AARP Tampa Bay Sees Continued Growth to Support its Growing Older Adult Population in its Network of Age-Friendly Communities

The population of older adults is getting larger and older. By 2030, 1 of every 5 people in the United States will be age 65 or older. We’re also living longer and seek to remain in our homes and communities for as long as possible.

In other words: older adults want to age in place where the infrastructure and services make this wish possible. The features that support these aims include walkable streets, multi-modal transportation, affordable housing, and community connectedness options in the form of parks, museums and concert halls. These are referred to as livable, age-friendly communities.

Since 2012, AARP staff and volunteers regularly collaborate with elected officials, partner organizations and local officials to install these features anywhere people live. With AARP Florida, the number of communities joining the network is more than 40 and counting where adopters of this initiative focus on their own most urgent needs.

Tampa Bay, one of many Florida markets known for gridlock, gives impetus to adopt the perspective that driving shouldn’t be the only way to get around. Reducing automobile dependence supports economic development when communities give residents options to travel from dwelling to storefront. In pre-pandemic St. Petersburg, an age-friendly community since 2016, various organizations collaborated annually for Open Streets to demonstrate these principles that at the same time supported local businesses.

In addition to the city of St. Petersburg, other age-friendly communities include Clearwater, Dunedin and Pinellas County. The city of Tampa joined the network Oct. 14, where they seek to make safe, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and streets for all-residents a top priority.

 Efforts include:

• Launch of a micro-mobility program to make seated scooters and eBikes available citywide
• Renovating and improving sidewalks to increase access for people with limited mobility
• ADA accessible mats at Ben T. Davis Beach in 2020
• Closed captioning on city videos for the hearing impaired
• $1 Million infusion in federal dollars for the soon-to-be revitalized East Tampa Recreation Campus including plans  for a senior center
• Collaboration with Vision Zero, an international strategy to get to zero deaths caused by crashes on our roadways
  

AARP Florida remains committed to this work alongside its community partners and in coordination with its growing number of partners and communities within the Sunshine State. For more on age-friendly initiatives, visit aarp.org/agefriendly.