ATLANTA REGIONAL COMMISSION ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, "WHAT DO BOOMERS REALLY WANT IN RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES?"
Baby Boomer Insights Blog
February 2009
When a reporter from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called me last week to talk about how Boomers will affect housing over the next 20 years, I was happy to share my observations and research. After all, it's a subject near and dear to my heart.
For almost 25 years, I've spent a good portion of my free time checking out every imaginable residential community. My TV stays tuned to HGTV, where I've been a fan of House Hunters and every other real estate-related show for years.
I wish I could attend the workshop that starts Monday in Atlanta at which the Atlanta Regional Commission and Miami-based Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company will join forces over nine days to plan five Atlanta-area communities developed specifically to appeal to Boomers. From what I've heard and read, this group "gets it" that Boomers aren't all looking to move into 55+ "active adult" communities.
Unlike generations before us, a majority of Boomers have no plans to retire to age-restricted communities in Florida and Arizona. Instead, we want to continue to be close to our families and active in our communities.
Since 2006, Florida has actually seen more people leave the state than move in and much of that exodus has been retirees who moved there from the Northeast and are now moving to Georgia and North Carolina in particular. My colleague, real estate expert Tony Wilbert, refers to it as the "J Curve."
What's so different about what Boomers are looking for in their later years? For one thing, many of us will never retire. We'll work part-time, even after leaving full time jobs, so communities that welcome older workers are desirable. We also want to age in place and prefer to stay in our own homes as long as possible; hence, many of us will renovate the homes we're already in, or we'll buy new ones that will accommodate the aging process better.
The communities that will get our attention are the ones that consider our love of convenience. We want to have easy access to healthcare, retail shopping, cultural offerings, educational institutions, and sports venues. In other words, if it's interesting to us today, it's likely to still be interesting to us 20 years from now.
According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, the metro area is actually aging up faster than the national average. The number of older adults will "skyrocket" over the next two decades, says ARC director Charles Krautler. That means planning commissions and governments need to rethink the way dollars are spent. Everything from the width of sidewalks and roads to the density of housing to the way zoning laws accommodate mixed use communities, need to be the hot topics today.
What's happening where you live? Are you seeing more attention being paid to Boomer needs in housing? If you're a Boomer, where do you plan to live 20 years from now?
KERI Comes to GRADD
By: Graham D. Rowles, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator, Kentucky Elder Readiness Initiative
University of Kentucky Graduate Center for Gerontology
At GRADD’s Kentucky Elder Readiness Initiative (KERI) forum in August, I joined Cabinet for Health and Family Services secretary Mark Birdwhistell in discussing results of a statewide survey to assess the impact of the retirement and aging of the Baby Boomer generation (persons born between 1946 and 1964). This forum was part of the KERI project, initiated by Governor Fletcher in 2005 as a collaboration among the commonwealth’s Department for Aging and Independent Living, the 15 statewide Area Agencies on Aging, and the Graduate Center for Gerontology at the University of Kentucky.
KERI’s goal is to foster awareness, to promote dialogue on future challenges and opportunities, and to stimulate local and statewide initiatives necessitated by the aging of the Baby Boom population. Some specific issues discussed at recent KERI meetings include increasing local awareness of what has been called a pending “demographic tsunami,” retirement preparedness, employment, transportation, housing, health and safety, continuing education, the changing role of senior citizen centers, and community involvement by Baby Boomers.
These issues are certainly significant within the Green River region, where the number of persons age 60 and older is projected increase more than 70 percent (from 37,377 to 63,646) between 2000 and 2030. Aging of the Baby Boomers, which will account for most of this increase, reflects a significant change in our society. This trend is likely to place additional strains on the resources of every community. At the same time, however, it provides the potential to harness the talents of a new generation of elders, much healthier and more active than its predecessors.
There are two directions we can take. One is to simply ignore the major demographic shift that is occurring. The other path—which I am delighted to see is being taken in the GRADD area—is to embrace this change and to proactively plan to develop our communities into better places in which to grow old. In choosing this path, we enrich the lives of everyone in our society. I invite you to become involved with the Green River KERI Task Force or one of its county subgroups, by contacting GRADD Area Agency on Aging Director Vivian Craig at (270) 926-4433.
Principal Investigator, Kentucky Elder Readiness Initiative
University of Kentucky Graduate Center for Gerontology
At GRADD’s Kentucky Elder Readiness Initiative (KERI) forum in August, I joined Cabinet for Health and Family Services secretary Mark Birdwhistell in discussing results of a statewide survey to assess the impact of the retirement and aging of the Baby Boomer generation (persons born between 1946 and 1964). This forum was part of the KERI project, initiated by Governor Fletcher in 2005 as a collaboration among the commonwealth’s Department for Aging and Independent Living, the 15 statewide Area Agencies on Aging, and the Graduate Center for Gerontology at the University of Kentucky.
KERI’s goal is to foster awareness, to promote dialogue on future challenges and opportunities, and to stimulate local and statewide initiatives necessitated by the aging of the Baby Boom population. Some specific issues discussed at recent KERI meetings include increasing local awareness of what has been called a pending “demographic tsunami,” retirement preparedness, employment, transportation, housing, health and safety, continuing education, the changing role of senior citizen centers, and community involvement by Baby Boomers.
These issues are certainly significant within the Green River region, where the number of persons age 60 and older is projected increase more than 70 percent (from 37,377 to 63,646) between 2000 and 2030. Aging of the Baby Boomers, which will account for most of this increase, reflects a significant change in our society. This trend is likely to place additional strains on the resources of every community. At the same time, however, it provides the potential to harness the talents of a new generation of elders, much healthier and more active than its predecessors.
There are two directions we can take. One is to simply ignore the major demographic shift that is occurring. The other path—which I am delighted to see is being taken in the GRADD area—is to embrace this change and to proactively plan to develop our communities into better places in which to grow old. In choosing this path, we enrich the lives of everyone in our society. I invite you to become involved with the Green River KERI Task Force or one of its county subgroups, by contacting GRADD Area Agency on Aging Director Vivian Craig at (270) 926-4433.
GRADD Baby Boomer Statistics
In 2000, there were 61,037 Baby Boomers in Daviess,
Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union, and Webster
counties (comprising 29.6% of the total population).
· 78.8% worry at least somewhat about being prepared for
retirement.
· 40.4% plan to work after retirement.
· 33.6% are not aware of community services for senior
citizens.
· 70.3% expect to live in their current residence at age 75.
· 21.1% consider their community’s physical environment
(sidewalks, steps, lighting, etc.) to be very inaccessible.
· 77.1% anticipate increased involvement in community
activities as they age.
· 52.3% plan to spend more time volunteering as they age.
· 57.4% plan to engage in lifelong learning opportunities as
they age.
· 53.3% rank churches and other spiritual/religious groups
as the most important community resource affecting
quality of life.
*To view the entire Green River KERI Preliminary Report, visit www.mc.uky.edu/gerontology/keri.htm.
Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union, and Webster
counties (comprising 29.6% of the total population).
· 78.8% worry at least somewhat about being prepared for
retirement.
· 40.4% plan to work after retirement.
· 33.6% are not aware of community services for senior
citizens.
· 70.3% expect to live in their current residence at age 75.
· 21.1% consider their community’s physical environment
(sidewalks, steps, lighting, etc.) to be very inaccessible.
· 77.1% anticipate increased involvement in community
activities as they age.
· 52.3% plan to spend more time volunteering as they age.
· 57.4% plan to engage in lifelong learning opportunities as
they age.
· 53.3% rank churches and other spiritual/religious groups
as the most important community resource affecting
quality of life.
*To view the entire Green River KERI Preliminary Report, visit www.mc.uky.edu/gerontology/keri.htm.
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