Culture
What Does 'Livable' Mean to Older Americans?
Turns out, we're not good at anticipating the kind of community we'll need as we age.
People in the United States are getting older. But increasingly, they don't want to live in some old folks' community.
Nearly 20 percent of Americans will be over 65 by 2030, up from 12 percent in 2009. That boom has been accompanied by the rise of a concept known as "aging in place," a phrase unknown a generation ago but that has become a common buzzword today. It describes the rising trend toward older people staying put, rather than moving away from the neighborhoods where they've spent their younger years.