Independent for Life – Homes and Neighborhoods for an Aging America

book coverPublished by the University of Texas Press in 2012, Independent for Life – Homes and Neighborhoods for an Aging America, is a book edited by Henry Cisneros, Margaret Dyer-Chamberlain, and Jane Hickie.  Both the Foreward by John Rowe and Chapter 1 by Henry Cisneros can be accessed online at the  University of Texas Press website.

Note: Henry Cisneros served as the 10th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Clinton administration (1993 to 1997) and also as the major of San Antonio, Texas.

Description from Amazon:

Do you want to age independently in your own home and neighborhood? Staying home, aging in place, is most people’s preference, but most American housing and communities are not adapted to the needs of older people. And with the fastest population growth among people over 65, finding solutions for successful aging is important not only for individual families, but for our whole society. In Independent for Life, former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and a team of experts on aging, architecture, construction, health, finance, and politics assess the current state of housing and present new possibilities that realistically address the interrelated issues of housing, communities, services, and financial concerns.

Independent for Life covers a wide range of smart solutions, including remodeling current housing and building new homes for accessibility and safety, retrofitting existing neighborhoods to connect needed services and amenities, and planning new communities that work well for people of all ages. Case studies show how the proposals can be implemented. The authors offer action plans for working with policy makers at local, state, and national levels to address the larger issues of aging in place, including family financial security, real estate markets, and the limitations of public support. Lists of essential resources, including a detailed “to do” list of aging in place priorities and an individual home assessment, complete the volume.