Some older adults prefer to live in more dense, central locations so they can walk to meet their everyday needs.
The timing was right.
Results from the 2010 census turned the spotlight on the swelling numbers of the nation's 65 years and over population as baby boomers hit retirement age.
Portland State University's Institute on Aging had been working with the World Health Organization's Age-Friendly Cities project since 2006 to better understand how social and built environments support healthy, active aging.
And Portland, nationally known for its integration of active transportation such as biking and walking with public transit, was mid-stride in developing the Portland Plan – a 25-year look ahead at how the city should grow.
Given projections that the Portland region's 65 years and over age group will more than double during that same time period, any look to the future becomes a reflection of community values around older adults and aging.
Oregon's largest city appears to be on track.
Through a collaborative effort among the Institute on Aging, Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, community organizations and the public, the Portland Plan today lists 10 actions for making Portland a more age-friendly and physically accessible city. A five-year plan for implementing the actions will become part of the city's updated comprehensive plan.
So what is an age-friendly city?
"An age-friendly city is one that meets the needs of all ages and abilities," says Alan DeLaTorre, project manager for the Global Age-Friendly Cities project at Portland State University's Institute on Aging. "It's not just about older people. Intergenerational cities are people-friendly cities in a lot of ways."
If designed to the model developed by the World Health Organization that launched the Age-Friendly Cities projects in 2006, a city that supports active, healthy aging would be hard to distinguish from a city any age would thrive in.
The eight domains of the WHO model address features in both the built and social environment including transportation, housing and outdoor spaces, opportunities for civic participation and employment, the benefits of community support and health services, and the shared values of respect and social inclusion.
Whether addressing built or social aspects of a community, greater access is the desired outcome.
"Planning for older adults has received insufficient attention at this point," says DeLaTorre. "We can say smart growth or the kind of growth we have here in Portland is good for everyone, but the devil is in the details. When we're talking about older adults, we need to start drilling down a little bit deeper into what the issues are."
As part of WHO's Age-Friendly Cities project, the Institute on Aging in 2006 conducted a survey of older adults that addressed three questions: what are the features of age-friendliness, what are the barriers to achieving it, and how can Portland become a more age-friendly city?
In a 2006 survey conducted by PSU's Institute on Aging, the first priority for older adults was greater access to outdoor spaces.
First priority – access to nature
"We found that the number one age-friendly feature in Portland was the natural features and green spaces," says DeLaTorre.
Suggesting improvements in accessibility to outdoor spaces were needed, survey respondents also recommended a better selection of affordable and accessible housing.
"The vast majority of housing (in Portland) is older and built with stairs," says Bill Cunningham, city planner with the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and a staff lead on the city's comprehensive plan update. "In order to accommodate the needs of the older adults and disabled, we need to learn how to adapt older housing and build newer housing to meet their needs."
While higher density, compact housing developments near transit can provide the mobility non-driving, older residents seek, Cunningham notes they are not particularly accessible for some populations. "We're creating a situation that limits options for older adults and the disabled."
Survey results indicated regional transportation options were age-friendly but improved safety around transit stops and better nights and weekend service was desired.
Intersection of social and built environments
Removing barriers to housing – whether cost or structural – is only part of the challenge for older adults living in their own homes as they age.
Drilling down deeper into issues of aging in place – the ability to remain in their own homes and communities – one of the biggest challenges to enjoying an active, healthy life after age 65 is social and physical isolation.
"We have to find a way to get shut-ins out of their houses," says Alan Cranna, 66, chair of the Overlook Neighborhood Association. "Sometimes it has to do more with them than the (age-friendliness of the) city. They're isolated in their house and get it in a mind-set of what they can and can't do."
Cranna stays physically active with daily walks and socially active through his involvement in the neighborhood association. In 2009, he helped conduct an age-friendly assessment of the Overlook neighborhood with the Institute on Aging.
Alan Cranna (center) of the Overlook Neighborhood Association uses a newsletter and social activities to keep older adults connected to the community.
Listing economic limitations, health issues and housing location as factors keeping many older adults homebound, Cranna also cites today's culture as playing a role. "People get old and lose their friends," says Cranna. "Other cultures tend to stay in touch with their (aging) parents more."
Portland's comprehensive plan promotes two age-friendly themes that address social isolation: neighborhood centers with amenities and services that function as welcoming gathering places, and schools used as inter-generational centers of a community.
Age-friendly living in the region
Beyond the center city, isolation and access to services become more of an issue for older adults as transportation choices diminish.
Data from Greater Portland Pulse shows that in 2010, the highest percentage – almost half – of the region's 45 to 65 year olds in 2010 live in communities outside of Portland.
"This is a regional issue," says Mark Person, communications lead for Toward an Age-Friendly Portland, a project of six graduate students in the Masters of Urban and Regional Planning program at PSU. "If these people age in place, they're not going to be in Portland but in the suburbs and other unincorporated areas."
While Clackamas, Washington and Clark counties have all initiated efforts to assess the resources needed to support an aging population, connection to service is an ongoing challenge.
Learn more about county age-friendly initiatives
"Reliance on government agencies is less effective as they have fewer resources," says Will Fuller, 73, volunteer advocate for Elders in Action. "The matrix of services available (in the suburbs or unincorporated areas) may not be backed up by other things such as senior centers and YWCAs."
Fuller notes that services for older adults compete for funding with services for children and other vulnerable populations when some of the same services could benefit all groups.
"The things you do to accommodate older people benefit all ages," says Fuller. "The ability to have a regionwide view and sensitivity to people who are different due to age, gives you a greater sensitivity to all people."
"That's a richness of community we all benefit from," adds Fuller.