Aging.
We constantly do it. In fact, you’ll be older by the time you finish reading the newspaper today. But aging isn’t something we as human beings have done for very long, and it’s certainly not something we talk about. Our neighborhoods, cities and region are not prepared for what is arguably the defining element of the coming decades: the aging of the population.
Science, public health and medicine have made it possible to live longer than ever before, and projections suggest these trends will continue. Yet metro Atlanta’s physical environment and infrastructure investments continue to be made with little consideration for this unprecedented longevity.
The questions we now face are: What does it mean to live beyond life expectancy? Beyond expectations?”
The Atlanta Regional Commission has worked for nearly 10 years to encourage the creation of lifelong communities, places where people of all ages can live healthy and full lives at every stage. Now, the “Living Beyond Expectations” campaign is engaging Atlanta residents, young, old and everyone in between, in making those changes.
Through the spring, ARC held focus groups, community forums, stakeholder meetings, an online survey and a telephone town hall meeting and rolled out an awareness campaign focused on advocating for community changes. The culmination of this work will be showcased in Atlanta Saturday and Sunday, June 21-22, when two blocks of Auburn Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward will be temporarily transformed into a vibrant lifelong community.
This technique, called tactical urbanism, employs temporary improvements to focus attention on an issue or area. The Sweet Auburn “Living Beyond Expectations” transformation, however, is the first time in the nation that tactical urbanism is being used to highlight the changing needs of older adults and people with disabilities.
Come and join us. Visit pop-up shops, local restaurants and an outdoor movie theater. Participate in demonstrations of urban gardening. Ride in protected bike lanes. Enjoy history, bicycle and Living Walls art tours. Dine at food trucks. Get a health screening, join exercise classes and more. The Sweet Auburn “Living Beyond Expectations” transformation will be a living laboratory, illustrating the potential for new business, safer streets and healthy everyday living. It will demonstrate that age-friendly design can be implemented anywhere in the Atlanta region.
Our region’s communities must become places where people can remain healthy and engaged throughout their lives if they are to thrive in the 21st century. Individuals will need housing and transportation choices, and local opportunities and amenities that make it easy to get healthy and stay healthy. Working together, citizens, government, businesses and philanthropic organizations can realize the promise of longevity and create places that allow us to live life “Beyond Expectations.”
It’s time to start doing things differently.
Kathryn Lawler is manager of aging and health resources for the Atlanta Regional Commission.
