April 25, 2013
 WHERE: Temple University Harrisburg, 234 Strawberry Square, Harrisburg, PA
WHEN: Friday, May 3, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The aging of society is an enormously important demographic change that has implications for every aspect of life in the United States. The challenge for decision-makers planning the future of our communities is to ensure that the built environment meets the changing needs of all citizens including older people.
On Friday, May 3, the Department of Community and Regional Planning, part of Temple University’s School of Environmental Design, will host the 2013 Spring Planning Institute, exploring a variety of issues related to meeting the needs of the country’s older population. The Planning Institute, co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association, will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Temple University Harrisburg Campus, 234 Strawberry Square.
“The theme of the 2013 Spring Planning Institute is ‘Planning for Livable Communities: Incorporating an Aging
Perspective.’ The Institute offers planners, policy makers, service providers and citizen activists tools that can be used to transform our communities to support people as they age in place,” said Temple University Department of Community and Regional Planning Chair Dr. Deborah Howe. “Specific attention will be given to transportation and housing alternatives, creating inter-generational communities, and advocating for an aging perspective within the context of local planning and community development.”
According to Howe, the goal of the Planning Institute is to “provide planners, municipal officials and citizens the tools with which we can transform our communities.”
“The Institute is really for anyone who is concerned about what they can do at a local level to support people as they age. Our low density suburban and rural environments have limited housing, transportation and mobility options to meet the needs of their citizens as their abilities change due to aging,” said Dr. Howe. “In many cases, that is creating unnecessary stress that is affecting quality of life for these individuals and their caregivers.”
Planning Institute topics include: Location and Development Standards for Senior Housing; Visitabilty: Ensuring Accessibility in New Construction; Initiatives that Foster Intergenerational Communities; Advocating the Aging Perspective; What We Know about Mobility and Older People; Transportation Safety: Engineering and Education; and Aging as a Societal Challenge: Will Planners Carry the Banner?
Howe said it is important to get planners and decision-makers to use aging “as a lens through which we can evaluate our communities and the extent to which we support or hinder continuing independence.”
“We need to identify ways to put people in planning — we need to do more than building just single family houses and highways ,” she said. “This isn’t just an issue for older adults. This is about planning to meet the needs of people throughout their lives.”
Throughout the year, undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Community and Regional Planning have been working on projects that have incorporated an aging perspective into planning, according to Howe.
“Last year during the 10th anniversary of our department, we honored the work of the Philadelphia Corporation on Aging, which has been particularly successful in advocating for an aging perspective. At the time, we committed to incorporating aging as a theme in all of our courses for one year,” she said. “Two of our planning studios at Ambler have focused on issues of aging in Montgomery County while the Harrisburg studio has done the same for Lebanon County.”
Community and Regional Planning Master’s student Lindsey Graham said her studio class — a mix of graduate and undergraduate students — has been working with the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services to develop plans to help the elderly “age in place.”
“The Center for Disease Control defines aging in place as the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently and comfortably regardless of age, income or ability level. This project has been a terrific experience as it’s allowed me to really step out my comfort zone and explore planning from different perspectives,” she said. “This is a project that I feel could be taken and used to make a significantly positive impact on our communities.”
To learn more about the Planning Institute speakers, or to register for the institute, visit www.ambler.temple.edu/news/planning-institute.htm.
For additional information about the Planning Institute, contact 267-468-8300 or CRPlanning@temple.edu.
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