Aspiration

An age-friendly city is a human centered city. When we plan for a range of mobility levels, as opposed to starting from peak mobility, then we’re directly improving the quality of life for all residents. Ensuring that the urban landscape is accessible and inclusive to people with disabilities and older adult has an invisible ripple effect – such intentional planning also benefits tourists (slower crosswalks), parents of little children (public seating, slower crosswalks), delivery drivers and strollers (curb cuts), and small businesses (sidewalk safety and prioritizing pedestrians).

Why age-friendly planning?

Age-friendly planning is a concept that has really taken off nationally and globally in the last 10 years and while I whole heartedly support and advocate for the concept, the phrase itself, catchy and pithy, is problematic. In my work we refer to it as age- and disability-friendly planning, but that also doesn’t really capture the nuance of a concept that benefits everyone, not just seniors and people with disabilities. When I talk about this work, particularly with other planners or built environment professionals, I refer to it as accessible and inclusive planning – not nearly as catchy or sexy though, and the term “accessible” is complicated. (Accessible as in meeting ADA minimum criteria or accessible as thoughtful intentional design, such as visibility or universal design)? Until we find a better term (catchy statements are not my strong point).

However, in a nutshell, I think the value of an age-friendly planning lens is that:

• It uses a holistic approach to planning: senior housing locations should inform public transportation decisions. People don’t treat amenities, services, and resources as individual silos, and neither should planners.
• It develops recommendations based on a citywide gaps and equity analysis: when we develop a baseline assessment, we’re looking across many domains and thinking about gaps from an equity perspective. For example, affordable housing is a huge gap but there are also dozens of nonprofits, City departments, and advocates working on this. On the other hand, disaster preparedness and resiliency with a disability focus is shockingly missing. From this perspective, we partner with existing housing efforts, where appropriate, and leverage our efforts towards lifting up an invisible need.
• Collaboration and centering users are at the core of this approach: This work requires partnerships among agencies and organizations that don’t traditionally work together and there’s tremendous value in the work that comes out of that. And similar to the disability justice saying, “nothing about us without us”, age-friendly planning brings the users into the process from the very beginning.

Attempting to bridge two very distinct silos, aging and planning, I’m struck by two main things:

1. Generally, urban planners have the hardest time recognizing the value of an age-friendly lens on planning and the built environment, as well as others who design, plan, build, and/or are key decision makers regarding the built environment. I often hear things such as, “we have to plan for the entire population, I can’t focus on a small group” or that they are implementing ADA and “isn’t that enough?”.
2. Aging professionals, on the other hand, get the concept immediately – while their focus might be on the psycho-social wellness of their clients, they have had direct experience with clients not being able to successfully navigate the built environment. Either a lack of secure or affordable housing, lack of access to reliable and affordable transportation, or just the physical discomfort of needing to sit or feeling unsafe crossing the street.

The World is Aging: Planning for Limited Mobility

The demographics of aging signify a radical shift in what it means to age in America – some represents an opportunity, others represent challenges. For example

• Folks are living longer than ever before (particularly people with disabilities)
• Socioeconomic and racial disparities among both seniors and people with disabilities continue and greatly impact their health outcomes
• The United States does not have a coordinated long-term care system and caring for a family member can have disastrous economic impacts on a family (particularly women)
• We’re seeing an increase in “encore careers”
• And right around the corner, the largest aging population this country has ever seen.

Not unique to the United States, much of the globe is getting older as well. While the United States aging population hovers right around 16%, we’re anticipated to grow to 23% by 2060. Countries such as Japan, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Finland, and France are already grappling with an aging population of 20-27% and the impacts that will have. These changes will present both opportunities and challenges for cities, planners, and communities – this isn’t a “silver tsunami”, an alarmist and ageist framing that creates a sense of helplessness and dread. This is an anticipated demographic shift, sure, but this is also about our neighbors, our colleagues, family members, and hopefully, ourselves. I want to be part of the change and to live in a community where I can be as involved or engaged as I desire.

Bringing an age-friendly lens to urban planning means ensuring that communities and cities are accessible and inclusive to people of all ages and all abilities, allowing people to age and remain in their communities for as long as possible. In addition to housing, the age-friendly city considers the location of bus stops, clear wayfinding, opportunities to provide feedback, the condition of sidewalks, crosswalk timing, and access to safe and enriching public spaces as all important components. When independent living is no longer possible, the age-friendly city ensures that people are able to remain within the community of their choosing and that their long-term housing options are affordable, safe, and preserves their dignity and independence.

About Me

Several common threads tie my professional interests including, housing, participatory planning & community development, research & analysis, design, and project management. With a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA, I’m passionate about ensuring: inclusive  communities, vibrant public spaces, equitable and meaningful community participation, and a diverse range of affordable housing. I’m also a mama, an aspiring backyard farmer, a mediocre banjo player, and a huge fan of public radio.

I love working on all kinds of projects related to accessible and inclusive communities, please contact me if you’re working on something that would align!

Please visit our Contact page, where you’ll find my email and social media page.