Livable Communities

By Elaine Friesen-Strang

If one happens to walk past James Hipsher’s house, one might notice a wooden box supported on a post. It is behind the hedge row, but close enough to inspect. Its glass front is hinged, and inside the box is a piece of paper with poetry on it. The box is shared with the next door neighbor, and the two neighbors alternate months for posting. The poems are changed each Friday. When it is Jim’s month, he posts his own poetry.

A group of women friends, from generations ahead of me, all nodded in agreement when one said, “In high school I didn’t want to learn to type.” It took me a moment to understand the implication of the comment and how learning to type often meant being channeled into secretarial work, which they didn’t want to do. By the time I was in high school, typing class was an introductory course to computer science, and the book and movie “Free to Be You and Me” had ushered many of my generation through childhood to believe we had more career choices. In a similar way, I am now grateful to see new perspectives on aging catching on. It makes me hopeful more doors will open to opportunities as I grow older, including in the workplace.

On October 6 and 7th, AARP Oregon, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Portland for Everyone and Urban Land Institute hosted Housing and Neighborhood for All: Affordability, Accessibility and the "Missing Middle," a three-part event series focused on exploring how the Portland metro region can create more housing options, identifying barriers and challenges to more innovative housing that support residents across age, ability and income spectrums and how "missing middle housing" can be instrumental in building successful multi-generational communities.

Join AARP Oregon, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Portland for Everyone and Urban Land Institute for an engaging morning of dialog about housing, land use and creating communities for all ages. Learn about “Missing Middle Housing” from the man who coined the term — nationally known architect

This is the first in a new series of blogs by the Oregon State Volunteer President

What's AARP doing in your community? We are celebrating PRIDE, doing Tek workshops, doing "Neighborwalks," fighting fraud and supporting family caregivers! We have dozens of events scheduled in the next few months. Check out the event listing attached here - and register for the ones that may be of interest. We look forward to connecting with you!

By Mac McLean

by: Elaine Friesen-Strang

Michele Scheib, AARP Gen X Blogger/Volunteer