AARP Livable Communities Resources

Boffeli, Seth

AARP has numerous resources available to help individuals make a difference in making their communities for livable for residents of ALL ages. Below you will find descriptions and links to some of these resources.


Experience Corps

Experience Corps connects volunteers with children who are struggling to read to provide tutoring that transforms lives.

AARP Walk Audit Toolkit

The AARP Walk Audit Tool Kit provides a step-by-step guide for assessing a community's walkability. The tool kit helps identify the roads and intersections that are dangerous for pedestrians and provides information on how individuals and communities can get the ball rolling on improvements.

Back to Work 50+

Back to Work 50+ is an innovative collaboration between AARP Foundation and the American Association of Community Colleges and workforce development organizations to help unemployed and under-employed workers age 50-64 overcome barriers to finding good jobs.

SCSEP

The Senior Community Service Employment Program helps people age 55 and older regain their confidence in order to find jobs in today's economy. Learn more at aarpfoundation.org

VIDEO: Starting a Small Business

This video highlights how AARP supports developing opportunities for experienced workers to pursue entrepreneurship as a means to generate income, boost financial security and assist others in meeting needs.

GRAPHIC: In a Livable Community

In a Livable Community - available in five languages - is a graphic that describes the features that make a community livable for people of all ages.

How Leaders Can Connect With Their Community

Community leaders throughout the United States are finding creative ways to connect with their constituents. Here's a sampling of what's being noticed by AARP staff and volunteers — as well as some words of wisdom for leaders who want to effectively represent the people they serve.

Caregiver Coaching Program and Care Circle Program

The Livable Communities Caregiver Coaching Program and CareCircle Program help caregivers make more informed decisions by providing them with trained a volunteer coach or volunteers who help manage caregiver tasks. Managed by the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services, these programs are an example of service delivery through volunteerism.

“ Better Together” Research Report

As more communities in the United States and around the world commit to becoming Age-friendly and Dementia Friendly, there is increasing interest in how the two types of initiatives work together, and complement rather than compete. This report compares the two approaches. Visit Dementia Friendly America for more information on the Dementia Friendly Communities program.

Caregiver Resources: “Create The Good” Toolkits

Visit Create the Good to find resources and toolkits on how to Care for a Caregiver, Help Someone Access Public Benefits, Help Individuals Manage Their Medications, and Build a Caring Community Network.

Oregon’s “Lifelong Housing” Certification

Discover how Lifelong Housing Certification, a project of the Rogue Valley Council of Governments developed in partnership with AARP Oregon, helps to meet the growing demand for accessible housing in their region.

Strategic State and Local Housing Affordability Advocacy Toolkit

Many older Americans experience serious housing problems because of two equally serious obstacles—high housing costs and inaccessible home design features that decrease personal safety, contribute to isolation, and inhibit the ability to successfully age in place.  This tool kit is designed to assist in the preservation, adoption, and implementation of effective policies to address the housing needs of diverse households. It focuses on housing policies and programs that can be implemented at the state or local level. California's Age-friendly community network members should contact AARP California for more info on the toolkit.

Creating Room for Accessory Dwelling Units

Sometimes known as accessory apartments, mother-in-law suites or "granny flats," Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) provide more housing options in existing neighborhoods by allowing homeowners to build additional units on their lots.

AARP Home Fit Guide and No Cost, Low Cost Ideas

The AARP Home Fit Guide and brochure on No-Cost, Low-Cost Ideas offer affordable ways to make your home, comfortable, safe, and a great fit. They are available in English and Spanish.

Livability Index

The Livability Index is a groundbreaking tool of the AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) that scores every neighborhood and community in the United States for the services and amenities that affect people's lives the most.

AARP Livability Fact Sheet Collection

A package of 11 comprehensive, easy-to-read livability resources, the fact sheets can be used individually or as a collection by community leaders, policy makers, citizen activists and others to learn about and explain what makes a city, town or neighborhood a great place to live.

Outdoor Spaces & Buildings: Guides and Toolkits

AARP offers a variety of inspirations for your community. Here are a few examples of how to's, toolkits and success stories available on aarp.org/livable:

• Create a Grandparent Park.
• Create, maintain, and manage an intergenerational community garden.
• Learn about “placemaking.”
• Learn about shared spaces.

Respect & Social Inclusion:  Ideas to Help Create More Inclusive Communities

Discover ways to build bonds across generations through a look at seven programs that are connecting older and younger generations with one another.

AARP Research

AARP Research has produced original, publicly available research on the health, finances, and the wants of people age 50+, including research related to communities of African, Asian, and Latin descent. Visit AARP Research for compelling insights into issues and communities.

Age-Friendly Report: Inspiring Communities

Age-friendly Report: Inspiring Communities is a collection of age-friendly "good practices" from 16 communities around the world.

Connect2Affect Isolation Infographic

AARP Foundation is spearheading Connect2Affect to address the complex problem of isolation. Through research and innovative efforts, AARP Foundation is working to create a deeper understanding of loneliness and isolation, draw crucial attention to the issue, and catalyze action to end social isolation among older adults. This infographic showcases ways we can work together to end social isolation. Visit connect2affect.org for more information and research on combating isolation.

Organize a Ciclovia or Open Streets Event

Organize a Ciclovia or Open Streets Event is a how-to guide from AARP on how residents can be encouraged to safely walk, bike, skate, dance, and in other ways enjoy city streets by closing them to vehicular traffic.

Evaluating Complete Streets Projects: A Guide for Practitioners

This guide is a partnership between AARP and the National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America. It provides an introduction to project evaluation that focuses on multimodal goals and the needs of all individuals using the system. It includes general steps communities can take to evaluate projects, useful measures and metrics for common Complete Streets goals, tips for how to use these measures to tell the story of a project once it is completed and a list of in-depth resources for communities ready to take the next step.

Livable Communities Microsites

We've compiled a list of easy-to-use URLS that help get you to the information you need from AARP:

AARP Livable Communities home page : www. aarp.org/livabl e

AARP Livability Index : www.aarp.org/livabilityindex

AARP Public Policy Institute/Livable Communities : www.aarp.org/livablepolicy

AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities : www.aarp.org/agefriendly

AARP Livable Communities A-Z Archive : www.aarp.org/livable-archives

AARP Livability Fact Sheets : www.aarp.org/livability-factsheets

AARP Livable Communities “5 Questions for…” interviews: www.aarp.org/livable-interviews

AARP Livable Communities How To's : www.aarp.org/livable-lessons

AARP Livable Communities Monthly e-Newsletter : www.aarp.org/livable-newsletter

AARP Livable Communities Slideshows : www.aarp.org/livable-slideshows