Aging in Place - Partners for Livable Communities

How to Make San Francisco Affordable Again

San Francisco’s nationally recognized SPUR organization has some innovative solutions on how to make pricey San Francisco affordable again. These ideas (some tried & true and some out of the box) have the power to make the city even more of a success story!

Protect the existing rent controlled housing stock.
Reinvest in public housing.
Double the amount of subsidized affordable housing.
Make it much easier to add supply at all levels.
Launch a wave of experiments to produce middle-income housing.
Use new property taxes from growing neighborhoods to fund improvements to those Neighborhoods
Reinvest in the transportation system, as a way to provide viable transit options and reduce household transportation costs
Raise the minimum wage

Read SPUR’s full report here about their recommendations for improvement.

Terms:Community Development, Housing, Jobs, Transportation

Sheena Wright

Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award

The Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award acknowledges the civic capacity building, commitment, vision and entrepreneurial spirit of an individual.

Sheena Wright is being honored for her extensive work towards improving community livability for New York City’s most underserved populations. Wright has spearheaded efforts to revitalize New York’s marginalized communities and helped build the first new high school building in Harlem in 50 years. She was recently appointed the first female president of the United Way of New York City.

Inspired by her mother’s commitment to education, Wright enrolled at Columbia University at 16 years of age and earned both her bachelor’s and law degrees from the esteemed university. After working for various law firms, she changed her focus to community empowerment and became the vice president of the start-up Crave Technologies.

Wright then moved on to become the president and CEO of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, a community development organization founded by the distinguished Reverend Calvin O. Butts, III. There, she led a number of far-reaching community initiatives, including projects that helped create over 1,000 new jobs, build 785 units of affordable housing, and improve the quality of life of New York City’s most vulnerable residents.

In October 2012, Wright became the first woman to be named the president and CEO of the United Way of New York, where she will continue her important work empowering underserved communities and promoting equity in this time of need.

Terms:2013, Economic Development, Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award, Housing, Philanthropy/Community Foundation

10 Critical Challenges for Cities in 2014

On Thursday, the National League of Cities released The 10 Critical Imperatives Facing Cities in 2014, its annual report highlighting ten of the most pressing issues facing cities across the United States. Partners board member and incoming NLC President, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker explained during the report's unveiling, "This is not a wish list just of cities. This is a wish list of the people who live in America. That’s 80 percent of the population of America that’s being represented through us."

The ten items on the list were:

Fragile Fiscal Health
Deteriorating Transportation Infrastructure
The Shrinking Middle Class
Inadequate Access to Higher Education
The Need for Affordable Housing
A Less-Than-Welcoming Return for Veterans
Gang Violence
A Broken Immigration System
Climate Change and Extreme Weather
Lack of Public Trust

Click here to read the full report from NLC, which includes an overview of initiatives being taken by cities in their own efforts to tackle these ten challenges and create more livable communities for their residents.

Terms:Community Building, Community Development, Downtown Development, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health & Wellness, Housing, Immigration, Neighborhood Revitalization, Other Reports/Publications, Placemaking, Public-Private Partnerships, Transportation, Urban

How Key West is Dealing with Climate Change

keywest

As climate change remains contentious topic in American politics on the federal level, more and more cities are taking it upon themselves to find solutions that will address this growing problem. Key West, Florida, is a popular tourist destination and also one of the most vulnerable places in the United States to rising sea levels. Like many places in South Florida, Key West is very flat, with many neighborhoods, including the downtown hub of tourist activity, reaching no higher than 3 ft. above sea level.

Terms:Creative Economy, Downtown Development, Economics of Sustainability, Environment, Housing, Regional Cooperation, Smart Growth, Tourism, Visioning & Planning

Ready for the Geezer Glut? Then Think Beyond "Aging in Place"

As the baby-boomer population all reach the age of retirement, many older individuals are going to be forced into assisted living facilities. This article featured on PlaceMakers by Ben Brown highlights the ElderSpirit Community in Abingdon, VA, which on a relatively small budget, has created a community for older individuals that emphasizes people, skills, and needs.

"Among the Big Issues awaiting communities after we shake off the post-recession blues is what to do about demography. Particularly the part about America’s aging population.

The first-borns among the 76-million-strong Baby Boomer generation reached 65 in 2011. And over the next three decades, the geezer slice of the population pie will swell to 20 percent, compared to a little more than 13 percent in 2010. Take a look at the chart below, compiled from Census projections and pulled from the informative Alliance for Aging site.

That’s more than 88 million folks 65-plus, with the fastest growing cohorts the “oldest-old” segments of 80-plus.

I have a special interest in this topic, given that I’m among those leading-edge Boomers who have reconfigured commerce and culture to suit our tastes over the last half-century. It’s been a great run.

By now, just about everybody not invited to our long-running generational fiesta is tired of indulging Boomer fantasies. Sorry. Since we’re still running lots of stuff and still hoarding most of America’s financial assets, there’s more to come. Currently, we’re in the middle of one of our periodic – and probably our last – reality denial exercises. This is the one where we’re pretending Big Pharma, robots, electric cars and Dr. Oz will extend our playtime into infinity. You know, “60 is the new 40.” Unlike previous Boomer reality ducks, however, this one is going to be tough to buy or lie our way out of....."

Housing