AARP: Baby Boomers Want Liveable Communities, Too

If we are to believe much of what we see in the press, millennials will have to make a more sustainable world to get us out of the mess that the baby boomers are leaving behind. But such generalities may not be necessarily true. Even AARP, which has paid plenty of attention to the baby boomer vs. millennials conflict, has made the case that its membership is concerned about the same issues with which the younger generation is often preoccupied. For example, one may not intuitively think of AARP as a locus of information on smart cities and better urban planning. This powerful lobbying group, however, has an impressive archive that inspires its members to advocate for more “liveable communities.”

AARP’s Walkable and Liveable Cities Institute should not be much of a surprise. As one approaches retirement age, the idea of living in an isolated exurb, where walking, cycling and public transports are the exception and not the rule, is less appealing. And with kids out of the house, denser communities and compact homes close to shops and services are becoming more desirable. Pedestrian-friendly streets and bicycle lanes are not only safer, but also allow citizens of all ages to save money and, of course, live sustainably.

To that end, AARP is arming its membership with a bevy of fact sheets, just as it has over the years when rallying its members over issues including health insurance and Social Security. Together they read like a syllabus for a Smart Cities 101 course. Succinct and full of information, the fact sheets can help citizens make the case for anything from tree planting to traffic roundabouts. For example, the dossier on bicycling not only presents numerous data points, but also does a solid job disputing arguments against the expansion of bicycle lanes and infrastructure in any city. Another section devoted to form-based code arms citizens with information on why conventional zoning in communities needs to go the way of the horse and buggy. In addition, AARP advocates members to work with local policymakers on the following:

• An increase in denser and mixed-use developments across the country, in urban and rural regions alike. “If increasing density in the town core becomes a priority of the community’s growth plan,” says AARP, “it can decrease some of the negative effects of the kind of population loss common in many rural regions.”


• Policies for revitalization without total gentrification, to which everyone from artists, minorities and yes, senior citizens, can relate. AARP points out successful community revitalization projects in Denver and Portland, Oregon, that did not completely change those neighborhoods’ demographics.


• Calling for a curb on “Road diets,” by pointing out the fact that wider streets often have higher accident rates, while redesigning a street to include bicycle lanes and pedestrian islands can actually be a boon for local businesses.

So if the over-55 crowd in the U.S. can muster their strength and have more cities embrace what AARP calls the “Age-Friendly Communities Tool Kit,” everyone within a community can benefit. Safer streets for elderly also benefit kids who bike to school; denser communities where residents can walk a short distance to the café and dry cleaners are a magnet for folks of all ages; and less cars on the road mean the air is cleaner for everyone. The millennial-boomer divide, in reality, is more cliché than reality after all.

Image credit: AARP

After a year in the Middle East and Latin America, Leon Kaye is based in California again. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter. Other thoughts of his are on his site, greengopost.com.