Redesigning Communities with Older People in Mind

PPS partners with AARP to engage senior citizens in improving street design and community planning

By Robin Lester, Manager, Marketing and Communications
rlester@pps.org

The movement away from walkable communities throughout the 20th Century has had a starkly negative effect on most people’s lives.  Aging Americans have been especially vulnerable to these trends, often finding themselves isolated from social interaction and physical activity. Without access to safe and pedestrian-friendly streets, the elderly are at risk of becoming disengaged from society at large.

Public transportation aids the mobility of aging Americans

Transportation agencies responsible for street design are potentially the most influential force in shaping the American landscape and could become potential partners in creating more walkable and livable communities.  To help forge a working partnership between transportation planners and older citizens, PPS has partnered with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to publish three books about streets and transportation. The publications are a joint effort of PPS’s “Building Community Through Transportation” initiative— which promotes transportation policies and practices that create walkable, healthy and sustainable places—and AARP’s “Livable Communities” initiative, which aims to ensure affordable and appropriate housing for older Americans, along with supportive community design features and good mobility options. As part of the series, PPS will also present a series of webinars for AARP volunteers and the general public. Here are the three new books:

*A Citizen’s Guide to Better Streets: How to Engage Your Transportation Agency, the first in the three-part series, outlines effective ways of interacting with transportation agencies.


 *The second in the series, Streets as Places, teaches citizens how to lobby for streets that serve all users with lively, walkable, community-friendly environments.


The third, The Quiet Revolution in Transportation Planning: How Great Corridors Make Great Communities, describes how planning within the broader context of a transportation corridors—rather than a narrow focus on roads—can benefit both mobility needs and community quality of life.


The PPS/AARP partnership will enable older Americans to communicate effectively with local transportation agencies, and help them play an active role in making local streets safer and more conducive to community goals.

Free downloads of all three books will be available shortly at www.pps.org.