The Washington Post ran an excellent series of articles on aging in the D.C. suburbs that points to issues all big metro areas will face as Boomers age and stay in place. The first segment examines policies and programs of local government facing the “silver tsunami,” ranging from investments in fitness and health to transportation issues. The Post cites a Census analysis showing that the D.C. metro area’s 65+ population “will grow from 446,000 in 2000 to 1.2 million in 2030, or from 9 percent to 14.5 percent of the population.”

Steps being taken by suburban government, according to the Post:

In recent months, Fairfax, Montgomery and Arlington counties have launched large-scale efforts to plan for the coming surge. Montgomery is mulling a Cabinet-level “senior czar” to oversee expansion. Arlington finished its elder study in August, which included proposals for such trendy services as a concierge for apartment buildings with a lot of retirees.

Next month, the Fairfax Board of Supervisors will release its “50+ Action Plan,” making the county one of the first jurisdictions to present a road map for managing the population change. Among expected recommendations: a call-in transit information center, high-tech health monitoring in the county’s senior housing, increased efforts to involve boomer volunteers in the community, more English-language classes for immigrant seniors and help for caregivers.

A second article in the series looks specifically at transportation issues.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 9:37 am and is filed under Aging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.