Growing Smarter,

 Living Healthier

A Guide to Smart Growth and Active Aging

Contents

Introduction 2

1. Staying Active, Connected, and Engaged 4

Where and how we choose to live can affect 

our health and well-being 

2. Development and Housing 8

Healthy neighborhoods offer diverse housing 

choices, gathering places, and ways to connect

3. Transportation and Mobility 12

We can build choice back into our transportation system 

— and make it easier for people of all ages to get around

4. Staying Healthy 19

Finding healthy food, keeping active, and getting help when 

you need it can be easier in an age-friendly community

5. Conclusion: Next Steps 26

How you can get involved and act 

Resources 29

Links to more details and strategies

Community Self-Assessment 31

1
Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

Introduction

Age-friendly 

communities use 

Smart Growth 

principles (development that improves 

the community, 

environment, economy, and public 

health) to become 

healthier places to 

grow old in — and 

better places for 

people of all ages.

2

This guidebook is intended for older adults who are interested in 

how our communities work and how we might help them become 

more ‘age-friendly.’ Many of us have longed for the kind of agefriendly neighborhood that has different types of homes for people 

at different stages of life; walking paths and public transit to make it 

easy to get around without a car; and parks, shops, services, and 

homes that are closer together. Older adults are finding that by 

designing new neighborhoods differently — as well as redeveloping 

existing neighborhoods and roadways — we can make places that 

are healthier for ourselves, our neighbors, and the environment. 

Rather than let aging limit our options, we can actually become more

independent by 

reducing our dependence on the auto, 

increasing our travel 

choices, and improving our quality of 

life right when 

we’ve started to 

have time to enjoy 

it. We can enrich 

our own remaining 

decades, as well as 

hand off a more 

sustainable community to future 

generations. That is, 

if we decide to do 

something about it.
In this guide, we address the 

basic principles of neighborhood and town design. But it 

is also intended to help you 

understand why community 

design matters, and how

becoming involved in your 

community’s decisions about 

growth can make it a better 

place in which to grow old. 

You’ll find suggestions for ideas 

to try, and links to resources 

to learn more about how to 

remake your neighborhoods to 

be easier to get around, whether you live in a city, suburb, or 

small town. We’ll also give you 

a few ideas for getting involved

and staying engaged, providing 

more housing options and 

gathering places, eating healthier, and making it easier to carry 

out your daily activities. After 

all, our age group spans decades, 

and some of us are very active, 

while others have limited 

mobility. 

The first chapter, Staying Active, 

Connected, and Engaged, outlines why our choices of where 

and how to live can have an 

impact on our health and wellbeing. The next three chapters 

— Development and Housing, 

Transportation and Mobility,

and Staying Healthy — outline 

strategies and include project 

examples that address these key 

issues. Within each chapter, the 

What You Can Do section provides some ideas for what you 

can work on with your friends 

and neighbors. The Conclusion: 

Next Steps chapter summarizes 

additional follow-up ideas. In 

the Resources chapter, you’ll 

find links to more detailed 

strategies, websites, and information about each of the ideas 

discussed in the guide. We 

included a community selfassessment checklist for you to 

identify what your community 

is already doing, and where 

you might want to focus your 

energy — so get together, and 

get moving! 

3

Active Aging concepts (activities that increase 

endurance, strength, flexibility, balance, and 

the principles of injury prevention) can also be 

built into community design and development 

to encourage walking, biking, and active use of 

parks, so that people of all ages get exercise in 

the course of daily life.
Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

1

4

Where and how we choose to live makes a difference. It matters 

even more as we get older. The neighborhood and housing we select 

can help keep us active, connected, and engaged — or make these 

critical needs difficult to achieve. 

•	 Staying active — walking, wheeling, and getting moderate regular 

exercise — helps with both our physical and mental well-being. 

The way our neighborhoods are designed and built can make 

carrying out our daily activities an easy task or a chore. Does our 

neighborhood have sidewalks and public transportation, or do we 

need to get in a car to run errands?

•	 Staying connected with friends, family, and community is critical 

to remaining healthy, vital, and active, and is easier if our neighborhood is designed to support interactions. Staying active socially 

is good for us and good for the community. Connecting with 

friends and family and sharing our time, wisdom, and experience 

helps us maintain a sense of purpose, gets us out of the house, and 

keeps us engaged, focused, and learning. 

•	 Staying engaged also benefits the community at large. Many 

nonprofits, boards, and commissions would be unable to function 

without the time and dedication of older volunteers. Places of worship depend on older members’ wisdom and labor. Businesses know 

that mature workers are among their most productive, with strong 

work ethics, flexible schedules, can-do attitudes, and decades of 

experience.

Staying Active, 

Connected, and 

Engaged

Where and how we choose to live can 

affect our health and well-being 
What we need from home and 

community changes over time. 

Traditional downtown neighborhoods (pre-1950s) and rural 

small towns have a range of 

housing types that fit the needs 

of individuals, couples, friends, 

and families throughout each 

stage of life. As we age, we may 

choose to stay near friends and 

family in the same home (aging in place) or neighborhood 

(aging in community) or choose 

to move to a smaller, easier-tomaintain home or new community. That choice directly 

influences how we get around, 

how we stay connected, and how 

we get help when we need it. We 

may also discover that we want 

to be involved in how our communities grow and redevelop. 

Age-friendly communities 

have gathering places that are 

within walking distance of 

homes, or a short bike ride, 

drive, or shuttle trip away. 

These critical neighborhood 

‘meet-ups’ can include parks, 

libraries, community centers, 

places of worship, gyms, 

Internet cafes, ice cream stores, 

or neighborhood diners. Small 

neighborhood parks, town 

squares, and plazas are great 

places to sit and read, catch up 

on e-mail, talk with friends, or 

watch kids play. Larger parks 

and greenways can offer walking trails, bike paths, and 

sports fields. 

As we age in place, whether in 

the same house or the same 

community, these gathering 

places become even more 

important. Getting to these 

meeting places provides some of 

the physical activity that keeps 

us healthy. Being there in the 

company of friends provides the 

critical social interactions that 

keep us connected and engaged. 

Being part of a community also 

triggers an informal network of 

folks who might keep an eye out 

for each other. As a recent study 

of low-income Hispanic seniors 

found, traditional neighborhoods with ‘eyes on the street’ 

(porches, stoops, windows, and 

buildings along sidewalks just 

above street level) showed 

improved physical functioning 

for older residents over a threeyear period; they also showed 

more social support and reduced psychological distress.

5

Having grocery stores, restaurants, and cafés within walking distance — along with sidewalks to walk 

on — is the best predictor of how much older adults 

will walk, according to a recent Seattle study led by 

Abby King. Fordie Ross, 93, goes on a three- to fourmile walk nearly every day around his Beacon Hill 

neighborhood, where every street has sidewalks. 

“Safe? Oh, yes. I’ve never had any safety problems,” 

he said. Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan identifies 

25 urban villages to be built in areas that had old 

warehouses and empty lots. Residents of retirement 

communities in the redeveloped Northgate neighborhood will find them safer to walk. A new, 141-unit 

senior residence will be connected by pathways to 

retail shops and the transit center.

New growth and public services are directed into 

urban villages that include apartments, condominiums, or townhouses along with commercial uses, 

small parks, and schools. 

New development must be designed to accommodate pedestrians and include wider sidewalks, outdoor seating, dining, and public plazas to encourage activity.
Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

Staying connected can become more difficult over time.

Families and friends can move 

away, or we may downsize or 

move to another community. 

Many older adults find that 

maintaining a large house 

becomes a burden, physically 

and economically, especially 

with rising energy prices. Others 

choose to move for climate, 

economic, health, or quality of 

life reasons, or to be closer to 

a family member. Those who 

want to stay in the same house 

may find that their community 

lacks the accessible gathering 

places, or the non-driving ways 

to get there, which might be 

found in a traditional neighborhood. Those who want to move 

to a smaller home might find 

their choices lacking if they live 

in a more conventional neighborhood developed in the last 

60 years. If they are fortunate 

enough to live in a more agefriendly neighborhood, it is likely there will be other options. 

Staying engaged and learning.

Staying engaged is easier for 

people who live in an agefriendly community. In addition to the interactions that are 

just ‘part of daily life,’ more 

organized opportunities are 

available. Communities are 

co-locating senior centers and 

housing near schools, libraries, 

or daycare centers, and finding that developers of senior 

housing and medical facilities 

want to locate nearby as well. 

In Burlington, VT, the McClure 

MultiGenerational Center 

houses the Champlain Senior 

Center, which provides meals, 

educational, health, social, 

and recreational programs for 

those 50 and older. Across the 

shared hallway is Burlington 

Children’s Space, which runs 

early child care and preschool 

programs. This intergenerational shared space helps connect older adults with children 

both informally and in more 

structured tutoring, classes, 

and storytelling. 

Colleges like TompkinsCortland Community College, 

in rural Dryden, NY, have 

established satellite campuses 

to make courses more accessible. Their downtown Ithaca 

campus is in an old department 

store on the Ithaca Commons, 

an active pedestrian mall in a 

historic downtown. A nearby 

elementary school on the town 

square was redeveloped into 

residential condos, with lower 

floors occupied by tenants like 

Moosewood (a well-known restaurant) and the Ithaca Guitar 

Works, offering lessons on all 

kinds of instruments. 

Universities, senior centers, 

and school districts are 

establishing learning initiatives that older adults can 

access in their neighborhoods and churches, like 

6

Long-time residents of Manoa, a traditional 

Honolulu neighborhood near the University of 

Hawaii (UH), were excited when a new senior 

housing project was added to a community park. 

They could continue getting the benefits of living 

in a great neighborhood while enjoying the advantages of new housing that meets their changing 

needs. It is on a bus line, a short ride to the UH 

campus and downtown — just $30 for an annual 

senior pass — and a short walk to their neighborhood shopping center, plate lunch stand, churches, 

coffeehouse, and sports fields. Because it is next 

to the elementary school, residents can stay 

involved with intergenerational activities and help 

maintain the adjacent community garden with 

their friends and neighbors.
the Osher Lifelong Learning 

Institute at the University of 

Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. 

Participation in learning activities in our neighborhoods 

provides double the benefits. 

Researchers have long known 

that physical activity keeps both 

our bodies and brains in shape, 

and that mental exercise helps 

keep our brains younger. 

Participating in community 

activities doesn’t just benefit 

us. It can be a rewarding opportunity to give back, to share 

our hard-won wisdom, to pass 

on our skills and experience. 

Older adults are a tremendous 

resource, and we often have 

the time — and patience — to 

spare. When the elementary 

school is next to our homes, 

when the places where we pass 

time are next to the playing 

fields, when the lifelong learning center is across the street 

from the library or co-located 

across the hall from a day-care 

center, it is much easier, more 

convenient, and more likely 

that we will spend some time 

mentoring, coaching, cheering, 

teaching, or just plain interacting with the community. Foster 

grandparent programs, pairing 

seniors with elementary and 

preschool students, have long 

been effective at making these 

intergenerational connections 

— but there is no organized 

substitute for just being around 

and available informally 

for the young people in our 

communities. 

7

What You 

Can Do:

Use this guide 

to make 

connections

Follow up on something that matters to you. As you 

read the following sections, think about whether the 

issues raised would apply to your own neighborhood, 

your housing situation, the streets or parks you use, 

and the growth and development issues your community faces. Look at both short-term and long-range 

plans for how and where you will live, the choices you 

prefer, and whether they are available — or whether it’s 

time to roll up your sleeves and initiate or join a group 

working to make your community more age-friendly. 

Look around you and talk with others about what 

you have discovered. This guide is intended to spark 

your interest; the Next Steps and Resources chapters 

will lead you to more detailed information, programs, 

organizations, and guidebooks for the strategies you 

want to work on. You’re not alone. Efforts like AARP’s 

Mobility Agenda, The Project for Public Space’s 

Citizen’s Guide to Better Streets and Placemaking 

Guidebook, and others are listed for you to reference. 
Development and 

Housing

Healthy neighborhoods offer diverse housing 2choices, gathering places, and ways to connect

8

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

Healthy neighborhoods offer plenty of housing choices, for us, 

our friends, and our relatives, so we don’t have to leave behind the 

people and places we know and love. With a diverse housing mix 

(single-family homes of all sizes, duplexes, small and large apartments, studios above garages or shops, condominiums, and lofts), 

most traditional neighborhoods allow people to stay near friends, 

families, work, and worship as they move through life. While we 

like to maintain our independence, staying connected can greatly 

improve our lives as we age. Maintaining access to services, shopping, activities, work, and volunteer efforts will help keep us active, 

healthy, and engaged. Whether staying in the neighborhood or 

moving to another that has more housing options and a vital center, having access to a broad range of housing choices is one key to 

remaining independent. 

Most residential neighborhoods built in the last 60 years do not 

provide this mix of nearby destinations and different kinds of housing. Developers built big groups of similar houses of the same size and 

price, separated from another group of larger or smaller houses by 

unusable open space. Housing was segregated by income and family 

size, mostly separated from commercial destinations. Some developments included a large block of apartments, or a retirement community, or maybe a school or library. One positive result was that, in 

many new subdivisions, parents were similar in age, in career status, 

and in the ages of their children. This encouraged lots of group 

activities. However, as individual and family status changes, many 

people eventually move out of these more homogenous neighborhoods to find new housing that fits their new circumstances: an 

apartment for a newly single parent, a house with attached studio for 

an aging grandparent, or a smaller house or condo for the empty 

nester. Although these housing options are not usually available in 

conventional residential developments, Smart Growth activists are Photo courtesy of EPA Smart Growth
finding that such neighborhoods 

can be redeveloped over time to 

increase choice in housing, 

mobility, and activities.

Smart Growth 

development

Developers of new Smart 

Growth neighborhoods have 

learned that providing a wider 

range of housing choices within 

one community helps make it 

more attractive and interesting, 

provides community character, and holds value over time. 

Rather than build a few hundred of one house type here, 

and a different type over there, 

each with its own private ‘amenity package,’ Smart Growth 

neighborhoods mimic older, 

traditional places. They add 

amenities like parks, trails, and 

community centers that create 

places for generations to gather. 

Housing options vary according to where they are located 

in the community. Typically, 

more compact housing types 

like apartments, lofts, condos, 

and townhouses are built closer 

to the town center or on major 

streets to make it easy to walk 

to activities. Single-family 

homes and cottages are on quieter streets a few blocks away, 

but still within walking and 

wheeling distance. 

Smart Growth principles 

can also be used to redevelop 

underused properties along 

roadways at the edge of existing neighborhoods, replacing 

aging shopping centers and 

cleaning up neglected properties. Redeveloped properties 

are a convenient destination for 

shopping, activities, and catching an express bus to downtown. When the time comes to 

choose a smaller or more accessible home or apartment, the 

town centers provide a number 

of options — without having to 

leave the neighborhood. Since 

developers often prefer to develop in outlying ‘greenfield’ areas 

rather than to redevelop existing places, helping to facilitate 

such redevelopment is a perfect 

volunteer activity for residents 

of surrounding neighborhoods, 

and an opportunity to make 

sure developers get it right. 

Eyes on the street can make us 

safer. Traditional development 

concepts can actually make 

our neighborhoods safer and 

improve mobility. Architects 

use the term ‘eyes on the street’ 

to refer to buildings that have 

windows, doors, and porches 

overlooking streets and neighborhood parks. Communities 

like Norfolk, VA, have discovered significant decreases in 

crime in neighborhoods and 

public housing that redevelop 

using these principles. Many 

are starting to change development codes to require eyes on 

the street instead of blank walls 

in new buildings. Development 

with buildings that have eyes 

on the streets are not only safer 

for everyone to use, they also 

encourage a community to stay 

connected. There is no better 

crime deterrent than you sitting 

on your porch, or watching 

over your block or neighborhood park from the front 

window. 

9

Photo courtesy of Carlton Eley
Housing options

Accessory Dwelling Units 

(ADUs), which we used to call 

‘granny flats’ or garage apartments, are a traditional housing 

option currently returning to 

favor. These are typically a 

converted or expanded garage, 

a basement apartment, or a 

newly built cottage. Accessory 

dwelling units actually provide 

homeowners housing flexibility 

on site, along with added income. Homeowners can rent 

them out while remaining in the 

larger house, or move into the 

smaller, easy-to-maintain, fully 

accessible unit when downsizing. 

Whether the main house is 

occupied by other family members or rented for extra income, 

the homeowner is able to stay in 

the neighborhood and stay 

connected. Despite their many 

benefits, ADUs are usually 

prohibited by local zoning 

ordinances. Some communities 

are changing zoning codes to 

allow ADUs on any lot, as well as 

providing preapproved designs 

and other program support. 

Others, like rural Fluvanna and 

Louisa Counties in Virginia, are 

offering programs to help 

provide modular units or kits 

that can be quickly erected when 

the homeowner needs a fully 

accessible unit.

Cohousing is collaborative 

housing; typically small-scale 

neighborhoods made up of individual houses and shared common facilities, like open space, 

courtyards, gardens, play areas, 

and a common house. The common house serves as the community gathering space, with a 

large kitchen and dining room, 

a playroom, sometimes a library 

or lounge, and a shared laundry 

room and workshop. While 

individual homes have kitchens, 

residents typically eat together 

a few times a week, sharing 

cooking and cleanup. Individual 

units can be smaller, since the 

common house is available for 

parties, and often has a guest 

bedroom for visitors. 

10

Each year, 40 to 50 homeowners in Santa Cruz, CA, take advantage of the city’s 

award-winning Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Program to increase housing 

choice by making accessory units easier to build. The Program helps homeowners convert garages or build new structures they can either rent out or move into 

themselves — giving them extra income while creating more affordable housing. 

To make it easy for homeowners to implement, the city provides 7 preapproved, 

architect-designed plans for 500-square-foot units, as well as an ADU How-To 

Manual to guide homeowners through approvals, construction, making the unit 

neighbor-friendly, and being a good landlord. They also revised zoning to no 

longer require covered parking and to allow garage conversions.

Silver Sage Village in Boulder, CO, is a 50+ 

cohousing community with 16 accessible homes 

around a common courtyard and an accessible 

two-story, common house with a guest bedroom 

for friends and family and a large great room for 

community meals and celebrations. Ten homes 

are market rate; six are permanently affordable. 

The project won Best of Senior Living from the 

National Association of Home Builders.

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier
Residents are committed to 

living as a community, participating in its design and 

operations, and ensuring 

the neighborhood encourages social interaction while 

protecting individual private 

space. Generally 20 to 40 units 

of single-family or attached 

homes centered on a walkway 

or courtyard, cohousing projects have also been developed 

in downtown neighborhoods 

and commercial buildings. 

Although most cohousing 

is intergenerational, several 

newer projects are restricted to 

active seniors. Elder cohousing 

typically consists of attached, 

accessible units, often focused 

on wellness and staying active. 

11

What You 

Can Do:

Get involved 

in planning

Get involved in planning projects, programs, and 

policies — one of the best ways to help our communities become more age-friendly. Older adults who have 

fewer family duties and a more flexible work schedule 

often have time to join committees, boards, and working groups. Local planning and zoning boards, regional 

transportation committees, bicycle and pedestrian 

advisory groups, affordable housing task forces, etc., 

are all fueled by volunteer members. You can look for 

ads in the paper or on the web or call your local planning department — the positions are rarely highly competitive. Since many strategies outlined in this guidebook are still not permitted by each locality’s codes 

and zoning regulations, it will take time and patience 

to identify and correct the contradictions. 

Participate in or initiate a community planning process — an exciting way to make a difference. You 

can help create a broad regional vision, a neighborhood plan, or just work on a single intersection. Often 

conducted in day-long workshops, or in a week-long 

intensive series of design meetings called a charrette, 

these efforts require active, committed community 

participants to be effective. A well-designed process 

meshes the technical expertise of agency staff, the 

creativity and fresh ideas of outside consultants, and 

the in-depth local knowledge of residents and business 

people. (See Resources.)
12

We all cherish our freedom to move around: from those early halting steps to our first time behind the wheel, from running errands to 

a drive in the country. The freedom to move around feels like a fundamental American right — to connect with our families, friends, 

and neighbors; to conduct business; to access work, shopping, and 

volunteer activities; to go to worship; and to vote. Both government 

and business have made significant investments to support that freedom since the country’s birth — from our ports and fleets, to river 

barges and railroads, to the Interstate Highway System. For the last 

60 years or so, that freedom has mostly depended on the automobile 

— and boy, have we loved the ride. Our favorite songs, restaurants, 

vacations, movies, and memories are still with us in the front seat as 

we start looking back along life’s highway.

Most of us drive, and expect to 

continue driving as long as we 

are able. Overall, we’re pretty 

safe drivers too: observant, experienced, and cautious. Some 

of us have more flexible work 

or volunteer schedules. We 

can avoid the crowds at rush 

hour; stay off the bigger, faster 

roads if we are lucky enough to 

have an alternative; stay home 

during inclement weather; 

and, at some point, reduce or 

eliminate night-time driving. 

As much as we love our cars 

Transportation and 

Mobility

We can build choice back into our transportation system 3 — and make it easier for people of all ages to get around

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

Photo courtesy of Liisa Ecola
and our memories, maybe it’s 

time for us to look ahead to 

how we will move around in 

the future. Conventional developments of the last 60 years 

were a great place for many of 

us to grow up, go to school, 

and raise our own families. 

However, we probably didn’t 

build enough options into 

them — for getting around 

by walking, biking, transit, 

or even for short car trips off 

the main highways. Increasing 

traffic congestion can lead to 

delays, frustration, and even 

road rage, limiting the times 

of day we are comfortable 

driving. The growing national 

conversation about energy 

costs and availability, coupled 

with awareness of the impacts 

of global climate change, have 

amplified the need for a long, 

hard look at how our daily lives 

and independence are affected 

by the way our neighborhoods 

developed. And maybe — for 

some of us — now is the time 

to start building some choice 

back into our communities. To 

paraphrase Robert Kennedy 

and Rabbi Hillel: When — if 

not now? Who — if not us? 

Rather than let aging limit our 

options, we can actually become 

more independent. We can 

reduce our dependence on the 

car, increase our travel choices, 

and improve our quality of life. 

Right when we’ve started to have 

time to enjoy it. We can enrich 

our own remaining decades, 

and hand off a more sustainable 

community to future generations. That is, if we decide to do 

something about it.

Community design 

influences how 

we get around

Elders and kids are the 

‘canaries in the coal mine’ of 

walkability. If we build places 

and streets that make it easier 

for our oldest and youngest to 

navigate, we all will benefit. Of 

course, the reverse is also true. 

Many communities built when 

gas was cheap and housing was 

booming followed a model of 

bigger lots and wider roads. 

They dumped drivers onto 

even wider, faster highways that 

were often the only way to get 

to work, shopping, or schools. 

As we grew farther out, all that 

new traffic required us to go 

back in and widen the roads 

through existing neighborhoods so that outlying drivers 

could get to work, while making it harder for downtown 

residents to get around. 

The good news is that this 

challenge — of redefining and 

rebuilding American neighborhoods and roadways — is realistic and achievable, and older 

adults are well-equipped for 

it. We understand how things 

work; how decisions are made at 

town meetings, city boards, and 

state agencies; and we have the 

patience and tenacity to attend 

meetings, conduct research, and 

take action. Activists, professionals, and elected officials 

13

Realizing that 40 percent of the population is adults 

over 60, local leaders in Dunedin, FL, decided 

to improve sidewalks and intersections to make 

them easier and safer to use. By widening sidewalks, installing curb ramps and curb extensions 

to reduce crossing distance and slow traffic, and 

adding extra time to crossing signals, they made 

it safer and more pleasant for older adults — and 

people of all ages — to walk around the compact 

city. They also added a new senior center along the 

Pinellas Trail through downtown, making it easy 

for older adults and the center’s walking club to 

access the trail.
have been working on solutions 

for a couple of decades. Called 

by many names, such as Smart 

Growth, New Urbanism, walkable neighborhoods, livable 

communities, or sustainable 

development, one central theme 

has been making places that 

work for people, not just for 

cars. Our infrastructure investments can benefit older adults: 

safer streets and intersections, 

expanded bus and rail, and 

more accessible parks and trail 

systems. It’s not rocket science, 

either. There are many guidebooks (see Resources) that help 

citizens remake their communities by increasing transportation 

choices, offering greater housing 

options, and weaving a stronger 

social fabric, healthier environment, and more vital economy. 

We can ‘complete 

the streets’ 

It’s not just about walking. 

Complete Streets work for 

everyone. We can restore an 

age-friendly network of smallerscale streets as we reinvent suburbia and rebuild downtowns. 

Our youngest and oldest drivers 

then can safely move around 

the community instead of being 

forced onto those fast-moving 

five- and seven-lane roads. The 

same ‘traffic-calming’ strategies 

that communities have applied 

to reduce speed and improve 

safety in existing neighborhoods 

can be used to design street networks that ‘get it right the first 

time.’ These new designs are 

called ‘Complete Streets’ since 

they work for all users: walkers, 

bikers, drivers, and transit users. 

With narrower lanes (to slow 

traffic speeds and reduce run-off), 

safer intersection designs (to reduce crashes and encourage crossing in the right place), curb extensions and median crosswalks 

(to shorten crossing distances and 

have a stopping place), bike lanes 

(to give bikes the same treatment 

as cars), wider sidewalks and 

14

Over 19,000 older residents in Kirkland, WA,

can move around more safely after the 

Kirkland Senior Council and the Active Living 

Task Force got involved. They helped City 

staff design and implement innovative programs and policies like the Complete Streets 

Ordinance, to design streets for walkers, 

bicyclists, and drivers, including wider sidewalks, pedestrian-friendly medians, and 

in-street bike lanes. For more immediate 

impact, the PedFlag Program placed yellow 

flags at over 60 crosswalks that walkers pick 

up and carry across to remind drivers to 

yield to pedestrians, and then return flags to 

another holder after crossing. The Flashing 

Crosswalk Program incorporates flashing 

lights embedded into the pavement for 

30 crosswalks at busier intersections.

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

Photo courtesy of the City of Kirkland, Washington
street trees (to make walking a 

safe, pleasant option), and a host 

of other details, we can build 

Complete Street networks that 

make it easier for everyone to 

get around: driving, walking, 

wheeling, or taking transit. A 

well-planned system of clear, 

easy-to-read signage will also 

help us to get where we’re going, 

however we choose to travel.

Rebuilding along the 

highway corridors

Commercial highway corridors running through our 

downtowns, small towns, and 

suburban strips are a great 

place to make better connections. Downtown commercial 

districts started to fade, followed by adjacent suburban 

shopping centers and minimalls as development moved 

further out. These fading ‘greyfield’ properties — named for 

the acres of little-used asphalt 

parking surrounding shopping 

centers — are often bordered 

by residential neighborhoods 

concerned by the properties’ 

condition. These neighborhood residents would likely 

support well-designed new uses 

for nearby greyfields. Many 

of these properties are being 

converted to new town centers that are modeled on older 

traditional neighborhoods and 

downtowns. They usually provide a range of housing choices 

and a gathering place that is 

easily accessible to surrounding 

neighborhoods, via a walkable 

network of smaller streets. 

Creating a community plan 

can coordinate redevelopment

of a string of similar aging 

properties, typically found 

along a commercial roadway. 

The resulting street network 

through the redeveloped properties can provide complete 

streets for local travel parallel to the busy main highway. 

It can also connect existing 

neighborhoods to the newly developed ‘town centers,’ as well 

as to each other, and support 

more efficient transit service. If 

the new centers are developed 

as compact transit targets (focal 

points for improved bus or rail 

service) with a mix of homes, 

stores, and workplaces, many 

roadway corridors would eventually have the ridership needed for fast, frequent, dependable transit. However, this kind 

of planning requires significant 

15

Older residents, activists, and business owners along US 29 in Albemarle County and 

Charlottesville, VA, decided that the aging suburban strip needed an update. While they knew that 

the regional highway needed to carry lots of traffic, 

they also wanted a redesign that would provide an 

interconnected Complete Street network parallel to 

US 29 so local pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers 

had more choices for short trips. They enlisted the 

Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission 

(TJPDC), the regional planning agency, to work 

with the county, city, and Virginia DOT to create 

Places29, a joint transportation and land use plan 

for the rapidly developing corridor. The solutions 

will reduce congestion and improve safety on US 

29; guide development toward compact, mixeduse, walkable, transit-ready neighborhoods and 

centers; and support development of an enhanced 

regional transit system. The planning process 

included extensive community participation by 

residents, business owners, and the Jefferson 

Area Board for Aging and the Senior Center.
community involvement over 

a long period to make sure the 

plans meet community needs 

and that projects are actually 

built according to the original 

vision. Older adults are especially capable of participating 

in, tracking, supporting approvals for, and watching over 

project implementation.

Providing travel 

choices can 

save money

Seniors have a well-deserved 

reputation for watching the 

bottom line. We learned the 

value of a buck, like to hang 

on to what we’ve saved, and 

expect our elected officials to 

use what we give them wisely. 

With extreme fluctuations in 

gas prices and housing values, 

and transportation agency 

budgets dwindling, it seems 

worth trying a new approach. 

We can’t afford to keep expanding and then maintaining 

the current publicly funded 

road system. One advantage of 

the corridor-based redevelopment approach outlined above 

is that many of the new roads, 

walkways, parks, and gathering 

places would be built by the 

private sector as development 

occurs. This would save significant public investment. If fuel 

costs are high, those on fixed 

incomes that live near or in 

the new neighborhood-scaled 

developments will have plenty 

of low-cost ways to get around, 

and easy access to community 

gathering places. Some of those 

travel choices might reduce our 

dependence on foreign oil, cut 

greenhouse gas emissions, and 

help mitigate the effects of climate change. All while keeping 

us active and healthy. 

Build choice back into the 

transportation network.

Although many of us might 

say ‘the bus is not for me’ or 

‘I’d rather drive than walk,’ 

it’s really about providing 

ourselves with more choices 

than we currently have. More 

transportation options give 

us the chance to stay active 

and independent. More than 

one-third of Americans over 

65 report no daily physical 

activity, while research shows 

that just a half-hour of activity 

three times a week can greatly 

improve our health and sense 

of well-being. By adding places 

we can walk or wheel to from 

nearby neighborhoods, and 

16

The average annual cost of owning and operating a car is $8,121 for fuel, maintenance, new 

tires, insurance, depreciation, and financing (at 

$2.94/gal and 15,000 miles/yr, per AAA). A compact costs over $6,000, and an SUV over $10,000. 

Although seniors drive fewer miles on average, 

car ownership might be one of the largest items in 

their household budget. Maris Grove, an Erickson 

retirement community near Philadelphia, has 

partnered with PhillyCarShare to give residents 

and staff an affordable, easy-to-use option — a 

shared Toyota Hybrid. Membership is free, and 

reservations can be made over the phone or 

online. According to resident Joe Peronace, “You 

don’t have to buy a car, no maintenance, no insurance, you use their gas card and pay an hourly 

rate,” Peronace said. “It’s too good to be true. If 

you sit down with pencil and paper, it’s a big savings.” PhillyCarShare estimates members save 

over $4,000/yr over owning a car.

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier
making streets pleasant and 

safe, the walk to the library, 

the store, or to meet friends in 

the park provides us with an 

opportunity to be active. Even 

the driving trips on neighbor-

hood streets can be shorter and 

safer with the right community 

design. And though many of us 

don’t see ourselves as bus riders 

right now, we might eventu-

ally live in some of this newly 

developed housing — a down-

town loft, a quiet townhouse, 

a charming cottage, or a welllocated assisted living commu

-

nity. Having the choice to get to 

downtown shopping or cultural 

events on our own terms and 

schedule, rather than waiting 

for a friend or an on-call van 

can ensure independent living 

for much longer. 

17
18

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

What You 

Can Do:

Make it easier 

to get around

Start a walking group with a sense of purpose — at 

the park, on downtown streets, even at the mall. Read 

some of the resources outlined in this section and discuss issues and strategies as you exercise together.

Join or start a car-sharing program. If one is available 

in your region, call and try it out. Work with your locality, university, or transit agency to gauge local interest. 

Focus on specific walkable neighborhoods near transit 

stations. 

Try transit. Check out the bus (or train, if you’re lucky). 

Get a schedule, grab a friend, and see where it goes. 

Ask if the agency provides ‘travel training’ for older 

adults. If it stops nearby but isn’t easy to get to, do 

an informal walking audit to see what improvements 

would make you and your neighbors more likely to ride. 

Make one street safer. Older adults are often prime 

movers of such efforts, as demonstrated in Albemarle 

County, VA’s Hillsdale Drive Safety project (see Places29 

sidebar). The senior center and Jefferson Area Board 

for the Aging were concerned about speeding on the 

adjacent suburban road. When a slow-moving grandmother was almost hit crossing the road, they asked 

the regional transportation agency, TJPDC, to come up 

with a solution. Gathering local and state agency staff, 

they conducted a walking audit and a series of community workshops with area residents and businesses to 

develop a safety improvement plan. Solutions included 

safer median crosswalks (at places participants indicated they wanted to cross), sidewalks, lighting, narrower lanes, bike paths, and landscaping. Since it was 

their plan, area seniors have been strong supporters of 

the project as it worked its way through design, funding, and construction. 
19

Eating healthy food

Finding, preparing, and eating healthy foods is critical to our wellbeing as we age. We tend not to eat as much, which makes it harder 

to get critical nutrients. Sometimes we just don’t feel like eating, are 

tired of cooking, or are worried about the cost of fresh ingredients. 

Meals-on-wheels programs, which deliver prepared meals to older 

adults, are finding it harder to absorb increasing food costs, and 

their volunteer drivers can be hit hard by higher fuel expenses for 

deliveries. Such programs are often the only link to healthy food 

available to low-income seniors as their personal mobility fades. In 

the long term, building more places with compact, walkable neighborhoods might make it easier for volunteers to deliver meals on 

three-wheeled bikes, or in small electric vehicles. However, we also 

need to address the ‘supply side’ by developing more local sources of 

fresh, healthy food. 

Community gardens are 

located on public or donated 

land, with small plots assigned 

to individuals. The concept of 

taking individual and community action in a crisis to 

grow our own food is not new. 

Remember the World War II 

Victory Gardens planted 

proudly in every front yard? 

Since many of us travel to 

visit friends, family, or far-off 

places, a new twist or two could 

update the Victory Gardens’ 

success. Community gardens 

Staying Healthy 

Finding healthy food, keeping active, and 

getting help when you need it can be easier 

in an age-friendly community 4

Photo courtesy of Julianne Sammut 
are often neighborhood-based 

and support social interaction, 

so a group of older adults could 

work the plots cooperatively, 

taking care of each other’s 

weeds and harvests when they 

are traveling or under the 

weather. Since community gardens usually have long waiting 

lists, senior organizations could 

promote new sites, find locations, and help operate them.

Community-Supported 

Agriculture (CSA) is an update of the truck farm, which 

grows produce just outside the 

city to truck into weekly farmers’ markets. The CSA business 

model is a way for community 

members to share farmers’ 

business risk, while providing 

early capital for seeds, fertilizer, 

and equipment. Customers buy 

‘shares’ of a season’s produce, 

paying part or all up front, and 

then receive a weekly share 

of the grower’s harvest. Some 

CSAs also encourage customers 

to spend a day or two helping to plant and harvest major 

crops in spring and fall. Senior 

centers make an ideal drop-off 

point for the weekly deliveries, and overall costs could be 

reduced if volunteers agreed to 

help bag and box the individual 

shares for pickup. Another way 

to help reduce food costs is 

to form buying clubs or food 

co-ops, which buy food in 

bulk (usually pre-ordered by 

individuals), then divide it up 

on delivery. This can also be a 

rewarding social activity.

Keeping active 

Healthy neighborhoods have 

plenty of opportunities for 

older adults to remain active, 

whether informally as part of 

daily life, or in more organized 

activities. If our neighborhood 

has great places within walking or biking distance, just 

going to meet a friend or pick 

up a few things can add up to 

regular activity. The doctorrecommended 30 minutes per 

day (or at least 3 times per 

week) can be broken into 10- or 

15-minute segments and still 

add up to significant health 

benefits. The average transit 

user walks or bikes 20 minutes 

as part of his or her regular 

transit trip; a 5-minute walk 

to the park or café becomes a 

10-minute round trip. Having 

nearby parks for tennis, swimming, jogging, or speedwalking can also keep us active and 

connected. As we stay healthier 

and active longer, many older 

adults are remaining involved 

in organized sports like softball 

or swimming competitions. 

In extreme heat and cold, we 

like to stay indoors, but that 

doesn’t have to slow us down. 

Suburban shopping malls have 

long opened early so seniors 

could get their exercise in a 

group mallwalk. The community college in rural Dryden, NY, 

20

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier
reserves its downstairs hallways 

for exercise walking during 

inclement weather. Many public 

facilities can find some time to 

set aside for indoor activities for 

older adults: an hour scheduled 

in the school pool or gym, or 

special daytime hours in the 

bowling alley. And, of course, 

there is the traditional senior 

center, with organized activities 

just for us. 

A new approach 

to senior centers

Many active older adults don’t 

yet see themselves as ‘senior 

center types,’ and a new model 

is emerging. These multipurpose lifestyle centers fit with 

the kind of intergenerational, 

age-friendly neighborhoods 

we are choosing to live in. 

Designed to attract and retain 

active, 50+ older adults, they 

are typically located in urban 

or neighborhood settings, 

integrating them into the community social life and making 

them more accessible to drop 

by as we make our way around 

downtown. 

From the street, they could be 

a business-friendly coffeehouse 

(a ‘Starbucks for Seniors’), a 

place to meet with clients or 

hang out with friends, surf the 

net, or catch up on e-mail. You 

might see groups discussing 

books, sports, art, or a concert, 

or a small group getting help 

on a new computer program. 

Larger places may also have 

gyms, yoga and dance workshops, or educational classes in 

a learning center. As we try to 

integrate our own active aging 

fully into the place we live in, 

maybe creating a new kind of 

community center at the heart 

of it all isn’t a bad way to start. 

21

Older adults in the 

Chicago area can 

find a new kind of 

gathering place that 

fits active lifestyles 

in a community setting. Mather LifeWay 

Cafés are more like 

typical coffee shops 

than senior centers, 

with attractive, inviting, hip interiors to 

appeal to 50+ adults 

and their friends. 

Usually located 

in a downtown 

storefront-type 

building, they are 

technology-friendly 

to connect older 

adults with Internet, 

e-mail, and computer classes, and 

often have learning 

centers and gym/

exercise facilities. 

Some even have 

full restaurants and 

entertainment — but 

customers say the 

cafés feel more like 

a coffeehouse than a 

typical senior center.

Photo courtesy of the City of Rogers, Arkansas
Getting help 

when we need it 

We all want to remain independent for as long as possible. 

That’s human nature, and most 

of us put off asking for help as 

long as we can, even when we 

might really need it. 

There are basic tasks we have 

to do to live on our own — 

feeding ourselves, dressing, 

walking, getting out of bed, 

bathing and hygiene, drinking and taking medication — 

and more complicated tasks 

like preparing meals, doing 

housework, driving, shopping, 

and managing our money. 

Eldercare professionals can 

advise families when such help 

is required, and what kind, but 

that advice is not usually triggered unless someone — family, 

friend, or neighbor — notices 

the need. 

The signs that people need 

help are usually obvious to 

those who know them well 

and see them often. In an 

age-friendly Smart Growth 

neighborhood or small town, 

regular interaction with people 

is more possible, more convenient, and more frequent. 

The people we interact with 

are more likely to be from the 

same neighborhood. Whether 

in a park down the street, a 

neighborhood diner or coffee 

shop, or library or place of worship, odds are someone in the 

room lives a block or two away 

and is concerned about our 

well-being. We’re used to hearing the phrase ‘it takes a village’ 

refer to raising children, but the 

same is true at our own end of 

the timeline. With a neighborhood structure that allows and 

encourages us to get out and 

about, and nearby places that 

are worth going to, we’re more 

likely to be noticed, and our 

absence noted as well.

Once the need for help has 

been identified, actual assistance may be easier to obtain 

in an age-friendly neighbor22

In 2001, long-time residents of Boston’s Beacon Hill 

neighborhood decided they wanted to age in place 

in their own homes — but with the same access 

to services, maintenance help, home care, and 

social activities they might receive in a retirement 

community. They founded Beacon Hill Village, 

a member organization that links area seniors to 

‘discounted, vetted, guaranteed’ service providers, 

home health care, classes, and activities.

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

Photo courtesy of the City of Kirkland, Washington
hood, where people of all 

income levels and ages live 

nearby. In rural and suburban 

neighborhoods, the economics of driving around to several 

houses daily to provide lowwage assistance are even more 

difficult in an era of rising gas 

prices. Compact communities 

offer the potential for both paid 

assistants and volunteers to 

have low-cost, efficient access 

to multiple clients in a day, 

whether walking, taking a bus 

from another neighborhood, or 

a shorter drive. 

Caregiving

In traditional neighborhoods, 

caregiving was primarily an 

extended family affair. There 

were usually enough brothers, 

sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, 

and grandkids in the community to help keep an eye 

out and take care of family 

elders. As we scattered across 

the country, and more household members worked outside 

the home, a need emerged for 

organized networks of caregivers, both paid and volunteer. 

Area Agencies on Aging and 

other senior-focused groups 

have developed programs to 

address caregiving needs, and 

private companies have found 

strong market demand for affordable home healthcare and 

personal services. The most 

successful programs have been 

community-based nonprofits 

that coordinate both paid professional and volunteer services 

of local residents to provide 

healthcare and nursing, social 

connections, and help with 

chores and maintenance to 

older neighbors. 

This core idea of neighbor helping neighbor is key to making 

the community-based approach 

work. It works best in a real 

neighborhood or small town 

where people know and care 

about each other. The in-home 

health care and companionship help older adults stay in 

their homes and connected to 

their communities, avoiding 

both the extra cost and reduced quality of life in a nursing home. Where family and 

friends are available, their assistance can be coordinated by the 

community organization. This 

approach saves money for the 

aging adults and their families, enables families to share 

caregiver management tasks, 

and reduces costs compared to 

institutionalization. In traditional mixed-use neighborhoods — with workplaces near 

homes — family members can 

arrange to drop by on a lunch 

break or before and after work, 

to help with meals, shopping, 

or medication, or just to visit. 

23

Elderberry Institute’s Living at Home/Block 

Nurse Program helps seniors stay healthy and 

connected while living in their own homes. 

Started in St. Paul, MN, it has expanded to local 

efforts across the country. 

•	 Seniors receive in-home social support, health 

care, and chore services from a paid and volunteer network, administered by a local nonprofit.

•	 Elders live at home longer, avoiding nursing 

home expenses, and staying productive and 

socially connected — while reducing overall 

community costs.

•	 The program also coordinates assistance from 

family and neighbors.
24

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

Homesharing is another 

emerging option, where two 

or more unrelated people share 

a home, with their own private space and common living 

areas. It can work well in rural 

areas, where organized caregiving can be harder and more 

expensive to deliver. Frequently 

coordinated by a local nonprofit, the homeowner benefits 

by receiving 10 to 15 hours per 

week of household help, like 

cooking, shopping, or cleaning, 

and the roommate (often a student) receives free rent. Having 

someone in the home informally helps keep an eye out for 

changes in the homeowner’s 

condition, while the older adult 

gets to remain at home and 

independent longer, enjoying the help and the informal 

companionship.

Older and disabled homeowners who need assistance with daily living can stay in their homes, 

after organizations like HomeShare Vermont link 

them with individuals who desire free or low-cost 

housing. The roommates help with housework, 

yard work, meals, transportation, and companionship, or whatever is negotiated, in return for 

free or reduced rent. For seniors who need more 

help, caregivers provide more personal services 

like bathing, dressing, shopping, and cooking, in 

return for room, board, and salary. 

The organization can also arrange for paid live-in 

or hourly non-medical caregiving.

Photo used with permission of Eric Vance
25

What You 

Can Do:

Staying 

healthy

Find healthy food. Locate a Community-Supported 

Agriculture farm and join up, with your friends, neighbors, or a group like the senior center. If you can’t find 

one, talk to neighbors and friends to see if there is sufficient interest to inspire an area farmer to start one. Join 

or start a community garden — there is always land 

available somewhere. You might try it on some of the 

leftover space at public buildings, apartments, senior 

centers, schools, churches — or in a park. Organize a 

food co-op (buying club). Make ordering, picking up, 

and dividing the food a social event, and even deliver it 

to those who can’t get out. 

Make a gathering place. Talk with local senior organizations, nonprofits, and housing developers about exploring the market for a new kind of lifestyle café. Take 

advantage of other gathering places — like your place 

of worship, the library, the courthouse steps, or wherever it is in your town — and test out some of these 

ideas with neighbors you don’t yet know. 

Look out for others. Keep an eye out for someone 

who needs help — on your block or on your street. 

Connect them with some of the resources mentioned 

here. If they have a need that isn’t available, see what 

you can do about it. Talk with your friends and community organizations about whether a neighborhood 

caregiving and home-services group (1) is needed in 

your community, and (2) what it would take to get one 

started. Explore the home-sharing idea with local service organizations and housing nonprofits. 
26

At the end of each chapter, the What You Can Do sections list ideas 

to get you thinking about how your community influences your 

everyday decisions. Where to live. Where to go and meet friends, 

or if there is even a place to meet in your neighborhood. How to get 

there. Whether it is safe to cross the street. How to fit exercise into 

the day’s activities. Where to find healthy food. How and where to 

get help when you can no longer do everything yourself. Altogether 

overwhelming, if you had to deal with all those issues at once. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to.

Follow up on something that matters to you. Pick an easy item 

from the What You Can Do sections and get started today, while doing some more homework on longer-term strategies. Use the leads in 

the Resources section. Call your community’s planning department 

and ask about openings on boards and commissions, or look on 

their website or the bulletin board in city hall. At the same time, ask 

if there are any upcoming planning workshops, and get your name 

on the mailing list. Use EPA’s Community Self-Assessment checklist 

(see page 31) to understand what kinds of policies and programs 

your community has that support active aging, and identify missing 

ones you could work on. 

Walk or bike around the neighborhood to explore these issues.

Better yet, do it with a friend or group. You can learn a lot about 

neighborhood planning and design just by walking around and comparing places that feel comfortable with those that do not seem meant 

for walking. Many of the publications in Resources have checklists or 

forms you can use to rate your neighborhood or street, identify what 

you like, and uncover problems that need to be addressed. The Local 

Government Commission (www.lgc.org) has published several easyto-use guides and videos on Smart Growth and streets.

Conclusion: 

Next Steps 5 How you can get involved and act 

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier
•	 Streets and Sidewalks, People 

and Cars: The Citizens’ Guide 

to Traffic Calming includes 

forms for measuring street 

details and evaluating speeding and traffic.

•	 Real Towns: Making your 

neighborhood work contains a 

RoadWork section at the end 

of each chapter to help you 

compare your neighborhood’s 

buildings, blocks, and streets 

with others. 

•	 Street Design Guidelines for 

Healthy Neighborhoods has 

simple standards for what 

makes a walkable, comfortable street.

Learn more about planning 

issues. The organizations in 

the Resources section provide 

guidebooks and training for 

the strategies you may want 

to work on. The Project for 

Public Spaces (PPS), in partnership with AARP, developed a series of publications 

on what citizens can do to 

effect change in their communities, especially focused 

on streets and transportation 

planning, all available for free 

download (www.pps.org — 

see Resources). PPS also offers 

training programs including 

Streets as Places and How to 

Turn a Place Around. The PPS/

AARP series includes: 

•	 A Citizen’s Guide to Better 

Streets: How to Engage Your 

Transportation Agency shows 

citizens how to interact effectively with transportation 

agencies. 

•	 Streets as Places: Using Streets 

to Rebuild Communities shows 

citizens how to enhance 

streets to become lively, 

walkable, community-friendly 

environments. 

•	 The Quiet Revolution in 

Transportation Planning: 

How Great Corridors Make 

Great Communities describes 

how planning transportation 

within the context of a larger 

corridor can benefit both mobility needs and community 

quality of life. 

Explore Smart Growth strategies. Smart Growth America 

(www.smartgrowthamerica

.org) is a terrific resource 

for ideas to improve housing, transportation, economy 

and environment, open space 

and farmland, and health and 

aging. One of their best new 

publications is Choosing Our 

Community’s Future: A Guide 

to Getting the Most Out of New 

Development, which includes 

descriptions of many of the 

issues and strategies in this 

guide, along with tips on working together to plan and implement them. 

Connect the dots. Go back 

and look through the What 

You Can Do sections and see 

how many issues are relevant to 

your neighborhood or community. As you toured your 

27

Photo courtesy of the City of Portland, Oregon, Bureau of Transportation
neighborhood and talked with 

friends, did you notice sites 

that could become a gathering 

place, or a farmer’s market? Are 

there housing options nearby 

if you want to move? How 

about improving and connecting parks with greenways, 

or finding locations for a new 

park? Are there any neglected 

properties that could be redeveloped? While you are reading 

some of the other guidebooks, 

keep your own neighborhood 

in mind. If your community 

already has an organized planning process, join in — and be 

the person who asks the questions about making the plan 

more age-friendly. 

Initiate a community planning process. If there is not an 

existing group or effort to join, 

make it happen. Many of the 

guides mentioned above and 

in Resources can equip you to 

get something started. A welldesigned process meshes the 

technical expertise of agency 

staff, the creativity and fresh 

ideas of consultants, and the 

in-depth local knowledge of 

residents and business people. 

Coupled with training in Smart 

Growth principles and workshop facilitation, walking tours 

of the neighborhood, and broad 

participation, a community 

planning effort will help get 

creative plans implemented. 

Look out for others. Keep an 

eye out for someone who needs 

help, on your block or street, 

at the library, or your place 

of worship. If the assistance 

needed is not readily available, look into whether there is 

enough interest in organizing a 

new program. 

28

Citizen activists in Honolulu were pleased 

when the city introduced Smart Growth principles in 1998 and transformed the city planning 

process. The Citizen Planner Institute trained 

agency staff and neighborhood leaders (many 

of them elders) to facilitate community planning workshops. 

The projects included:

•	 Urban Center Development Plan — changed 

codes for transit-oriented development

•	 Islandwide Traffic Calming Program — focused on 34 neighborhoods with schools and 

parks at the center, with extensive participation by kupuna (elders)

•	 Vision Teams and Sustainable Island — focused on green solutions and projects

•	 Oahu Trans2K Mobility Plan — for a Bus 

Rapid Transit system 

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier

Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Regional Commission
Resources

Links to more details and strategies

How You Can Get Started

The following list of resources, organizations, 

publications, and web links will help you get 

started — learning new strategies, tips and techniques, approaches, and examples of places that 

have applied these ideas successfully around the 

country. Many of them are available for free web 

download. 

Active Aging

Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging

www.epa.gov/aging/bhc/about.htm

AARP’s Advancing Mobility Options: Producing a 

State Transportation Report

http://aarpvolunteers.com/dsp/Advancing_

Mobility_Options.pdf

Active Living Network (no longer in operation)

www.activeliving.org

Smart Growth 

Smart Growth America

www.smartgrowthamerica.org

Choosing Our Community’s Future: A Guide to 

Getting the Most Out of New Development 

www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/

GuidebookPreview1.pdf (first chapter)

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5184/t/1623/

signUp.jsp?key=192 (register to download)

This Is Smart Growth

www.smartgrowthonlineaudio.org/pdf/

TISG_2006_8-5x11.pdf

Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for 

Implementation 

www.smartgrowth.org/pdf/gettosg.pdf 

Getting to Smart Growth II: 100 More Policies for 

Implementation 

www.smartgrowth.org/pdf/gettosg2.pdf

The Project for Public Spaces

www.pps.org

AARP

www.aarp.org

Building Community Through Transportation

www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/Books_Videos/

Building_Community_through_Transportation

A Citizen’s Guide to Better Streets: How to Engage 

Your Transportation Agency

www.pps.org/pdf/bookstore/How_to_Engage_

Your_Transportation_Agency_AARP.pdf

Streets as Places: Using Streets to Rebuild 

Communities

www.pps.org/pdf/bookstore/Using_Streets_to_

Rebuild_Communities.pdf

The Quiet Revolution in Transportation Planning: 

How Great Corridors Make Great Communities

www.pps.org/pdf/bookstore/Great_Corridors_

Great_Communities.pdf

The Local Government Commission 

Streets and Sidewalks, People and Cars: The Citizens’ 

Guide to Traffic Calming 

www2.lgc.org/bookstore/detail.cfm?itemId=15

Street Design Guidelines for Healthy Neighborhoods 

www2.lgc.org/bookstore/detail.cfm?itemId=13 

Real Towns: Making Your Neighborhood Work

www2.lgc.org/bookstore/detail.cfm?categoryId=1

&typeId=0&itemId=16

29
Links to projects or material 

mentioned in text and sidebars

McClure MultiGenerational Center, Champlain 

Senior Center, and Burlington Children’s Space

www.cedo.ci.burlington.vt.us/legacy/

strategies/09-org-mcclure-main.html

www.cedo.ci.burlington.vt.us/legacy/

strategies/09-org-mcclure-intv.html

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the 

University of Virginia

www.virginia.edu/olliuva

Santa Cruz Accessory Dwelling Unit Program 

www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pl/hcd/

ADU/adu.html

The Elder Cohousing Network

www.eldercohousing.org

Silver Sage Village-Elder Cohousing, Boulder, CO 

www.silversagevillage.com

Cohousing Association of the United States 

www.cohousing.org/what_is_cohousing

Kirkland Washington Pedestrian Programs

www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/Community/

healthy.htm?PageMode=Print

Complete Streets

www.completestreets.org

Places29 Corridor Study and Master Plan

www.albemarle.org/department.asp?

department=planning&relpage=6916

www.tjpdc.org/transportation/

places_29.asp

Maris Grove and PhillyCarShare 

www.erickson.com/EricksonNews/

publicsite/pressreleases.aspx?PRID=1324

www.phillycarshare.org

Community-Supported Agriculture

www.localharvest.org (search for farms and markets 

near you)

Mather LifeWays Cafés

www.matherlifeways.com/

iyc_inyourcommunity.asp

Beacon Hill Village

www.beaconhillvillage.org/index.html 

Elderberry Institute’s Living at Home/Block 

Nurse Program 

www.elderberry.org

HomeShare Vermont 

http://homesharevermont.org

30

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier
Community 

Self-Assessment

Building Healthy Communities 

for Active Aging 

Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging 

was developed to encourage communities to 

incorporate the concepts of Smart Growth and 

Active Aging in community planning and development. Website link: www.epa.gov/aging/bhc/

about.htm

The 20 questions in this Community SelfAssessment will help you understand what is required to achieve Smart Growth and Active Aging 

in your community. Your responses to the questions will provide you with a clear vision of what 

your community has achieved so far and what 

remains to be accomplished. 

1. Our community has defined goals or a mission for advancing or applying Smart Growth 

principles. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

2. Our community’s governing body has conducted or commissioned a community assessment 

for applying Smart Growth principles. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

3. Our community has defined goals or a mission 

for increasing older adult participation in active 

aging/physical activity. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

4. Our community’s governing body has conducted or commissioned a community assessment of 

older adult participation in active aging/physical 

programs or opportunities. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

5. Our community has developed a plan that includes feasibility, costs, and impacts of adopting 

a Smart Growth approach to plan for the future. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

6. Our community has studied the feasibility, 

costs, impacts, time frame, and leadership for 

creating/promoting active aging/physical activity for aging adults. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

7. Our community is actively engaged in formulating plans and strategies for specifically linking 

Smart Growth initiatives with programs, amenities, or opportunities that include active aging/

physical activity for older adults.

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

8. Our community has established interagency committees, task forces, or other community partnerships with local aging organizations, service 

providers, and agencies as a means of coordinating activities and programs with Smart Growth 

and active aging/physical activity components. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

9. Our community has legislative, zoning, comprehensive plan initiatives and other policies in place 

or in consideration that include provision for 

both Smart Growth and active aging/physical activity programs or opportunities for older adults. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

31
10.Our community has created pilot programs, or 

has existing programs for active aging/physical 

activity for older adults, which take advantage 

of the resources and environments created by 

local Smart Growth activities such as safe walking areas, biking amenities, age-sensitive exercise trails, safe parks, etc. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

11. Our community’s comprehensive planning integrates Smart Growth principles and promotes 

application of these to encompass active aging/

physical activity programs and opportunities 

for older adults. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

12.Our community is increasing its capacity 

through actions such as budget allocation, staff 

resources, infrastructure improvement, etc., 

for systematically expanding on Smart Growth 

activities. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

13.Our community is reaching out to local/

county/state officials and departments, land 

developers, and community organizations to 

expand Smart Growth activities. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

14.Our community gathers evidence about and 

evaluates the effectiveness and level of participation in our active aging/physical activity programs and opportunities for older adults. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

15. Our community has an initiative that includes 

promotion, advertising, recruitment, and widely 

available programs and opportunities to engage 

more older adults in active aging/physical 

activity. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

16.Our community has the capacity to implement 

a model program combining Smart Growth 

principles with programs emphasizing active 

aging/physical activity for older adults. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

17. Our community has a well-established Smart 

Growth initiative and active aging/physical 

activity programs and opportunities. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

18.Our community is planning to expand these to 

a wider segment of our population as well as the 

partnerships that will support these programs. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

19.Our community has an established coalition 

of service providers, advocacy organizations, 

businesses, and governmental agencies that 

are cooperating to create more innovative and 

widely available programs that integrate Smart 

Growth principles and active aging/physical 

activity programs and opportunities. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

20.Our community has an existing model program 

integrating active aging/physical activity and 

Smart Growth for older adults, and we can provide technical assistance and a contact person to 

share information with other communities. 

Not at all Partially 

Completed

Fully 

Completed

32

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier
Smart Growth principles include: 

1. Mix land use; 

2. Take advantage of compact building design; 

3. Create a range of housing opportunities 

and choices; 

4. Create walkable neighborhoods; 

5. Foster distinctive, attractive neighborhoods 

with a sense of place; 

6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural 

beauty, and critical resources; 

7. Strengthen and direct development towards 

existing communities; 

8. Provide a variety of transportation choices; 

9. Make development decisions predictable, 

fair, and cost effective; and 

10. Encourage community collaboration in 

development decisions. 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Children’s Health Protection and

Environmental Education (1107)

The Child and Aging Health Protection Division

1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Room 2512 Ariel Rios North

Washington, DC 20460

www.epa.gov/aging

EPA 100-K-09012

August 2009

Photo courtesy of the City of Portland, Oregon, Bureau of Transportation