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Physical & Occupational Therapy In Geriatrics, 29(1):59–74, 2011C© 2011 by Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.Available online at http://informahealthcare.com/potgDOI: 10.3109/02703181.2011.552168
Creating Communities: Atlanta’s LifelongCommunity Initiative
Laura Keyes, Carolyn Rader, & Cathie Berger
ABSTRACT. Atlanta, like most other parts of the nation, is experiencing a dramaticincrease in its older adult population. To support healthy aging, it is important to createlifelong communities where people can live throughout their lifetime and where olderadults can age in place. The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), serving as the AreaAgency on Aging and the Metropolitan Planning Organization, developed the LifelongCommunities Initiative as a comprehensive effort to help communities in the metro arearespond to the diverse needs of a changing population. To more fully realize the Life-long Community concept for the Atlanta region, ARC sponsored an intensive designworkshop that produced several major breakthroughs in what makes a community truly“lifelong.” This article will describe ARC’s Lifelong Community Initiative, the planningprocess, the outcomes of the charrette process, and present the community of Mabletonas a case study to implement a lifelong community.
KEYWORDS. Lifelong, communities, planning, aging, healthy, built, environment,principles, charrette
INTRODUCTION
Atlanta, like most other parts of the nation, is experiencing a dramatic increase inits older adult population. This demographic shift will not only impact individualfamilies and their resources but completely restructure the population and affect allparts of community life. To support healthy aging, it is important to create lifelongcommunities where people can live throughout a lifetime and where older adultscan age in place. By 2030, one out of every five residents will be over the age of 60.The region’s housing and transportation infrastructure is challenged to the supportthe changing needs and preferences of a growing older adult population and theAtlanta region’s older adult population is growing, and they want to age in place.1
Despite major efforts and resources to assist with needs of older adults and improvetheir quality of life, the Atlanta region is not prepared for this major demographicshift. Atlanta is ranked third for “younger” metropolitan areas that will experiencea significant increase in the older adult population due to baby boomers that intend
Address correspondence to: Laura Keyes, AICP, Atlanta Regional Commission, 40 Courtland Street, NE,Atlanta, GA USA (E-mail: [email protected]).
1In a recent survey by The University of Georgia Carl Vincent Institute of Government for the AtlantaRegional Commission, 64% of the 55+ population said they would stay “as long as they can,” while 86% ofthe 80+ said they would stay in their current residence, 2007 Atlanta Regional Commission
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to age in place (Frey, 2009). According to Frey, baby boomers are the first fully“suburban” generation and may no longer find the services in these communitiesto age in place.
Older adults both want and plan to age in place, as to remain in their homes, com-munities, and a sense of place (Stafford, 2009) for as long as possible. A range ofhousing and transportation options, programs, and health and supportive servicesare necessary elements to successfully age in place (Ball, 2004). In a recent survey,64% of the region’s 55 and older population said they plan to remain in their homesas long possible (The University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government,2007). The relationship of the built environment (i.e., the physical infrastructure)and the ability of older adults to maintain independence and freedom is one com-ponent of helping people age in place. The Atlanta region’s conventional subur-ban built environments present significant challenges to meeting older residents’needs for independence and freedom. However, conventional suburban develop-ment presents significant challenges to meeting older residents’ needs for physicalactivity, health and social services, age appropriate housing, social engagement, andaccess to transportation. In a recent national public health report, Georgia’s olderadults were ranked among the unhealthiest in the country (Center for Disease Con-trol and Prevention & The Merck Company Foundation, 2007). Roadways that ac-commodate transportation options such as walking and bicycling help to improvephysical fitness and serve as a civic, social, and community space (Bell & Cohen,2009). Users of a system with pedestrian travel choices have the opportunity to walkmore that increases their opportunities for physical fitness and social interaction.
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), serving as the Area Agency onAging, the Regional Commission, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization,developed the Lifelong Communities Initiative as a comprehensive effort to helpcommunities in the region respond to a changing population and its diverse needs.The Lifelong Communities Initiative has three goals: (1) to promote housingand transportation options; (2) to encourage healthy lifestyles; and (3) to expandinformation and access to health and supportive services. In the Atlanta region, thevast majority of neighborhoods represents conventional suburban developmentwith limited connectivity between infrastructure and spaces and an inabilityto support walkability within the community. A Lifelong Community focuseson meeting the needs of the aging population and includes the application ofuniversal design standards, a spectrum of architectural planning ideas for productsand the environment to be used by all people of all abilities in the design ofsocial spaces, recreation, streetscapes, retail and residential buildings, and thecreation of transportation options to increase mobility and accessibility (NewYork City Departments of Design and Construction, Health and Mental Hygiene,Transportation and City Planning, 2010). Community design that adheres tothese standards will result in accessible communities and neighborhoods thataccommodate varying levels of abilities and the needs of all ages.
Breaking down barriers between senior residential areas and the rest of the com-munity is essential to redefining the built environment. Local zoning ordinancestypically restrict uses that isolate senior housing from other sectors of the commu-nity. The separation of uses keeps older adults from accessing the services they needto thrive in their communities. Zoning codes need to diversify to allow a diversehousing stock with a mix of densities, sizes, and costs (Ball, 2004). Aging in place
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requires that people have access to community health and supportive services inclose proximity of their residence. Home modifications may be all that is necessaryto improve the relationship between a person’s home and the surrounding infras-tructure to create a home that is “visitable.” Visitability is a national trend thatfocuses on housing design standards that make it easy for people to remain in theirhomes without barriers and be visited by people in walkers or wheelchairs withoutlimited access. Visitability is achieved if a home has a zero foot entry, wider hallsand doorways, and the master room and bath on the main floor. Stafford suggeststhat the environment for older adults be visitable in a way that does not stigmatizepersons with disabilities or limited abilities (Stafford, 2009). The goal is to createchanges to housing that does not look institutional and can accommodate the needsand abilities of a person over their lifetime. However, limited resources for govern-ment programs for home modifications continue to result in homes that are notequipped to support aging in place (Smith, Rayer, & Smith, 2008).
The purpose of this article is to describe the ARC’s Lifelong Community Ini-tiative, the Lifelong Community Charrette, and the outcomes of the charrette pro-cess. The Lifelong Communities Charrette, an intensive 9-day planning and designprocess, convened experts in aging, health, active living, mental health, geriatricmedicine, housing, transportation planning, and architecture. Participants appliedthe Lifelong Communities Framework and design principles to six different loca-tions to establish the necessary road map to create communities for people of allages and abilities live throughout their lifetime. The community of Mableton, SouthCobb County, Georgia, will be presented as a case study to demonstrate the imple-mentation of the core Lifelong Community Principles.
ATLANTA’S LIFELONG COMMUNITIES FRAMEWORK
Creating Lifelong Communities entails designing physical environments that sup-port both individual activities and the programs, policies, and funding that allowall people to remain in their homes and communities as long as they desire. TheLifelong Communities Initiative began in 2007 in response to the need for a rad-ical rethinking of the way communities are designed in order for the aging anddisability network to continue to deliver a high standard of services in the face ofan ever-increasing aging population. The Initiative evolved from ARC’s work withAging Atlanta, a partnership funded in 2002 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foun-dation Community Partnerships for Older Adult Programs. The initial work leadARC’s research and development work on innovations of housing and transporta-tion policies, partnerships, and increased levels of awareness on the issues relatedto aging in place (Lawler & Berger, 2009). Joining with community leaders and in-teragency partnerships, ARC developed the Lifelong Communities Framework toguide leaders and residents on how to rethink and redesign their communities tofunction well for all age groups. The Lifelong Communities Framework defines aLifelong Community as a place where individuals can live throughout their lifetimeand provides a full range of options to residents insuring a high quality of life forall. The Lifelong Communities Initiative’s work is to change the current reality. Ifpeople do not have the transportation, housing, access to health and social services,and commonly needed retails services then public and private investment needs tobring these elements into the community.
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FIGURE 1. Lifelong Community framework. Source: ARC—The Lifelong CommunitiesFramework depicts the three goals needed to create communities for a lifetime.
A Lifelong Community requires residents, planners, and elected officials to makedecisions not only for the current population but the residents who will live in thecommunity in the future. Urban design and land use issues must first be addressedbefore a site or community can adequately support the specialized programs, poli-cies, and building types of a Lifelong Community. Figure 1 depicts the three fun-damental goals necessary to support a lifelong community: promote housing andtransportation options, encourage healthy living, and expand access to services.Older adults must have housing options and alternatives to the car in order to re-main in their communities.
The Lifelong Communities Initiative is based on the premise that it is not pos-sible to meet the needs of the growing older adult population with supportive pro-grams or innovations in healthcare alone, but rather requires rethinking the waywe plan for and regulate the built environment. A coherent and supportive physi-cal neighborhood framework is equally important to maintaining economic vitality,stability, and health over an individual’s lifespan. The Lifelong Communities Ini-tiative is a comprehensive effort to help the region’s communities respond to thedemands of the changing population and begin to design places that allow and en-courage people to live there for a lifetime. It is built on the premise that the designand development of communities, including buildings, land uses, and the physical(i.e., roads, bridges, sewer, water and drainage systems, and essential utilities suchas telecommunications and electricity) and social infrastructure (e.g., programs andpublic institutions that support human needs and quality of life such as hospitals,schools, and libraries), have a profound effect on the ability of people to live inde-pendently in their communities and homes as they age.
Eliminating the conflict between the user and the surrounding infrastructure is akey component to creating a community where older adults can age in place. A com-munity with a robust, interconnected transportation system is able to offer people
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alternative transportation choices. If older adults are without transportation ser-vices, they run the risk of not being able to access necessary medical services andmay become increasingly isolated.
The Lifelong Communities Initiative recognizes that in order to truly have aplace where one can live throughout a lifetime begins with the physical environ-ment. To ensure that the built environment supports a high quality of life for peo-ple of all ages and abilities, the aging and disability service network, a networkserving older adults and persons with disabilities, must form a vital component ofwhat traditionally has been the realm of the architecture and planning professions.By assuming a role in shaping the development of communities, Area Agencies onAging and the aging network can help provide vital information to urban design-ers, architects, town planners, elected officials, and other decision makers to createbarrier-free accessibility to buildings and places that function well for all ages andabilities.
THE LIFELONG COMMUNITIES DESIGN CHARRETTE
To more fully realize the Lifelong Community concept for the Atlanta region, ARCsponsored the Lifelong Communities Charrette in February 2009. The intensive de-sign workshop brought together a broad range of professionals, local citizens, andthe internationally recognized planning and architecture firm Duany Plater-Zyberk(DPZ) and Company to explore ideas, challenge assumptions, and create consensusaround a community vision and plan. The team brought together healthcare, aging,mobility, transportation, accessibility, architecture, and planning and design expertsto explore the challenges of creating lifelong communities in the largely suburbanlandscape where most baby boomers live. Six sites throughout the 10 county regionwere chosen from over 20 submitted for review. In all, six master plans were devel-oped for sites around the Atlanta region incorporating strategies that demonstratehow new development and retrofitted suburban communities can support peopleof all ages throughout their lifetimes.
The intent of the charrette planning process was to foster a multidisciplinary ap-proach to community design and development and increase the regional interest,awareness, and momentum around these issues. Over 1,500 people participated inthe concurrent workshops and discussions. Experts from various disciplines led dis-cussions on demographic changes, planning, market analysis, retrofitting the sub-urbs, and the growing needs of the older adult and aging population. The selectedsites represent a diversity of locations, conditions, land use form, and demographics.The final products of the Lifelong Communities Charrette included six conceptualmaster plans for each site to serve as examples of best practices for implementingthe Lifelong Communities Framework and an evaluation tool for local officials re-viewing proposed developments to determine integration of Lifelong CommunitiesPrinciples.
LIFELONG COMMUNITIES CHARETTE RESULTS
After significant research, study, and the development of the six conceptual masterplans, three core concepts emerged:
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• Lifelong Communities must adhere to the fundamental principles of New Ur-banism to truly be places where all people can live throughout their lifetimes.
• To be fully accessible, from inside the dwelling, down the street, and into therestaurant, theater, or store, developments must be supported by codes that ad-dress accessibility continuously across the entire urban environment.
• The past century gave humans the gift of longevity, often with the presence ofmanaged disabilities or chronic conditions. Traditional building forms must bemodified to reflect the new reality that includes ever-increasing life expectanciesand varying levels of ability.
Consensus of participants held that over the past 40 years, federally mandatedaccessibility standards would have been significantly more effective had they beenformulated within a zoning framework rather than relying solely on accessibilityand building codes. As a result, the Lifelong Communities Charrette proposed thatin a zoning framework, accessibility considerations can be
• packaged with entitlement incentives such as density bonuses and opportunitiesto mix uses, thus offsetting developer costs while further contributing to wholeenvironment accessibility;
• utilized to focus a community’s vision for the future on desirable accessibilitygoals that improve livability for all;
• established as continuous environment standards across the community ratherthan stopping and restarting at the edges of each building or public space; and
• targeted to ensure maximum levels of building accessibility where pedestrian andtransit accessibility is also maximized.
The Lifelong Communities Charrette also produced a set of seven core principlesthat define a lifelong community:
Connectivity: Providing the most options for getting from one place to another,reduces traffic and creates a viable street network for multiple modes of transporta-tion.
Pedestrian Access and Transit: Creating a vibrant streetscape, destination worthwalking to, connected and safe sidewalks, and transit both within the communityand to the regional hubs.
Neighborhood Retail and Services: Permitted within walking distances of housingto reduce auto travel, increase walkability, and provide for sustainable communityhubs.
Social Interaction: Resulting from the provision of adequate green space, com-munity centers, neighborhood gardens, and more.
Dwelling Types: Allowing individuals to remain with the community as theirneeds and preferences change.
Healthy Living: Growing out of an environment that promotes physical activ-ity (trails and bike paths), neighborhood-scale groceries offering fresh fruits andvegetables and health clinics and medical offices within walking distance.
Consideration for Existing Residents: Providing options for existing residents toremain in the community as redevelopment occurs.
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FIGURE 2. Fundamental elements of a Lifelong Community. Source: Duany Plater-Zyberk(DPZ) for ARC’s Lifelong Community Charrette—The lower image represents a majority ofAtlanta’s conventional suburban design neighborhoods, while the upper image reflects theapplication of the Lifelong Community fundamental principles of good design.
As a result of intense discussions throughout the charrette process, it was de-termined that a lifelong community must incorporate elements of good urbandesign. Figure 2 depicts the contradictions in development patterns between aconventional suburban pattern and the lifelong community, one that follows trueurban form. The suburban pattern represents segregation between residential unitsand basic needs. The lack of connectivity in the street network represents barriersin the built environment and access to neighborhood and retail, parks, and othercommunity features. The development pattern truer to urban form depicts connec-tivity between community assets and opportunities for pedestrian access to basicneeds and services. The smaller block sizes in the lifelong community foster op-portunities for walking and social interaction, important components for healthyliving.
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Lifelong Communities must also be accessible to people of all abilities. Thismeans that not only should individual housing units incorporate “visitibility” stan-dards but the sidewalks, bus stops, stores, restaurants, and theaters should all beaccessible to an individual using any type of assistive device (Smith et al., 2008).Current standards that govern buildings and public spaces are inadequate, stop-ping and starting at different thresholds. A Lifelong Community must be accessiblethroughout.
DISCUSSION: MABLETON CASE STUDY
An innovative partnership in Cobb County, Georgia, has come together to createa thriving community that offers something for all—from young singles just start-ing out to families with children, to empty nesters, and finally older adults. TheARC, Cobb County, neighborhood associations and developers are working to cre-ate Lifelong Mableton, a place where individuals of all ages can live throughouttheir lifetime. The project, an original Lifelong Communities charrette site, is nowfunded through a grant from the US Administration on Aging Community Inno-vations for Aging in Place (CIAIP), one of 13 demonstration grants nationwide toimprove the quality of life for older Americans and sustain their independence.
The goal of Lifelong Mableton is to support the local vision for Mableton’s futureby involving stakeholders in planning and focus on Lifelong Community principles.Stakeholders will use as a starting point the site concept created during ARC’s Life-long Communities Charrette in 2009.
Working together, the stakeholders seek to foster a sense of place and capital-ize on Mableton’s many assets—the Mable House Arts Center, a nearby library,Cobb Community Transit, WellStar, County Senior Service Programs, current pre-ventative health programs in the area, area health and supportive services, and theproximity to the Silver Comet Trail.
The area of Mableton, in the southern part of Cobb County, Georgia, is 15 mileswest of downtown Atlanta. The area has maintained its street-like grid systems andhistoric district, although many of the land uses within the area are sporadic andnot related. Mableton’s primary street network developed over time without theguidance of a formal master plan. There are the beginnings of a few grid networksin the area but most of the network was assembled as individual self-containedresidential areas that do not interconnect. The Mableton site yielded a number ofdangerous intersections with foot trails worn in the grass. Figures 3 and 4 reflectthe existing development patterns that include conventional suburban design forresidential, lack of sidewalk access, and connectivity in the street system. The areaalso includes large tracts of older, big box retail segregated from residential areas.
General market research conducted as part of the Initiative reflected a medianhousehold income of $59,800 and a median home value of $141,000. The marketincludes 38% families and 17% empty nesters and retirees. As part of this analy-sis, it was concluded that more than 1,050 households represent the annual marketpotential for mixed-income housing units.
The proposed Mableton Lifelong Communities Plan as depicted in Figure 5 in-corporates the seven lifelong community principles of improved connectivity, en-hanced pedestrian and transit access, expanded neighborhood retail and services,
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FIGURE 3. Mableton, South Cobb county (present development patterns). Source:ARC—Aerial imagery of the Lifelong Mableton Charrette Area.
choice of housing types, social interaction, healthy living, and consideration for ex-isting residents. The Mableton Lifelong Communities Plan takes advantage of theAmphitheater and Mable House Arts Center to place a strong emphasis on life-long learning and creative pursuits. It provides a location for a satellite campus ofthe Savannah College of Art and Design. It also reimagines the space around thelibrary and post office to create better connections, pedestrian access, and a pub-lic park so that the current auto-dependent facilities can act as a town center andgathering place for residents. Floyd Road, a major arterial through the Mableton
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FIGURE 4. The existing Mableton charrette site. Source: DPZ for Cobb County,GA—Mableton has maintained its original grid street pattern although land uses are randomand outdated.
area, has been redesigned to include a direct pedestrian and bike path connectionto the grocery store and other retail amenities. It also connects the community tothe Silver Comet Trail, the longest walking and bike path in Georgia.
The Mableton Lifelong Communities Plan includes a diverse mix of housingtypes designed to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Clustered arounda town green, apartments, single family, and town homes will provide the long-time residents of Mableton an opportunity to downsize but stay in the same
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FIGURE 5. Proposed Mableton plan. Source: DPZ for Cobb County, GA—The Mabletonbuild out is centered on neighborhood greens to include a town square and organized intothree nodes—civic, arts, and integrated residential.
neighborhood. The concentration of older adults will make it easier and less expen-sive to provide community-based health and supportive services. On the basis of theproximity of the hospital, the Plan recommends enhancing proximity to health andsupportive services by locating medical clinics and doctor’s offices on-site.
Walking as an option to any existing retail or neighborhood services is notfeasible. The pedestrian environment is hazardous to older adults in its currentstate. To overcome these obstacles, the Mableton Lifelong Communities Plan
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FIGURE 6. Existing thoroughfares. Source: DPZ for ARC—Existing system has limited con-nectivity and limited pedestrian options.
recommends enhancing the edges of properties with a more urban feel to highlighta sense of place and the development of an extensive trail system to connect the keyelements of this community. While the area is reasonably well served by transit, itlacks integration with the surrounding pedestrian system. The design proposes es-tablishing three neighborhood units linked by a local transit connector to run ona 20 minute circuit, connecting residents to services outside of walking distance.As depicted in Figures 6 and 7, many streetscape improvements are also recom-mended to better integrate traffic into a pedestrian-scaled environment. A major
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FIGURE 7. Proposed connectivity in the existing street network. Source: DPZ for CobbCounty, GA—New connections to the existing transportation network expand the trans-portation grid to reduce block sizes, integrate squares and green space into the publicrealm and encourage walking to assist with health and wellness.
thoroughfare through the area will be redesigned from a high-speed suburban roadinto a true boulevard with a configuration that supports parallel parking, one-waylanes, and well-protected sidewalks. The Mableton Lifelong Communities Plan of-fers opportunity to reconfigure the relationship between the user and the trans-portation system at a realistic scale.
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FIGURE 8. Proposed range of housing types. Source: DPZ for ARC—The goal is to createa regulatory mechanism to allow for a diverse mix of housing types that support people invarious stages of their life in a walkable environment.
As depicted in Figure 8, a range of dwellings is necessary to support LifelongCommunities. Older adults in the Atlanta region indicate that they would moveto a smaller residence or move to another location within the Atlanta region (TheUniversity of Georgia Carl Vincent Institute of Government, 2007). The MabletonLifelong Communities Plan also identifies areas for senior housing with nice viewsand pedestrian access to surrounding venues. These include a Community CenterCampus that may easily serve as a senior center.
The mix of younger and older households throughout the Mableton LifelongCommunities Plan ensures that the community will be able to take advantage ofthe symbiotic relationships of the working population and the retired population.The development is perfectly located to support future potential transit service.Potential adaptive reuse of the site includes housing, assisted living, skilled nursing
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Creating Communities 73
home, as well as a college satellite campus. The adjacent new town square is alsoplanned with a civic focus. The proposed design for Mableton offers opportunitiesfor social interaction critical to a Lifelong Community.
CONCLUDING POINTS
Lifelong Community and aging in place principles are tools to help developers,planners, community leaders, and citizens recognize how the surrounding infras-tructure and built environment support the economic vitality, stability, and healthof a person over their lifetime. The current economic downturn may slow the pacefor redevelopment opportunities, but it also offers communities a chance to rethinkand reimagine development patterns. Since the Lifelong Communities MabletonCharrette, Cobb County, Georgia, initiated the Historic Mableton Preservation andImprovement Plan, a Five-Year Livable Centers Initiative Update 2009–2014, thatincorporates the findings of the Lifelong Community Charrette. The Plan’s processconfirmed, through stakeholder and public involvement, the negative perceptionof the area is changing and there is a renewed effort by nongovernmental entitiesto redevelop the area (Cobb County Departments of Community Development,Economic Development, and Transportation, 2009). Elements of the Implemen-tation Plan incorporate lifelong community design principles such as coordinatingpedestrian access with transit service in the surrounding area, and furthermore, itrecognizes the need to coordinate new facilities and infrastructure in areas withgrowing concentrations of older adults. A key focus will be on encouraging the cre-ation of healthy places and improved walkability within the community. Walkingclubs, preventive health services, and community outreach will complement phys-ical amenities to create a vibrant neighborhood. The coordination of housing lo-cation with community and infrastructure design and the removal of barriers thatinhibit physical activity, social interaction, and easy access of health and supportiveservices are essential for communities interested in supporting the needs of theirolder adult population. ARC works simultaneously to achieve the three goals ofthe Lifelong Communities Initiative and build the interagency partnerships thatcan support change. It is through these partnerships that the communities are ableto challenge old assumptions and find creative solutions to facilitate aging with dig-nity and independence.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The authorsalone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Laura Keyes is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Plannersand is a Senior Principal Program Specialist in the Aging Services Division, AtlantaRegional Commission. Carolyn Rader is Principal Program Specialist in the AgingServices Division, Atlanta Regional Commission. She received a Bachelor’s degreein science from the University of Georgia and Master’s degree in city planning fromthe Georgia Institute of Technology. Cathie Berger is Division Chief in the AgingServices Division. She received a Bachelor’s degree in social work in South Africa
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and Master’s degree in social work from the University of Georgia. She has 30 yearsof experience in the field of Aging and is the Director of the Atlanta Area Agencyon Aging for the 10-county region.
REFERENCES
Ball, M.S. (2004). Aging in place toolkit. Atlanta, Georgia: Atlanta Regional Commission. Re-trieved September 29, 2009, from http://www.atlantaregional.com
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Stafford, Phil. (2009). Elderburbia: Aging with a sense of place in America. Santa Barbara, CA:Praeger.
The University of Georgia Carl Vincent Institute of Government. (2007). Older adults in theAtlanta region: Preferences, practices and potential of the 55 + populations. Atlanta RegionalCommission, Atlanta, GA. Atlanta Regional Commission.
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