The Baby Boomer generation, the oldest of whom will turn 75 next year, looks to continue a healthy and active lifestyle, including continued work, education, and civic and charitable involvement. The growing number of older adults and their increasingly active lifestyle is significant for the senior housing market.<\/p>\n
Sustainable and innovative physical design and access to work, community, green space, and healthcare are critical to healthy and active aging. The traditional retirement community will also need to be modified for changing consumer preferences, including providing long-term care in a more homelike setting.<\/p>\n
From staying in one\u2019s home (aging in place) to a retirement community, the question of where to live depends on a person\u2019s lifestyle, budget, health, family, and many practical considerations.<\/p>\n
The decision is often fraught with emotion and based on factors that the person may not be ready to consider, such as long-term care needs. The Georgetown AgingWell Hub<\/a> has developed a \u2018Reimagining Living Environments of the Future journey map\u2019<\/a> chronicling some of the practical and emotional criteria going into a decision of where to live from a widow\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n Pre-pandemic, there was a shifting tide in consumer preference to age in place, at home. The increased risk of disease contagion and social isolation associated with the more traditional age-segregated communities has further increased interest in aging in place and new and innovative designs for senior housing.<\/p>\n Several surveys report that over three-quarters of adults would like to \u201cage in place.\u201d However, many will find that aging in place is neither practical nor desirable. They may look to trade in their homes for such places as maintenance-free living in multigenerational apartment complexes, universal design complexes, active adult communities, and other new models for senior living.<\/p>\n As with the Baby Boomer generation, there is no \u201cone size fits all.\u201d The choice of where to live is affected by \u201csocial determinants of health<\/a>,\u201di.e., conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes.<\/p>\n Housing and the community in which it is located should be evaluated with the same essential criteria in mind. Factors to consider are affordability, accessibility (both to and inside the living unit), safety, prospect for community or social engagement, access to health care, physical activity, employment, and transportation.<\/p>\n These and other criteria for healthy and active aging are fully described in the Milken Institute Report on Best Cities for Successful Aging<\/a> and the AARP Living Communities Guide.<\/p>\n Following are examples of various senior living options:<\/p>\n The increasing use of telehealth makes it possible for more older adults to age in place. Photo: Deposit Photos<\/p><\/div>\n The choice is usually the first to be considered as it is the least disruptive, generally the most cost-efficient, and can often be financed through a reverse mortgage.<\/p>\n However, to age at home effectively, a range of modifications to the home<\/a> must be made to accommodate reduced mobility over time, include widening doorways, setting up a downstairs bedroom, retrofits to bathrooms and kitchen, and decluttering to prevent falls.<\/p>\n Innovation in home monitoring devices, telehealth, and the explosion of home delivery services have increased the feasibility of the aging in place option. Access to the community, transportation, and walkability should also be considered.<\/p>\n Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities are neighborhoods, communities, or apartment complexes that have a large proportion of seniors but were not specifically planned or designed to meet the needs of seniors living independently in their homes.<\/p>\n As such, residences in a NORC may require modification to improve mobility. However, given the large population of seniors, NORCs offer easy access to a network of supports that enable residents to age in place and are likely to attract businesses specializing in services to seniors, such as senior daycare and healthcare clinics.<\/p>\n Universal housing design accommodates residents at every life stage and ability. Universal design residences<\/a> were initially built to accommodate the disabled but are popular with all age groups.<\/p>\n Universal design is both beautiful and functional, and the price varies based on design, location, and size. As with aging in place, the community in which the universal design residence is located, and access to transportation, green space, etc., is critical. Universal design residences can exist in a traditional multigenerational or adult community depending on the preference of the senior.<\/p>\n ADUs can be a small structure on the property. Photo: Deposit Photos<\/p><\/div>\n ADUs<\/a> sometimes referred to as granny or in-law apartments, are dwelling units attached to or on the property of another house, typically that of other family members or caregivers.<\/p>\n ADUs can be an apartment over a garage, a new wing to a house with a separate entrance, or a small structure on the property that someone with limited mobility can access.<\/p>\n ADUs can be limited by applicable zoning ordinances. ADUs are often a cost-efficient way of providing aging relatives a place to live with some independence but close enough that family members can watch over them.<\/p>\n Adult or age 55+ communities have sprung up throughout the country to accommodate active seniors seeking community with others in the same life stage. Units (apartments, townhouses, or stand-alone dwellings) are often designed to accommodate residents as they age and become less mobile. Adult communities typically encompass green space, a fitness center, clubhouse, social activities, and other amenities.<\/p>\n CCRCs, sometimes simply referred to as \u2018retirement communities,\u2019 offer seniors a combination of housing options, accommodations, and health care services depending on the level of care needed.<\/p>\n As their needs increase, seniors within a single CCRC<\/a> setting can move from an independent apartment or dwelling to assisted living or a nursing home setting.<\/p>\n CCRCs offer an array of amenities for all phases of senior life, including dedicated dining, meal delivery, fitness facilities, various social activities, dedicated transportation to conveniences (grocery shopping, doctors\u2019 appointments, etc.). They often include on-site occupational therapists and professional caregivers.<\/p>\n CCRCs grew in popularity as families became more mobile in the 20th century. Adult children were no longer physically close to aging parents and, therefore, able to help with their needs personally. CCRCs, operated by for-profit and non-profit organizations, typically require the senior to enter into a formal contract or agreement that defines the costs and level of services available.<\/p>\n The various senior housing options continue to evolve to accommodate changing lifestyles, preferences, and budgets, and innovation in senior housing often combines elements of the various models.<\/p>\n In addition, new businesses and organizations are springing up to provide the convenience and amenities of CCRCs to those aging in place. CAPABLE<\/a> is a client-centered home-based intervention model to increase mobility, functionality, and capacity to \u201cage in community\u201d for low-income older adults.<\/p>\n The Village to Village Network<\/a> is a model adopted by many communities to provide resources and services, such as transportation, meals, and social activities, to older residents to help them remain connected to the community and safely age in place with reduced isolation and increased independence.<\/p>\n Villages or other communities may also incorporate the concept of asset-based community<\/a> development to identify and mobilize the capabilities of the older residents for the benefit of the community and provide the older residents with a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n Under an asset-based community model, seniors aging in place may be asked or invited to give back to the community as they are able. For example, in return for transportation or meal delivery through a Village program, a senior may volunteer to make Halloween costumes, bake cakes or provide piano lessons for other community residents.<\/p>\n As the aging population continues to increase and engage in healthy and active lifestyles, innovation in senior housing will continue, seniors will have the option to remain connected to a multigenerational community, and ageist preconceptions of seniors as a segregated, dependent population will diminish.<\/p>\n Options for where to live in later years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[149,150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2022","category-winter-2022-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12011"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12340,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12011\/revisions\/12340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Factors Affecting Preference of Aging in Place<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_telehealth-600w.jpg\")
<\/a>1. Age in place in one\u2019s home<\/h3>\n
2. Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (\u201cNORCs\u201d)<\/h3>\n
3. Universal design<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_small-house-600.jpg\")
<\/a>4. Assisted Dwelling Units (\u201cADUs\u201d)<\/h3>\n
5. Adult communities<\/h3>\n
6. Independent living or continuing care communities (\u201cCCRCs\u201d)<\/h3>\n
Jeanne de Cervens, is project director of the AgingWell Hub<\/a>, part of the Business for Impact in the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"