Healthy Communities for You and Your Parents

Health is often believed to be the outcome of personal choices, such as one’s diet, whether to drink bottled water, or how often to exercise. Yet health officials now recognize that one’s surroundings, from home to neighborhood, are equally important in promoting health. Spending time with family and friends, eating healthy, exercising regularly, and living in a community with accessible paths to parks and gardens are essential to maintaining good health and a positive mindset.

Neighborhood design facilitates older people’s outdoor activities.

In interviews with elderly apartment residents, ‘satisfaction levels’ were significantly higher among residents whose apartments overlooked natural settings, and among those who lived closer to certain kinds of outdoor settings.1

Our aging U.S. population needs accessible paths.
Our aging U.S. population needs accessible paths.

As people age they become more susceptible to health risks, particularly chronic and degenerative diseases. Population forecasts suggest the older adult demographic will continue to increase and diversify. In the U.S, persons age 65 years or older numbered 44.7 million in 2013, or about 14% of the U.S. population. By 2060, there will be about 98 million older persons, more than doubling current numbers. In addition, more than eighty percent of the U.S. population now lives in cities and towns, and greater concentration in urban areas is projected.

 The quality and character of a neighborhood environment (for example, places to sit outside) influences residents’ actual outdoor activities and perceived quality of life (satisfaction and physical health).2

The aesthetic value of parks, trees, and open space has been widely praised for centuries. In recent decades scientists have discovered a deeper level of impact. Studies have documented the connections between nature experiences and human health, wellness, function, and therapy. Evidence confirms that the experiences of city trees, parks, and gardens can aid with attention restoration and stress reduction, contribute to positive emotions, and can promote social engagement and social support (among neighbors, friends, family, and within local organizations).For older adults who are ‘aging in place’ in urban environments, accessible design is critical. A Nature Sacred project, Landscapes of Resilience, is one example of a community garden engaging elders and families within their living space.

Among a diverse group of 70+ aged adults, gardening is an activity connecting to past and future generations, is a source of memories and social events, and brings opportunities for spiritual healing and therapy.1 But, older people in economically deprived neighborhoods are likely to experience difficulty accessing and moving around in green spaces. There are simply less green spaces in poorer neighborhoods. 2 4 5

A call for community-level inclusion of our elders

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses a set of health indicators to monitor older adult health goals. In 2013 most U.S. states were on track or ahead on targets of individual actions such as physical activity, obesity, smoking, medication, mammograms and cancer screenings. In addition, a 2014 national U.S. survey explored perceptions among the aging. Younger seniors are the most concerned about community support as they age. Nearly 40% of older adults ages 60-64 feel their communities are not doing enough to plan for the growing senior population. And low-income older adults are less convinced that their community is prepared for the needs of a growing senior population.

The 2013 CDC report encouraged communities to take additional steps to improve the health and well-being of older adults. At the community level, the report calls for improvements in mobility in physical spaces, programs that encourage brain health, and opportunities to decrease mental distress among elders.  It is clear that the amount of green space in a neighborhood contributes to better mental and cognitive health for older people, and even more so if their outdoor exposure is limited to their neighborhood (because of mobility or health limitations).6 Having quality paths to open spaces encourages more of ourselves or our aging parents to take a walk in their neighborhood, regardless of their age, physical ability, or education.7

“Never before have so many people lived for so long. Life expectancy has nearly doubled over the last century, and today there are 35 million Americans age 65 and older. The aging of the population—in past decades and in the foreseeable future—presents both a challenge and an opportunity.”
– Director, National Institute on Aging

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1 Heliker, D., A. Chadwick, and T. OʼConnell. 2000. The meaning of gardening and the effects on perceived well being of a gardening project on diverse populations of elders. Activities, Adaptation and Aging 24, 3: 35-56.
2 Sugiyama, T., and C.W. Thompson. 2006. Environmental support for outdoor activities and older people’s quality of life. Journal of Housing for the Elderly 19, 3-4: 167-185.
3 White, M.P., I. Alcock, B.W. Wheeler, and M.H. Depledge. 2013. Would you be happier living in a greener urban area? A fixed-effects analysis of panel data. Psychological Science 24, 6: 920-28.
4 Payne, L., B. Orsega-Smith, K. Roy, and G. Godbey. 2005. Local park use and personal health among older adults: An exploratory study. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 23, 2: 1-20.
5 Tinsley, H.E.A., D.J. Tinsley, and C.E. Croskeys. 2002. Park usage, social milieu, and psychosocial benefits of park use reported by older urban park users from four ethnic groups. Leisure Sciences 24: 199-218.
6 De Vries, S., R.A. Verheij, P.P. Groenewegen, and P. Spreeuwenberg. 2003. Natural environments-healthy environments? An exploratory analysis of the relationship between greenspace and health. Environment and Planning A 35, 10: 1717-1731.
7 Sugiyama, T., C.W. Thompson, and S. Alves. 2008. Associations between neighborhood open apace attributes and quality of life for older people in Britain. Environment and Behavior 41, 1: 3-21.