Aging in Place: Challenges for Smart & Resilient Communities

Abstract

Elder individuals who "age in place" report higher quality of life, greater social connectedness, and fewer health care complaints than those who do not. Many smaller communities near rural areas are experiencing a growth of elders moving from rural areas; if elders do not age-in-place successfully, they introduce strain on municipal services and their economic activity is diminished. Therefore, such cities need to adopt smart and resilient city practices to successfully manage the increased pressures on city services, and promote successful aging in place. In this paper, we outline challenges, through the lens of successful aging-in-place, that can be addressed through a smart and resilient cities framework, and indicate research questions that can lead to models for cities to successfully deal with such challenges.