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Denver, Colorado, joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities in 2014.
That same year, AARP Colorado commissioned this neighborhood survey of AARP members and Hispanic members age 50 and older in Denver, Colorado. The goal was to conduct a neighborhood needs gap analysis to identify and prioritize areas of focus and better understand the needs of older adults and "aging in place."
KEY FINDINGS
The majority of AARP members age 50+ in Denver:
- have lived in Denver and their neighborhood for a long time and are likely to remain there as they get older
- own their homes and say having well-maintained homes and properties is the most important housing feature in their neighborhood
- say it is important to have outdoor spaces and buildings in their neighborhood that allow access for people of different physical abilities
- mostly drive themselves to get around their neighborhood, and many believe it is important to have well-designed, safe streets that support all users
- want to stay healthy and therefore believe having good neighborhood health care facilities, services, and providers is important
- want to have social and volunteer activities in their neighborhood
- place high value on having local government services that will help them age in their neighborhood
- report a lack of neighborhood features, that is the gap between what is important and what is present in five key areas: volunteer opportunities, neighborhood information, outdoor spaces and buildings, housing, and local government services.
The AARP Colorado Office commissioned a mail survey on livable communities of 2,000 AARP members age 50-plus and 1,000 AARP Hispanic members age 50-plus in Denver, Colorado. The sample was drawn at random from AARP’s membership database. The survey was fielded from October 31 through November 28, 2014 and exactly 1,004 useable surveys were returned by the cut-off date. For more information, contact Joanne Binette at jbinette@aarp.org.
Research published March 2015
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