Why...
By 2040, the proportion of people over the age of 65 will top 20 percent.
At the same time, people under the age of 18 will make up almost 23 percent of the population. Knowing that the oldest and the youngest citizens will make up almost half of U.S. residents, we need to recognize the importance of social and economic interdependence of all generations with Communities that Connect in order to stretch limited dollars meant for healthcare and housing.
Older citizens and families with young children share many common interests and concerns – physically, socially and culturally. Maintaining mixed-generation communities maximizes older adults’ capacity for self-help and community contribution. Some of the valuable links to be made between the needs and skills of different age groups include young mothers often need child care while older adults need transportation to the doctor or store. Teenagers need after school employment while older adults need help with chores around the house.
As we age, living and aging in place presents some challenges:
- Changing healthcare needs
- Loss of mobility
- Financial concerns
- Home maintenance and increasing property taxes
- Design obstacles
However, living in community creates both healthcare and housing options that provide support at the margin of need, as defined by an individual’s personal desire and ability to live independently.
Living in Community allows individuals to strategize and customize their housing and health care programs by drawing primarily on friends, family and neighbors, and then supplementing these community supports with more in depth public services and private services only as needed in order to be able to stay in their homes and communities for as long as possible.
Notwithstanding a reliance on generational interdependence, we also recognize age groups or needs based groups that prefer to embody a concept of what is right for the times for those particular groups that would want low-maintenance, high-quality, life-enriching experiences in small-scale, socially vibrant communities.