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By Jana Ward
Both newly built houses and existing dwellings will present
mobility challenges for Baby Boomers and members of their families
as they age, according to an AARP survey released earlier this year.
New-home builders and remodelors face a number of challenges as the
residential construction industry prepares to meet the needs of a
segment that owned 43 percent of all homes in this country in 1999
and is expected to make up 25 percent of the population of the
housing market by 2010.
As they enter a new stage of life, Baby Boomers-the
generation born between 1946 and 1964-want to spend as much time as
possible in their own homes, according to the AARP survey, "Fixing
To Stay: A National Survey of Housing and Home Modification
Issues."
The survey also indicates that Baby Boomers and their
families are already having problems getting around their houses.
Eighty percent of survey participants report that they or a member
of their household have difficulty getting around their home. Many
believe that home modifications will allow them or another household
member to remain in their home longer. But although they favor
"aging in place," many in this age group would consider moving to a
new house with enhanced features to help them live comfortably,
safely, and independently.
The National Association of Home Builders is working to craft
solutions to the challenges of America's changing demographics
through the NAHB Research Center, the association's not-for-profit
research arm. In its nearly 40 years of service to the home building
industry, the Research Center has provided product research and
building process improvements that have been widely adopted by home
builders in the United States. Through testing and certification
services, the NAHB Research Center seal is recognized throughout the
world as a mark of product quality and an assurance of product
performance.
The NAHB Research Center launched the National Center for
Seniors' Housing Research, which is funded by the U.S.
Administration on Aging with the support of NAHB and the AARP, in
May 2000. The underlying goal of all work coming out of the Seniors'
Housing Research program is to enable all Americans to age in place
comfortably, safely, and independently in their own homes regardless
of income or ability level.
The National Center for Seniors' Housing Research has several
industry-enhancing activities planned to help achieve this
goal:
· A Seniors' Housing Symposium,
co-sponsored by NAHB, that will focus on the latest information and
advances on building, remodeling, and designing for the aging
population
· Educational programs for builders
and remodelors at the annual Seniors' Housing Show convention and
exposition
· Building industry roundtables
that explore how to address current and future needs of America's
aging population; the housing requirements particular to older women
and the multicultural community; and proposals such as certification
of products for the mature market
· "Aging in Place: A Smart-Aging
Residential Design Competition for Students," which is a long-term
effort to get the 'aging-in-place' concept incorporated into the
curriculum of college and university programs that deal with
building, construction, and design
· A contractor standards program,
with qualification criteria developed with NAHB, local and state
home builder associations and AARP, that increases industry
awareness of the needs of older homeowners
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