Bringing the Boomers downtown...

[RobertBouche]

Hey All,

I'd like to start a discussion about what it takes to bring our aging population back to the city center. As a Florida resident, i seem to drive by a new age-restricted development each day, and each one looks pretty much same. I'm sure this proves that the 1/4 acre lot, cookie cutter home recipe works, but is there any way to attract them to the a city's core? What amenities need to be provided? What sort of objections do you foresee? and is it a viable development strategy?

Cheers!

[Michi]

An interesting observation about how to plan for baby boomers in our central cities is to basically plan parallel to what the new generation (Millenials) want and demand out of city life. Within the next 15 years, boomers and Millenials will converge and comprise of about 44 million each.

When you look at what boomers and the aging populations demand out of quality of life, it runs hand in hand w/ the creative class and generators of the new economy. Walkable neighborhoods, accessible amenity, safe streets, near entertainment and recreation, proximity to culture and similar lifestyles. These are all the things that the new generation wants as well. So, why not maximize by planning for both, so that when these two groups become recognizably prominent, they'll be able to peacefully coexist and act as a model for the rest of our communities, which are planning ahead to evolve with those types of principles in mind.

I think this can apply to all communities, big and small, especially since a lot of retirees desire small towns as well. This can be a way to control growth so that small towns are threatened into becoming a mess of sprawl.