affordable housing

AARP is developing innovative policies and programs as well as working with several partners, including from the private sector, to meet today’s housing challenges

Hosted in Dallas, the 2017 AARP Livable Communities National Conference was an opportunity for elected officials, planning professionals, local leaders and community advocates from throughout the nation to share ideas, best practices and solutions for making towns, cities and communities more livable for people of all ages.

Well-designed, transit-rich neighborhoods provide many benefits to residents of all ages, as I document in, “ Independence Found in Downsizing to a Transit Rich Neighborhood.” These neighborhoods also provide dividends to the larger community, generating higher property values, rents, and revenue than real estate located further away from high quality public transportation services. Cities as diverse as Seattle, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Denver, Detroit, and Washington, DC have all strengthened their regional economies through investment in transit-oriented development (TOD).  And because their residents walk and bike more, TOD residents reap some health benefits as well.

 

In a statement today following the release of the White House proposed budget, AARP Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond opposed cuts that would harm American families:

In less than two decades, over 70 million Americans will be age 65 and older and they will represent approximately 20 percent of the population. Will we have affordable and accessible housing options that meet their needs?

“ Retirement is no longer looked at as the last chapter of one’s life, but rather a new and exciting beginning for the next phase of life,” said Julian Castro, U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, at a White House Conference on Aging regional forum in Cleveland on April 27.

Until recently, if you were older, gay, and low-income, finding housing would have proven elusive. That is beginning to change. This month, a six-story affordable housing apartment building for gay, lesbian and transgendered adults over age 62 has opened in downtown Philadelphia. It offers heath services and events under its roof to residents who live in the 56 one-bedroom units.

Would you put your mother in the backyard? A recent New York Times article highlights the "granny pod" model, a teensy, prefab structure with a kitchenette, bathroom and bedroom that go on an adult child's property. The parent lives with you-sort of.

Each year our esteemed magazine ranks its 10 best places for what have you: to retire abroad, to live the simple life, to live a healthy life and so on.