Many are changing to serve the aging population

When I read this article I reflected on what we're doing as senior concierge professionals.  This is a new industry and has been created out of the growing need of our aging population.

Cities, businesses adapt to serve aging population

DEMOGRAPHICS

July 10, 2011|By Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press

New York --

U.S. cities are beginning to grapple with a fact of life: People are getting old, fast, and they're doing it in communities designed for the sprightly.

To envision how this silver tsunami will challenge a youth-oriented society, just consider that seniors soon will outnumber schoolchildren in hip, fast-paced New York City.

It will take some creative steps to make New York and other cities age-friendly enough to help the coming crush of older adults stay active and independent in their own homes.

"It's about changing the way we think about the way we're growing old in our community," said New York Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs. With initiatives such as using otherwise idle school buses to take seniors grocery shopping, the World Health Organization recognizes New York as a leader in this movement.

But it's not alone.

Atlanta is creating what it calls "lifelong communities." Philadelphia is testing whether living in a truly walkable community really makes older adults healthier. In Portland, Ore., there's a push to fit senior concerns such as accessible housing into the city's new planning and zoning policies.

Such work is getting a late start considering how long demographers have warned that the population is about to get a lot grayer.

"It's shocking how far behind we are, especially when you think about this fact - that if you make something age-friendly, that means it is going to be friendly for people of all ages, not just older adults," said Margaret Neal of Portland State University's Institute on Aging.

The size of the aging boom is staggering. Every day for the next few decades, thousands of Baby Boomers will turn 65. That's in addition to people in their 90s, whose numbers have grown by almost one-third in the past decade, with no signs of slowing.

By 2050, 1 in 5 Americans will be seniors. Worldwide, almost 2 billion people will be 60 or older, 400 million of them older than 80
.