In a perfect world, people of all ages would live in a community. There would be young kids with energy to spare, elders with wisdom to share. Everybody in between would handle most of the work.
In reality, many communities are age specific. Families with little children congregate in the suburbs where there are good local schools and safe streets. Young professionals prefer urban centers where they can work and party. Seniors tend to live together in buildings or developments that offer medical and social support.
Though we might like to believe that future communities will be different–a flawless blend of young and old–that probably won’t be the case.
Just ask Stephen Golant, who has been studying housing issues for some time now. He thinks communities are getting more age specific, not less. By 2021, he predicts, elders will be the most residentially segregated group in American society.
“Older people living in mixed-age residential situations will be the exception,” said Golant, professor of geography and gerontology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
The thought of gated towns that require AARP membership cards for entrance may sound a little bleak, but that’s not really what Golant is talking about. He says even though elders will be more segregated, they will have many more options than seniors of previous generations.
Future seniors of America, including me, also will undergo a big attitude shift. They won’t view their choice as one simply between home or nursing home.
Instead, they will seek out creative living arrangements with their peers, like-minded Baby Boomers with similar life experiences.
Golant, with a knack for snappy acronyms, believes three types of elder communities will emerge:
– DOUERs (Deliberately Occupied but Unplanned Older Residences).
These are townhouses, apartment buildings and neighborhoods, even small cities that will contain lots of seniors.
The housing will be indistinguishable from surrounding residences, but interiors will be modified to include adaptations for elders. The forerunners of these communities already exist in Florida where seniors live together in complexes.
These developments don’t have an adults-only sign out front, but they’re easy to spot. The homes are well groomed, the cul-de-sacs quiet.
– PERCs (Planned Elder Residential Complexes).
These elder mega-centers will include a wide range of buildings, neighborhoods, subdivisions and towns. They will be planned and run by corporate conglomerates or non-profit organizations.
The communities will cater to all types of seniors, both frail and active. These centralized developments will replace solitary senior facilities, most of which are now scattered across big geographic areas.
There’s plenty of evidence that this trend is already taking hold. Some local developments, albeit on a small scale, already offer everything from independent living to nursing home care.
– EPs (Elder Parks).
These will be planned like industrial and office parks. But EPs are residential developments that will include businesses, or what Golant calls assist spaces that offer products and services for elders.
Golant says the elder park will be an island of commercial and residential activity. Some residences and businesses will share the same space. Golant believes many elder parks will operate their own transportation systems and consumer information networks.
Golant thinks age segregation is being driven by economies of scale. He says it’s much easier to justify a thoroughly trained social service staff if a housing development has enough residents to absorb the cost. Small projects just won’t work.
“Programs work best when you have a large population. The advantages of age distinctive developments exceed the disadvantages,” he said.
Another plus, Golant says, is that Baby Boomers won’t see any of these changes as negative. They are the first generation to explore new housing options for the elderly through their parents.
“Age distinct alternatives will be more acceptable to Boomers when they reach their late 70s,” said Golant.
If you’d like to learn more about elder housing, Golant has written a book, “Housing American’s Elderly: Many Possibilities/Few Choices” (Sage Publications, Newbury Park, Calif.)
Resources
There’s clearly not enough affordable senior housing to go around. But here are two new developments to check out.
Applications will be taken starting in late April for St. Edmund’s Tower. The 61-unit apartment building is under construction at 6141 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. The six-story brick building will include a multi-purpose room and library. Rents are based on 30 percent of a resident’s income.
For information call 773-752-8893.
South suburban Steger has a new senior housing development, Centennial Village. The 81-unit project opened last fall. This development is nice because there are 16 different single-story buildings.
Monthly rents for the one-bedroom units start at about $395. The apartments are already rented, but you can put your name on the waiting list.
Call 312-819-7968.
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Jane Adler is a Chicago-area freelance writer. If you have questions or information to share regarding housing for senior citizens, write to Senior Housing c/o Chicago Tribune Real Estate Section, 435 N. Michigan Ave., 60611.
