Rethink suburban AIP

This article raises a topic that has been under consideration for some time--that the suburban environments our country has developed over the past 60 years are often poorly suited to aging-in-place largely do to their lack of services and resources within walking distance, something that forces continued reliance on the automobile and the potential for isolation.

I did some research awhile back for the engineering firm EDAW where we looked at urban areas as an environment for aging and the inherent advantages were clear--not only for walkability but for the vibrancy of the arts and entertainment scenes and access to continuing education. And it need not be a big city--modest college towns can be great locations for the same reason.  But some of these lessons could be applied to age-restricted communities--why do so few of them have a central village design that can house shops and services? 

I live in a close-in neighborhood but even then walking can be difficult because of lack of sidewalks and people driving way too fast on residential streets--the same concerns that keep families from letting their kids walk a few blocks to school. The more reasons we have to walk, and the safer it is, the healthier we all would be.  Hopefully a greater emphasis on creating those sorts of neighborhoods will go hand-in-hand with the aging population--another positive force our getting older might have on the country.

http://www.placemakers.com/2012/10/08/ready-for-the-geezer-glut-think-beyond-aging-in-place/