Lifelong Communities

Part 1: A Framework for Planning

The older adult population in the Atlanta region is growing at a tremendous rate. Most individuals over 60 have lived in the region for at least three decades and plan to stay for many more. But our cities, counties and neighborhoods are not designed for an aging population. Lifelong Communities are places where individuals can live throughout their lifetime; they provide a full range of options to residents, insuring a high quality of life for all.

Lifelong Communities work to achieve three major goals:

Promoting Housing and Transportation Options
Encouraging Healthy Lifestyles
Expanding Information and Access to Services

Downloadable Resources:

Information about the Lifelong Communities project (PDF)
Lifelong Communities Framework (PDF)
How the Lifelong Communities Process works (PDF)
Lifelong Communities Solutions and Strategies (PDF)

Part 2: Lifelong Communities: A Regional Guide to Growth and Longevity

The full report documents the results of the Lifelong Communities charrette and shows how each of the five “Lifelong Community” sites studied by the design team incorporate the lifelong community principles into its master plan.

Table of Contents (PDF)
Introduction (PDF)
Fixing What's Broken (PDF)
Introduction to the Case Studies (PDF)
Case Study: Boulevard Crossing, Atlanta (PDF)
Case Study: Mableton, Cobb County (PDF)
Case Study: Conyers, Rockdale County (PDF)
Case Study: Toco Hills, DeKalb County (PDF)
Case Study: Stella Place, Fayetteville (PDF)
Appendix 1: Housing Options, Social Spaces, Assisted Living (PDF)
Appendix 2: Special Project -- Gwinnett Place Mall (PDF)

Videos from the Charrette – Link to Charrette Summary Page

Part 3: Lifelong Community Sites:

Site Plans Developed during the Charrette and Status updates for each site

Atlanta/Beltline (PDF)
Conyers (PDF)
Fayetteville (PDF) – ARC staff working with city officials to incorporate results of the lifelong community charrette into the City’s adopted Livable Centers Initiative Plan.
Gwinnett Place (PDF)
Mableton (PDF) - ARC coordinating and leading “Lifelong Mableton”, a project funded by the Administration on Aging (AOA) to develop a lifelong community in South Cobb County.
Toco Hills/DeKalb County (PDF) – ARC is coordinating with the Toco Hills/ DeKalb County Livable Centers Initiative Plan currently underway to incorporate findings from the lifelong community charrette plan.

Other Ongoing Lifelong Community Initiatives:

Lifelong DeKalb – ARC participates in both DeKalb County’s Lifelong DeKalb Technical and Stakeholder Advisory Groups to help the County incorporate lifelong community principles in plans for senior centers and housing throughout the County.

Atlanta Housing Authority – ARC is assisting AHA with the incorporation of lifelong community principles into the site and community space redesigns for 12 facilities throughout the City of Atlanta. AHA is funding the redesign project with federal stimulus funds.

Part 4: Resources:

Housing

Aging in Place: Aging in place emphasizes progressive adaptations to the home environment so that older adults can stay in their homes and communities. Cities and counties avoid the high costs associated with overly intensive care, and older adults can continue to contribute to the social, civic and economic life of the community. Aging in Place Tool Kit (PDF)

Greenhouse Model: The Green House® Model totally transforms what we think of as nursing home care. Residents are not patients; they are elders, an acknowledgement that older persons have wisdom they can share, and relationships between elders and the caregiver are based on reciprocity. Presentation on the Green House® Model by Robert Jenkens (PDF)

Read more about the Green House
ARC Senior Housing Guidelines – Best Practices (PDF)
Woodstock, GA Senior Housing Ordinance (PDF)