi-
ples in 1998 and transformed the city planning
process. The Citizen Planner Institute trained
agency staff and neighborhood leaders (many
of them elders) to facilitate community plan-
ning workshops.
The projects included:
• Urban Center Development Plan — changed
codes for transit-oriented development
• Islandwide Traffic Calming Program — fo-
cused on 34 neighborhoods with schools and
parks at the center, with extensive participa-
tion by kupuna (elders)
• Vision Teams and Sustainable Island — fo-
cused on green solutions and projects
• Oahu Trans2K Mobility Plan — for a Bus
Rapid Transit system
28
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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Resources
Links to more details and strategies
How You Can Get Started
The following list of resources, organizations,
publications, and web links will help you get
started — learning new strategies, tips and tech-
niques, approaches, and examples of places that
have applied these ideas successfully around the
country. Many of them are available for free web
download.
Active Aging
Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging
www.epa.gov/aging/bhc/about.htm
AARP's Advancing Mobility Options: Producing a
State Transportation Report
http://aarpvolunteers.com/dsp/Advancing_
Mobility_0ptions.pdf
Active Living Network (no longer in operation)
www.activeliving.org
Smart Growth
Smart Growth America
www.smartgrowthamerica.org
Choosing Our Community's Future: A Guide to
Getting the Most Out of New Development
www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/
GuidebookPreview1.pdf (first chapter)
http://org2.democracyinaction.0rg/o/5184/t/1623/
signUp.jsp?key=192 (register to download)
This Is Smart Growth
www.smartgrowthonlineaudio.org/pdf/
TISG_2006_8-5x11.pdf
Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for
Implementation
www.smartgrowth.org/pdf/gettosg.pdf
Getting to Smart Growth II: 100 More Policies for
Implementation
www.smartgrowth.org/pdf/gettosg2.pdf
The Project for Public Spaces
www.pps.org
AARP
www.aarp.org
Building Community Through Transportation
www.pps.org/info/place-
makingtools/Books_Videos/
Building_Community_through_Transportation
A Citizens Guide to Better Streets: How to Engage
Your Transportation Agency
www.pps.org/pdf/bookstore/How_to_Engage_
Your_Transportation_Agency_AARP.pdf
Streets as Places: Using Streets to Rebuild
Communities
www.pps.org/pdf/bookstore/Using_Streets_to_
Rebuild_Communities.pdf
The Quiet Revolution in Transportation Planning:
How Great Corridors Make Great Communities
www.pps.org/pdf/bookstore/Great_Corridors_
Great_Communities.pdf
The Local Government Commission
Streets and Sidewalks, People and Cars: The Citizens'
Guide to Traffic Calming
www2.lgc.org/bookstore/detail.cfm?itemld=15
Street Design Guidelines for Healthy Neighborhoods
www2.lgc.org/bookstore/detail.cfm?itemld=13
Real Towns: Making Your Neighborhood Work
www2.lgc.org/bookstore/detail.cfm?categoryld=1
&typeld=0&itemld=16
29
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Links to projects or material
mentioned in text and sidebars
McClure MultiGenerational Center, Champlain
Senior Center, and Burlington Children's Space
www.cedo.ci.burlington.vt.us/legacy/
strategies/09-org-mcclure-main.html
www.cedo.ci.burlington.vt.us/legacy/
strategies/09-org-mcclure-intv.html
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the
University of Virginia
www.virginia.edu/olliuva
Santa Cruz Accessory Dwelling Unit Program
www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pl/hcd/
ADU/adu.html
The Elder Cohousing Network
www.eldercohousing.org
Silver Sage Village-Elder Cohousing, Boulder, CO
www.silversagevillage.com
Cohousing Association of the United States
www.cohousing.org/what_is_cohousing
Kirkland Washington Pedestrian Programs
www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/Community/
healthy.htm?PageMode=Print
Complete Streets
www.completestreets.org
Places29 Corridor Study and Master Plan
www.albemarle.org/department.asp?
department=planning&relpage=6916
www.tjpdc.org/transportation/
places_29.asp
Maris Grove and PhillyCarShare
www.erickson.com/EricksonNews/
publicsite/pressreleases.aspx?PRID=1324
www.phillycarshare.org
Community-Supported Agriculture
www.localharvest.org (search for farms and markets
near you)
Mather LifeWays Cafes
www.matherlifeways.com/
iyc_inyourcommunity.asp
Beacon Hill Village
www.beaconhillvillage.org/index.html
Elderberry Institute's Living at Home/Block
Nurse Program
www.elderberry.org
HomeShare Vermont
http://homesharevermont.org
30
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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Community
Self-Assessment
Building Healthy Communities
for Active Aging
Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging
was developed to encourage communities to
incorporate the concepts of Smart Growth and
Active Aging in community planning and devel-
opment. Website link: www.epa.gov/aging/bhc/
about.htm
The 20 questions in this Community Self-
Assessment will help you understand what is re-
quired to achieve Smart Growth and Active Aging
in your community. Your responses to the ques-
tions will provide you with a clear vision of what
your community has achieved so far and what
remains to be accomplished.
1. Our community has defined goals or a mis-
sion for advancing or applying Smart Growth
principles.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
2. Our community's governing body has conduct-
ed or commissioned a community assessment
for applying Smart Growth principles.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
3. Our community has defined goals or a mission
for increasing older adult participation in active
aging/physical activity.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
4. Our community's governing body has conduct-
ed or commissioned a community assessment of
older adult participation in active aging/physical
programs or opportunities.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
5. Our community has developed a plan that in-
cludes feasibility, costs, and impacts of adopting
a Smart Growth approach to plan for the future.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
6. Our community has studied the feasibility,
costs, impacts, time frame, and leadership for
creating/promoting active aging/physical activ-
ity for aging adults.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
7. Our community is actively engaged in formulat-
ing plans and strategies for specifically linking
Smart Growth initiatives with programs, ame-
nities, or opportunities that include active aging/
physical activity for older adults.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
8. Our community has established interagency com-
mittees, task forces, or other community part-
nerships with local aging organizations, service
providers, and agencies as a means of coordinat-
ing activities and programs with Smart Growth
and active aging/physical activity components.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
9. Our community has legislative, zoning, compre-
hensive plan initiatives and other policies in place
or in consideration that include provision for
both Smart Growth and active aging/physical ac-
tivity programs or opportunities for older adults.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
31
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10. Our community has created pilot programs, or
has existing programs for active aging/physical
activity for older adults, which take advantage
of the resources and environments created by
local Smart Growth activities such as safe walk-
ing areas, biking amenities, age-sensitive exer-
cise trails, safe parks, etc.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
11. Our community's comprehensive planning in-
tegrates Smart Growth principles and promotes
application of these to encompass active aging/
physical activity programs and opportunities
for older adults.
Not at all
Partially
Completed
Fully
Completed
12. Our community is increasing its capacity
through actions such as budget allocation, staff
resources, infrastructure improvement, etc.,
for systematically expanding on Smart Growth
activities.
Not at all
Partially
Completed
Fully
Completed
13. Our community is reaching out to local/
county/state officials and departments, land
developers, and community organizations to
expand Smart Growth activities.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
14. Our community gathers evidence about and
evaluates the effectiveness and level of participa-
tion in our active aging/physical activity pro-
grams and opportunities for older adults.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
15. Our community has an initiative that includes
promotion, advertising, recruitment, and widely
available programs and opportunities to engage
more older adults in active aging/physical
activity.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
16. Our community has the capacity to implement
a model program combining Smart Growth
principles with programs emphasizing active
aging/physical activity for older adults.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
17. Our community has a well-established Smart
Growth initiative and active aging/physical
activity programs and opportunities.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
18. Our community is planning to expand these to
a wider segment of our population as well as the
partnerships that will support these programs.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
19. Our community has an established coalition
of service providers, advocacy organizations,
businesses, and governmental agencies that
are cooperating to create more innovative and
widely available programs that integrate Smart
Growth principles and active aging/physical
activity programs and opportunities.
D Not at all D Partially D Fully
Completed Completed
20. Our community has an existing model program
integrating active aging/physical activity and
Smart Growth for older adults, and we can pro-
vide technical assistance and a contact person to
share information with other communities.
Not at all
Partially
Completed
Fully
Completed
32
GROWING SMARTER, LIVING HEALTHIER
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Smart Growth principles include:
1. Mix land use;
2. Take advantage of compact building design;
3. Create a range of housing opportunities
and choices;
4. Create walkable neighborhoods;
5. Foster distinctive, attractive neighborhoods
with a sense of place;
6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural
beauty, and critical resources;
7. Strengthen and direct development towards
existing communities;
8. Provide a variety of transportation choices;
9. Make development decisions predictable,
fair, and cost effective; and
10. Encourage community collaboration in
development decisions.
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Photo courtesy of the City of Portland, Oregon, Bureau of Transportation
&EPA
nitiative
Protecting the Health
of Older Americans
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Children's Health Protection and
Environmental Education (1107)
The Child and Aging Health Protection Division
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Room 2512 Ariel Rios North
Washington, DC 20460
www.epa.gov/aging
EPA 100-K-09012
August 2009
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