**Recognition of Excellence in Aging Research**

**Submission Form**

** I.  Department/Agency Information** 

1)  Lead government department/agency conducting, sponsoring or
    administering the research:

>  National Council on Disability
>
> 2)      Mission of department/agency:

  The mission of the National Council on Disability is to promote the
full inclusion, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency of
people with disabilities of all ages and backgrounds by providing
advice, analysis, and recommendations on disability policy to the
President, Congress, and other federal agencies.

> 3)      Name, title, mailing address, email address and phone number
> of principal investigator(s)/lead researcher(s) for research project:

Project Title:  Livable Communities for Adults with Disabilities

Publication date: December 2, 2004
([HTML](http://mail.ncd.gov/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2004/LivableCommunities.htm))
([PDF](http://mail.ncd.gov/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2004/pdf/livablecommunities.pdf))

Penny Feldman, Mia Oberlink, Michal Gursen & Colleagues

Visiting Nurse Service of New York

Center for Home Care Policy and Research

107 East 70th Street\
New York, NY 10021

Telephone: 212-609-1531

<http://www.vnsny.org/research>

> 4)      Name, title, mailing address, email address and phone number
> of a contact person at the lead government department/agency (if
> different than above):

Martin Gould, Ed. D.

Director of Research

National Council on Disability

1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850

Washington, DC  20004 -1138

Telephone (Voice): (202) 272-2004; (TTY): (202) 272-2074

  5)      Partner agencies or organizations that participated in the
research project:

   The Center for Home Care Policy and Research, Visiting Nurse Service
of New York

> 6)      Amount of funding (by source) for research project:
> \$125,000  
>
> 7)      Total agency research budget for aging research in fiscal year
> 2007:

 For FY2007, NCD budgeted \$310,000 to be used for programmatic research
projects. In accordance with the agency mission, the research efforts
were intended to impact all age groups. 

> 8) Start and end date (if applicable) of research project:

September 2002 to December 2004

> **II.  Research Submission Components**

1\) Provide a general description of the research project (in 500 words
or less) using terms reasonable for an educated lay audience. Include
future plans if applicable.

NCD began this project with the premise that full community integration
recognizes the needs of people with disabilities. Among those needs are
safe and affordable housing; access to transportation; access to the
political process; and the right to enjoy services, programs, and
activities that public and private entities offer to all members of the
community

Livable communities enable citizens who choose to reside their homes and
communities to do so, regardless of age or disability. However, across
American, many communities face difficult choices and decisions about
how to grow, plan for change, and improve the quality of life for all
citizens. Researchers for this NCD project adapted characteristics of a
model or framework originally established to help communities measure
and improve their livability by people who are aging. The resulting
"livable communities" framework identifies elements that a number of
communities around the country have incorporated in their approaches to
inclusion.

NCD's project shines the spotlight on inclusive community practices that
are working. Attention to common needs among people who are growing
older and other adults with disabilities were not surprising. The
project identifies and provides examples of the strategies used to
transfer policy into actions. Broadly, the strategies address
identifiable elements focused on environmental inclusion, safety and
affordability. The project also makes recommendations for consideration
by other entities.

 2) Supply a three-line summary of the research project using terms
reasonable for an educated lay audience.

Livable communities promote adult well-being, independence, and
inclusion of people with disabilities and seniors in daily living.
Coordinated government planning and funding can be useful to break
barriers, establish, and sustain positive changes.

> 3)      Respond to the following questions in a narrative about the
> research project (in 750 words or less) using terms reasonable for an
> educated lay audience:

  ***Excellence***:**                ** What makes this project
exceptional?

> This unique report clearly describes how communities can improve the
> quality of life for adults with disabilities, as well as for the
> growing population of seniors who may develop disabilities later in
> life. The report is organized around six key goals: 1) providing
> affordable, appropriate, accessible housing; 2) ensuring accessible,
> affordable, reliable, safe transportation; 3) adjusting the physical
> environment for inclusiveness and accessibility; 4) providing work,
> volunteer, and education opportunities; 5) ensuring access to key
> health and support services; and 6) encouraging participation in
> civic, cultural, social, and recreational activities. A number of
> model programs from around the United States are highlighted.
> Individual's stories of livability are described. And one community's
> regional approach to incorporating livability principles for long-term
> planning and growth is presented.
>
> ***Significance***:              How is this research relevant to
> older persons, populations and/or an aging society?
>
> This report is based on the research and the community model of
> livability as constructed by the American Association for Retired
> Persons (AARP). This research is organized around six key goals
> necessary for community living for people with disabilities and people
> who are elderly. The key goals involve : 1) providing affordable,
> appropriate, accessible housing; 2) ensuring accessible, affordable,
> reliable, safe transportation; 3) adjusting the physical environment
> for inclusiveness and accessibility; 4) providing work, volunteer, and
> education opportunities; 5) ensuring access to key health and support
> services; and 6) encouraging participation in civic, cultural, social,
> and recreational activities.
>
> ***Effectiveness***:              What is the impact and/or
> application of this research to older persons?
>
> Communities across the country are aging. By the year 2030, one out of
> five people in America will be over 65. Those 85 and older are the
> fastest-growing segment of the population. As they grow older, the
> overwhelming majority of Americans will remain in their homes and
> communities. In fact, contrary to popular perception of older adults
> relocating to retirement communities, people aged 65 to 85 are the
> least likely of any age group to move. The active involvement of
> vital, independent older citizens --- those \"aging in place\" --- can
> enhance the social and civic life of communities. At the same time,
> communities will need to provide services to a growing number of their
> frail and disabled elders. To prepare for this so-called \"Age Boom,\"
> many communities need help in creating an environment that will
> support older people\'s health and well-being as they age.
>
> Comprehensive regional planning approaches such as the one described
> in *Livable Communities for Adults with Disabilities* address at a
> macro level what community planners, policy makers, funders, home
> builders and remodelers, and citizens know at the local level \--
> i.e., that lifespan planning may not have been a priority for Boomers
> in their financing of retirement but it has certainly begun to catch
> on. In many respects, these planning approaches call for new and
> achievable configurations of services for older adults that imitate
> what Centers for Independent Living for people with disabilities have
> refined over decades \-- i.e., that the goal of living independently
> is possible and of the highest priority.
>
> ***Innovativeness***:           Why is this research exciting or
> newsworthy?
>
> The discussion of livable community components in this research report
> includes many examples of communities across the United States that
> have successfully implemented measures to improve the quality of life
> for people of all ages and abilities. Communities large and small are
> increasingly looking toward the livable community concept to help them
> address some of the most challenging issues that they face today, such
> as a growing population of older residents, an increasing number of
> persons with disabilities from diverse cultures, rising housing costs,
> limited transportation alternatives, lack of coordination among
> agencies, and limited and "silo" funding. The examples demonstrate
> what is possible when stakeholders work together and make livability a
> priority in their community.

4)  List three key words that best describe this research project (do
    not use words such as aging, elderly, older, senior, etc.).

> Community-based; accessibility; integration  

5)  Provide no more than one page of references of peer reviewed
    publications resulting from this research or other evidence-based
    documentation reporting on these research findings.

-   American Planning Association (2004). APA Joins Congressional
    Briefing on Disability Issues:
    <http://www.planning.org/legislation/disability.htm>

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council (February 15, 2005). Summary
    of best practices with quantitative results., Katherine
    Cargill-Willis 2/14/05) <http://ddc.ohio.gov/Pub/livable.htm>

-   The Snelling Center for Government - Background Literature and
    Understanding of Livable Communities (July 11, 2006 Draft) The
    Literature of Livable Communities and Aging: National Council on
    Disability Report (December 2, 2004) is Listed under AGING
    *(Significant National Studies)*
    [http://www.cedoburlington.org/default/Lit
    review7-11-06.doc](http://www.cedoburlington.org/default/Lit review7-11-06.doc)

-   *E-Sight Community News* (November 17, 2005).
    <http://www.tabinc.org/blog/archives/2005/11/national_council_2.html>

 

# AAPDnews FALL 2006   Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Restore ADA Protections.

# [**http://www.aapd.com/AAPDnews/downloads/AAPDFall06.doc**](http://www.aapd.com/AAPDnews/downloads/AAPDFall06.doc)

 

## Rolling Rains Report (October 04, 2007). Boomers: A Generation Discovers Universal Design, Inclusive Travel, & Livable Communities

## [**http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/2007_10.html**](http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/2007_10.html)

##  

-   AARP Public Policy Institute (April 2008). Opportunities for
    Creating Livable

> communities (Mia R. Oberlink, Center for Home Care Policy and Research
> Visiting Nurse Service of New York): <http://www.aarp.org/ppi> or
>
> <http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/2008_02_communities.pdf>