Aging and Equity in the Greater Portland Metropolitan Region

Aging and Equity in the Greater Portland Metropolitan Region discusses the opportunities and needs created by the increase in older adults in the region. The 65 and older population is expected to more than double over the next two decades, to over half a million people. Planning for the inevitable and unprecedented aging of our population provides an opportunity to improve our environments while becoming a leader in the push to create sustainable, equitable, and age-friendly communities

State of Aging in Portland

Introduction From 2006-2019, the Age-Friendly Portland Initiative operated as a city-university- community partnership that began in 2006, resulting from a global World Health Organization (WHO) research project. In 2010, the City of Portland joined the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities and in 2012, it also joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. The Action Plan for an Age- friendly Portland was passed by Resolution by Portland City Council in 2013 (Resolution No. 37039) and contains 10 domains: (1) housing; (2) transportation; (3) outdoor spaces and buildings; (4) employment and the economy; (5) civic participation and volunteering; (6) social participation; (7) respect and social inclusion; (8) health services; (9) community services; and (10) communication and information. From 2006-2019, the age-friendly efforts were coordinated by two of the co-authors of this paper – Margaret B. Neal and Alan DeLaTorre – and in 2019, the City of Portland funded a program manager position within the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability; Alan DeLaTorre moved from Portland State University to the City in December 2019, and currently manages the program. About this Study The State of Aging in Portland study highlights historical, current, and projected trends related to older adults and the age structure in the city of Portland and the greater metropolitan area. Although the primary focus has been the city of Portland, we have also looked at trends with respect to broader metropolitan area, including the seven counties that include and surround Portland city. Some analyses have looked at the city, compared to its inner and outer suburbs, while others compare Portland to other mid-size cities in the U.S. These approaches are meant to highlight trends and to provide researcher a roadmap for future research. The study is intended to inform staff at the City of Portland, partners in the aging network, and other stakeholders interested in and involved with making our community a better place to grow up and grow old. Although the original WHO conceptualization of age-friendly research defined the study population to be 60, we have generally used age 65 when discussing older adults in this report. However, we have used many different age groupings to analyze and display data; furthermore, we have examined trends from birth to death, in some sections, and understand the aging experience is not uniform and is influenced by many factors. This study and the partnerships that have made it possible, have emphasized equity through intersections with age, such as race and disability, both of which are critically important to understanding aging and health. Other factors such as gender, housing tenure, and household size and composition, and more have been examined. Accompanying this report are five learning modules in PowerPoint format that correspond to the sections of this report: (1) Population, (2) Race, (3) Disabilities, (4) Housing, and (5) Livability. Each of those learning modules should be viewed as a presentation as they are animated; those modules provide deeper analyses, as compared with this summary report

Life-Space Mobility and Aging in Place

Research on older adults explores the notion of “aging in place”—providing older adults the opportunity to continue to occupy familiar surroundings, to live in their own homes and communities. But oftentimes one’s ability to stay or leave, particularly in old age, depends on the built environment. Mobility is the ability to meet the basic needs to access goods, activities, services, and social interactions as they relate to quality of life. Thus, mobility is essential to older adults due to their limited, or gradually reducing, physical and cognitive abilities. In transportation research, mobility is often regarded in terms of travel behavior and it is measured by the number of outside-home travel. However, in other fields, including public health, it refers to the relative ease and freedom of movement in all of its forms. This study intends to broaden the understanding of the environmental factors on older adults’ mobility in different life spaces, from one’s bedroom to sidewalk, from home to a final destination via walking, public transit and/or driving. We document and examine 1) the ways in which older adults talk about, understand, and make meaning of their experiences and conditions related to life-space mobility and, 2) how these frames of reference guide their ability to be able to age in place. To achieve these aims, we developed a life-space mobility assessment tool and conduct semi-structured interviews with 25 older adults who have participated in home accessibility modification programs in the U.S. Western region. Given that interviewees already have engaged in some level of self-determination to improve their lives at home, we are interested in their life-space mobility and which opportunities they might see to improve their auto sufficiency. Our work provides both a basis and springboard for studying further geographies and discussion about policy initiatives to effectively and equitably address growing mobility disparities

The Case for Age-Friendly Communities

The report was funded by Grantmakers In Aging, an organization dedicated to promoting and strengthening grantmaking for an aging society. The movement toward age-friendly communities is growing, with the key impetus being population aging. Beyond what individuals themselves can do to age optimally, the movement to create communities that are age friendly focuses on how the economic, physical, and social environments can be improved to address not only the needs but also maximize the assets of an aging population, for the benefit of all

Measure for Measure: Benchmarking the Region\u27s Future

Through its Progress Board created in 1989 and Oregon Benchmarks, Oregon has been a leader in collecting and using data to discern statewide trends in dozens of different economic, environmental, and social arenas. Oregon was among the first U.S. states to set targets for the future in each of these categories, allowing its citizens to see how much farther we have to go to achieve livability goals. These benchmarks are grouped under three major areas of a state strategic plan: quality jobs for all Oregonians; safe, caring and eng aged communities; and healthy, sustainable surroundings. Is there real value in all this data gathering? Is it useful not only to government planners, but to policy makers in both the public and private sectors? If so, will Metro\u27s performance measurements be adequate to rate regional progress toward a better quality of life? If not, what more do we need to do

Sustainable, Affordable Housing for Older Adults: A Case Study of Factors that Affect Development in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon, is considered to be a leader in sustainable development. Government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and businesses have been innovators in policymaking and practice that is aimed at creating a more sustainable city. Despite population aging, little is known about how or whether planners and developers consider older persons in terms of sustainable development. Thus, this study examined the case of sustainable, affordable housing developed for low-income adults aged 55 and older. Interviews with 31 key informants were conducted in order to answer three research questions: What is the meaning of sustainable development in Portland, Oregon, as it pertains to affordable housing for an aging society? How and why has sustainable, affordable housing for older adults been developed in Portland? What are the policies that affect the availability and appropriateness of sustainable, affordable housing for older adults in Portland? The sample included individuals who influenced the creation of senior housing (e.g., urban planners, architects, nonprofit directors) and who were identified either because of their roles within local housing development or through snowball sampling. Six Portland-area developments provided the context for studying how and why sustainable, affordable housing for older adults was planned and created in the city. The findings suggested that introducing the topic of aging into the discourse of sustainable development will lead to a more robust meaning of the concept, which can aid future research, policy, and practice. Five elements characterizing sustainable housing for older adults were identified: physical accessibility; proximity to community services; infrastructure that connects housing with services; healthy living environments; and high-quality social spaces in and near housing developments. The findings also pointed to the need for sustainable development practices to pay attention to social equity and the equitable distribution of affordable housing, including housing for older adults. Several insights into how sustainable, affordable housing for older adults developed in Portland were gained (e.g., using government subsidies; involving aging experts in integrated design processes; intersectoral partnerships that led to the city becoming an early adopter in greening its affordable housing), as well as why such housing was completed (e.g., there was a collective public-sector response to meet the need for creating sustainable, affordable housing; an emerging culture of sustainable development in Portland; urban and regional planning efforts have begun to address population aging). However, the amount of sustainable, affordable housing remains insufficient to meet Portland\u27s aging population. Reasons identified include: the absence of specific housing policy attuned to the needs of older adults in Portland; disconnects between housing and health care and supportive services; and lack of integration of older adults in the planning, design, and development processes. Room for innovation and improvement exists in regard to healthy, accessible, green, and affordable housing policies and the development of new models of housing for an aging population. Based on this research, 10 guiding principles of sustainable development for an aging society were proposed to inform future research, as well as planning and development efforts

Life-Space Mobility: How Transportation and Policy can Support Aging in Place for Older Adults

Research on older adults frequently explores the notion of aging in place —providing older adults the opportunity to continue to live in their own homes and communities. However one’s ability to stay or leave, particularly in old age, often depends on the built environment. An accessible neighborhood that prioritizes mobility affords the ability to meet basic needs like goods, services, and social activities. This life-space mobility is rarely applied in the field of urban planning and architecture. A NITC project led by Ivis Garcia Zambrana of the University of Utah and Alan DeLaTorre of Portland State University sought to operationalize this concept and draw policy implications for the architecture and urban planning fields

The World Health Organization Age-Friendly Cities Project in Portland, Oregon, USA

The older population is increasing in size in Portland, the state of Oregon, the United States, and the rest of the world. Our cities and regions are vital to the support of this demographic shift through the provision of quality built environments, services, and social, cultural, and civic engagement opportunities promote healthy and active aging. Over the next 30 years, the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area will see dramatic growth in the proportion of the population that is aged 65 and older. Although the total population will increase by 47 percent, the 65+ population will more than double, growing by over 137 percent, to comprise 17 percent of the population in 2030, compared to 10.5 percent in 2000. Fueling this increase will be the aging of the baby boomers. As a city and a region, changes that will enhance the quality of life, independence, and well-being of our aging population can be made. These include addressing important needs that are identified, and taking advantage of assets and resources that an older and experienced population provides

Webinar: Aging in Place: Improving Mobility for Older Adults

Aging in place can simply be defined as staying in your home as you age; aging in place concerns include mobility, social activities, safety, accessibility, and long term supports and services in one’s neighborhood and society. In order to facilitate aging in place, organizations in Salt Lake County, Utah and the City of Portland, Oregon, provided home modifications to income-qualified older adults that intended to enable aging in place. Such modifications alter individuals’ life-space mobility – a concept recently used by gerontologists and that we introduced to planners – from within one’s home to the broader community. A unique methodological approach taken by researchers merged several existing data collection instruments with additional interview questions of residents who recently received home modifications. The final report is available here: https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/29182https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_webinar/1041/thumbnail.jp

Periodic Atlas of the Metroscape: Planning for Our Aging Society

The fact that the U.S. is aging is not new; many headlines in 2011, while not heralding the coming of the Boomers, were related to the demographic phenomenon of population aging, including those concerning the government\u27s failed efforts to find solutions to budget deficits, questions pertaining to the future solvency of Social Security, and the extended debate over our nation\u27s health care system. The aging population presents both challenges and opportunities for our region, state, and country in the coming years. The challenge for leaders and policymakers now is to better understand the dynamics that we are facing and to develop appropriate policy responses