Annotated Table of Contents
Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation
by Danielle Arigoni
Overview/Summary
Two global trends are underway and manifesting here in the US which have the power to radically influence the viability and well-being of communities: climate change and an increasingly older population. While the impacts of climate are generally well-documented and increasingly evident, the impacts of our demographic change are less visible. Nevertheless, by 2034 the US will –for the first time ever have more people over 65 than under 18.
Climate change impacts older adults – ever-growing share of our communities – differently, necessitating new approaches to achieving climate resilience.
Preface
In this chapter, the author recounts her personal and professional journey to the topic, building on a career of more than two decades in the federal and nonprofit sectors, including as Director of Livable Communities for AARP and as a co-lead for HUD’s National Disaster Resilience Competition. Compelled by the recurring evidence that older adults are disproportionately among those dying in climate-related disasters, and her own personal concern about the impacts of climate change, the author explains why this is an issue of critical importance for all.
Introduction
This chapter makes the case for why it is essential to apply an aging lens to the task of achieving climate resilience. The number of older adults in the U.S. continues to grow at a faster rate (38 percent) compared to people under 65 (which grew by just two percent). Communities must be designed to account for the needs of an increasingly older population that often doesn’t drive, is housing-cost burdened, and not well-served by existing housing stock. An “age-friendly lens” is helpful in creating communities that solve for the fact that older adults’ housing, mobility, and health needs differ from other ages. A similar lens must applied to the challenge of achieving climate resilience by bridging the often-disparate worlds of land use planning, community health and aging, and emergency management and disaster planning. Climate mitigation and adaptation are defined, as is community – the locus for which resilience planning efforts will be most effective in reducing climate risks for older adults.
Chapter 1: Who Are Older Adults?
This chapter illustrates why climate resilience interventions need to be grounded in an understanding of who older adults are – beginning with why it is so difficult to define this increasingly diverse and varied age group. It begins with the story of an 80-year old wheelchair-bound former nurse, and her difficulty to respond to the rapid approach of forest fires in 2017. It presents data about projected future growth in the older adult population, including the fact that by 2034, the US Census projects that there will be more people over 65 than under 18 for the first time ever. Our demographic future is also characterized by a larger share of “older” older adults (85 or older), and greater racial and ethnic diversity among them with different cultural and linguistic traditions, health considerations and mobility needs. The chapter describes the facets of aging, using best-available data and research to paint a picture of the economic conditions, housing tenure and household status, mobility differences inside and outside the home, locational differences, health differences, and differences in access to information and communication – all of which serve to illustrate the nature of the challenges faced by many older adults on a daily basis, and which must inform more effective resilience planning efforts.
Chapter 2: Climate-Enhanced Disasters Look (and Feel) Different Based on Age and Other Vulnerabilities
This chapter provides detailed information on the impact of disasters on older adults specifically, beginning with the toll taken by Hurricane Ian in 2022 which caused 119 deaths, of which two-thirds were people over 60, and more than one-quarter were over 80. By analyzing disasters through the lens of the health, economic, mobility and communication needs of older adults, a greater understanding can be achieved of why climate-enhanced disasters impact this age group differently. The chapter includes a description of one 89-year-old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, living alone, as she faced Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The chapter focuses on the increasingly intense, frequent, and deadly conditions that are likely to occur as a result of climate change, and how and why climate impacts are not evenly distributed. Communities of color, lower-income people, and tribal communities are likely to be disproportionately impacted – including the older adults among them – as will be different parts of the US. Discussion follows of older adults’ perception of and preparation for the risks
that they face, and why climate risk is higher in states where more older adults live.
Preparedness is discussed – both institutional and individual – as well as the limitations of an emergency management framework that over-relies upon the ability of people or facilities to fully account for climate-related risks. The chapter reviews several climate conditions – extreme heat; extreme cold; flooding; and drought, wildfire, and smoke – and the unique risk posed to older adults by each. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the impacts of these conditions on health, well-being, and equity for older adults.
Chapter 3: Moving Towards Climate Resilience for All Ages
This chapter makes the case for how and why an aging lens can and must be applied to community interventions. Several planning frameworks are presented and discussed, primarily the “age-friendly” framework designed and implemented by WHO and AARP which is in use by more than 700 communities nationwide, and the Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction framework. Examples from among members of AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly States and
Communities are presented, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, California; Washington, DC; Longwood, Florida; and Austin, Texas. Discussion follows on how COVID-19 catalyzed local action, and what lessons were learned from the pandemic that can and should inform broader disaster resilience planning. Federal efforts – including pending legislation, and newly comprised advisory boards – are discussed as a mechanism to spur further leadership at the federal level. Such efforts are necessary in order to account for the widespread failure of many existing climate planning and disaster resilience tools to consider age, including but not limited to those implemented by FEMA and HUD. The chapter explains why inconsistent messaging and leadership within the public health and aging advocacy fields are also to blame, and how a greater focus on climate change as a core strategy for serving older adults can accelerate a national shift. Suggestions for federal policy improvements are included, as is a call for greater support for an array of community-based efforts which are critical to achieve more inclusive disaster recovery.
Chapter 4 : Strategies for Age-Friendly Resilience
In order to create more resilient communities that can withstand the dual forces of climate and demographic change, every sector must be re-examined and rethought. This chapter (the longest in the book) describes 25 distinct strategies from across an array of sectors that are needed to achieve community-scale resilience, and better meet the needs of current and future populations facing increased climate risks. For each subsection, four to five specific strategies are identified, bolstered by narrative that makes the case for why they better serve older adults. The subsections include: Invest in redundant, resilient, affordable and sustainable energy systems; Provide adequate, affordable secure housing; Expand transportation and mobility options; Strengthen social infrastructure; Integrate climate education and preparedness into healthcare; and Make emergency management more effective.
Chapter 5 : Age-Friendly Resilience in Action
All of these concepts are best understood through the lens of real places that are working to craft a more age-friendly, resilient future. This chapter provides in-depth case studies on three
jurisdictions working to better account for aging in their approach to climate resilience. Featuring interviews with local and state leaders and practitioners, as well as researchers, the case studies describe efforts in New York State, the City of Portland and Multnomah County, and New Orleans, Louisiana. Together, the case studies describe how they have responded to and learned from past disasters hurricanes, extreme heat, extreme cold, and the COVID-19 pandemic – to implement more community-based, age-friendly approaches to resilience.
Chapter 6 : Lessons Learned and How to Move Forward
The final chapter summarizes the lessons learned from the case studies preceding as the “call to action” for readers, organized by core themes instrumental to future success in building resilience. These themes include (and are described in detail): Actively engage older adults and their advocates at the planning table; Plan for older adults’ limitations in mobility and ability; Use communications systems that match the habits, abilities, and preferences of older adults; Recognize that the majority of older adults live outside of congregate settings and often live alone; Plan for family and nonfamily caregivers; Acknowledge the medical and health requirements of older adults during disaster response and recovery; Build the capacity of community-based organizations with training and resources; and Build accountability structures and feedback loops to continually improve. The chapter concludes by explaining that there is a role for all of us in crafting a more resilient future, and that the work is urgently needed to deliver better outcomes for older adults.
Afterword
The final section of the book offers reflections by the author on the new insights gained by researching the book, and the inspiration drawn from the leaders featured throughout. It concludes with the notion that the smartest type of growth to create the most livable communities must ensure that they are safe, secure, and affordable for people of all ages and all abilities in the face of a changing climate.