The ability of older adults to “age in place†in their home or communities are currently influenced by a number of local policies. These policies include those that shape services that support in-home physical design and accessibility, as well as those that support community features such as the availability of nearby services and amenities, affordable housing, and transportation options.
The availability, affordability, suitability, and variety of housing options can affect older adults’ ability to remain independent and actively engaged in the community. Creating age-friendly, livable communities can not only enhance personal independence, but also allow residents to age in place, saving residents’ precious dollars during some of their most vulnerable years. This also allows residents to foster engagement in their community’s civic and social life. It is critical to ensure that people of all ages have access to the options that enhance livability across the lifespan. Great communities provide housing opportunities for people of all ages, incomes, and abilities, allowing everyone to live in a quality neighborhood regardless of their circumstances.
The challenges associated with affording and maintaining quality housing place particularly challenging burdens upon older adults.
This Housing Policy Scan aims to:
- Capture the nature of housing conditions for older adults in Miami-Dade County, through an analysis of relevant documents as well as through interviews with prominent housing advocates;
- Showcase a series of best Practices in age-friendly housing policies that are particularly promising for addressing older adults’ housing needs, including information about locations within the US where the policies have been employed successfully;
- Assess the current status of the Best Practices policies in Miami-Dade County and its five entitlement cities (Miami, Hialeah, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, and North Miami), and
- Offer an advocacy strategy that local proponents of age-friendly housing policies can pursue to promote adoption of such policies.
It is important to note that the research and information collected for this report were done in the Fall of 2018, and updated in December 2018. Municipal policies do change over time as leadership and community needs change. When utilizing this information, it is important to review the most current code and policies for the locality.Â
This document identifies a number of housing-related policies that have been proven to address the housing needs of older adults in the US. It then assesses whether those policies have been adopted in Miami-Dade County by the county government itself as well as the five largest entitlement cities within Miami-Dade. The document also explains both regulatory and political means for promoting adoption of such policies.
We encourage you to read through this document and identify strategies or policies that may already exist in your community or where there may be potential for advocacy. The ultimate goal of this policy scan is to ensure that older adults have access to quality housing that supports aging in place.
