Housing For Seniors (Summer 2017)Editor’s Note Safe, affordable, comfortable, and aging-friendly housing for seniors, the focus of this edition of Evidence Matters remains a critical area of need as the population of older Americans grows. Seniors face a number of housing challenges, including those related to affordability, accessibility, social isolation, and access to services and amenities. In many instances, the current states of household savings, the housing stock, and the built environment are inadequate to meet the needs of a growing senior population. This issue looks at some of the policies and practices currently being implemented to address these challenges as well as the research and demonstration initiatives aimed at evaluating and improving the effectiveness of such efforts. The lead article, “Housing for Seniors: Challenges and Solutions,” discusses how households; communities; and federal, state, and local governments are addressing housing challenges of seniors through home modifications, community design, and new models for connecting housing with medical and other services. The In Practice article, “Communities Support Seniors With Aging-Friendly Policies,” describes efforts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Mableton, Georgia, to use policies and planning to make their communities more livable for older residents. Finally, a commentary, “Housing Challenges of Rural Seniors,” discusses issues that are specific to rural communities or that are worsened by certain attributes of the rural setting, such as remoteness. With our Summer 2017 issue, we are introducing a new look for Evidence Matters. The first redesign since the publication debuted in 2011, our goal is to create a clean, modern layout that is visually appealing to readers while allowing us the flexibility to present the issue theme and content effectively. Please provide feedback on any of our issues at www.huduser.gov/forums. |
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The contents of this article are the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. Government.
Note: Guidance documents, except when based on statutory or regulatory authority or law, do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. Guidance documents are intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.