Fostering healthy aging at the community level

The elderly population is projected to double to over seventy million people by 2025. In addition, people are living longer than in the past, forcing local jurisdictions to have plans in place to accommodate service, housing and transportation needs so that seniors can maintain healthy and independent lifestyles. Local health departments have long sponsored wellness clinics and chronic disease management and prevention clinics for seniors while local area agencies on aging have sponsored social opportunities, meals programs and transportation services.

There are both needs and opportunities for more expansive thinking about optimizing physical, emotional and social health of a growing population. In order to ensure a better quality of life and the sustainability of our communities, it is important for planners, local public health officials, elected officials and community advocates to work in partnership to invest in and encourage improvements in the “built environment” to make their locales better places for residents to live as they age. This session will highlight success stories by communities that have gained broad support to ensure the needs of aging residents through the creation of healthier living (smart growth) environments.

Specific tools, resources and opportunities such as “Health Impact Assessments,” and “Active Community Environments” (ACEs) will be discussed for their potential use for enhancing physical activity, keeping aging residents engaged in community life, and responding to changing support needs. In addition, presentations will emphasize how strategies differ greatly across regions and communities with different costs of living and ethnic composition.