The Age-Friendly Community Policy Movement and the Residential Location of U.S. Older Adults: The Case of Hamilton County, Ohio.

Abstract

This study maps and discusses the status of the age-friendly community movement in a United States (U.S.) residential-geographic context using the AARP Livability Index and Hamilton County, Ohio, as a case study. The framework for the construction of this index shares multiple commonalities with the World Health Organization's widely adopted Age-Friendly Cities and Communities framework. Via visual inspection of maps and spatial analytics, this study compares geographic locations and spatial patterns of census tracts in terms of their residence desirability for older adults based on the Livability Index and actual residence locations of adults aged 65+ in Hamilton County. The comparison reveals that the actual residence locations of older adults differ from those that are most desirable. Given this difference between actual location choices and ideal or age-friendly residential environments, the age-friendly movement needs to discuss the gap between its framework, exemplified here by the AARP Livability Index, and reality to promote and implement its policies more effectively, especially in the U.S.