Book Excerpt: Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation

The following is an adapted excerpt from Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation by Danielle Arigoni, published by Island Press.

The sheer number of stories this year on the impacts of climate change – and what it means for how we live, get around, and create communities – has been both welcome and daunting. On the one hand, it’s a recognition that our planning profession needs to deliver more carbon-neutral transportation options, more resilient housing, and more places that can withstand an uncertain climate. In some areas, that means improved planning for heat waves where air-conditioned homes are scarce; in others, it means protecting residents from smoke-filled skies from wildfires hundreds or thousands of miles away. And with tepid progress toward meaningful climate mitigation at the recent COP28, the urgency to adapt to climate change grows.

But one element of climate resilience is still largely ignored by planners and in the media: how it differently impacts people based on age. The reality is that older adults – generally speaking, people over 65 -- are disproportionately impacted by extreme temperatures, wildfire smoke, flooding and sea level rise, and more frequent and intense hurricanes. Older adults represent 80% of the 12,000 people who die each year from heat-related illnesses and are three to four times more likely than younger people to die in climate-fueled disasters. Nearly three quarters of those who died in the Maui wildfire this past summer were over 60, as were 63% of those who died in Buffalo’s winter storms a year ago. Moreover, four out of every five older adults live with two or more chronic conditions that can be exacerbated by smoke, moisture, and mold (caused by flooding), or extended power outages that result from extreme weather events.

This matters, of course, because we all have older adults whom we love and care about, and because we are – or will become -- older adults ourselves. It also matters a great deal for planners because older adults are the fastest growing demographic in our country. A century ago, one in 20 adults in the U.S. was over 65; today that number is one in six. In just a decade, people over 65 will outnumber children for the first time ever. Our older population will also be increasingly diverse, with higher growth rates among Black, Asian, and Latino older adults than their white counterparts.  In 2040, more than one-third of those over 65 will be people of color, up from one quarter in 2020. These changes necessitate new thinking on how we design communities that can withstand more extreme temperatures, power outages, and intense storms -- and protect the people who call them home.  

In my new book, Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation, I argue that climate planning efforts must be grounded in the needs of older adults if we are to create more resilient communities.  By solving for the needs of low-income seniors, people who can’t drive, people with pre-existing health conditions and mobility challenges – as is the case for many older adults – we also solve for the needs of many others in ways that make whole communities more resilient.  

That message is overdue and increasingly urgent. This year, there were 25 disasters in the U.S. (most of which were fueled by climate change) that caused $1 billion or more in damage, making it a near-record year.  Last year there were 18 such events; since 1980, the average has been eight per year.  While we don’t know exactly what the coming years will bring, we can fairly predict that they will have a dramatic effect on the health, safety, and well-being of the growing share of older adults in the US.

So, what can be done?  How can city, county, and state planners engage in disaster preparedness or climate resilience efforts that reduce risk for older adults?  The book covers 25 solutions across housing, transportation, healthcare, utilities and more that provide inroads for planners to engage – as well as eight overarching lessons learned.  Planners would be well-served by diving deep into the topic but should pay particular heed to three key lessons: 

1. Actively Engage Older Adults and Their Advocates at the Planning Table 

Older adults can be critical contributors to community resilience because of their volunteer efforts and their lifetime of expertise and insights. Create space at the table for older adults and their advocates and actively engage them to identify solutions, thereby realizing the maxim “Nothing about us without us.” This can be encouraged by requiring that any policy or program that affects community design, emergency preparedness, or resilience considers impacts on older people. This is especially true of any long-term resilience plans that seek to wholly relocate communities at greatest risk of climate-related impacts and disasters (such as low-lying coastal areas, barrier islands, or areas experiencing subsidence). For older adults in these communities, it is critical to acknowledge and honor the importance and life-giving nature of social connections and people’s historical and personal connection to the land and its natural resources. 

Older adults can also be enlisted as volunteers and participants in community resilience efforts, such as helping people to enroll in home energy assistance programs, installing home energy-use monitors, or designing evacuation and sheltering plans. Older adults can also foster relationships and connections among those at greatest risk of isolation. Formal mechanisms—such as Portland, Oregon’s Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs) and nationwide age-friendly efforts following the WHO/AARP framework -- can serve as a bridge to engage older adults in emergency, disaster, and community planning efforts. For example, the former chief resilience officer for the City of Portland, Oregon, notes that her city takes a universal design approach in its emergency preparedness and program design efforts. Fully ten percent of volunteers with the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management identify as people with disabilities; many more are older adults. Joanna Papaefthimiou says, “If you design a program with the needs of people with disabilities at the outset, they will be better served. By designing a heat response plan that assumes people are hard of hearing, have mobility impairments, and lack transportation, we can create a plan that better serves everyone.” 

2. Plan for Older Adults’ Limitations in Mobility and Ability (Physical, Financial, Cognitive) 

Plans and projects that rely upon the ability of individuals to relocate out of harm’s way, for either the short or the long term, fail to account for the fact that many older adults do not drive, live alone with little access to on-demand personal transportation, or lack the physical or cognitive ability to easily accommodate new routines in a new environment. Given the precarious financial status of many older adults, plans must better account for those who lack the resources to hire a taxi (if available), move to a hotel (if accessible), or otherwise temporarily relocate in the face of a disaster. More age-friendly resilience planning would provide ample time for older adults to weigh their evacuation options, ensuring that sufficient information in a variety of means is available about where the shelter is located, what to expect at the shelter, and options for how to get there. 

Even preparedness activities that aim to help older adults shelter in place must acknowledge that some will struggle to carry large jugs of water or bags of pet food or will be unable to afford the cost of stockpiling food and prescriptions—much less cover the cost of enhanced hazard insurance or upgrades to enable their home to better withstand disasters. 

3. Recognize That the Majority of Older Adults Live Outside of Congregate Settings and Often Live Alone 

When older adults are explicitly considered in formal emergency and evacuation plans, they are usually assumed to be residents of congregate living facilities, such as assisted living centers, nursing homes, or care facilities. While it is critical to address the needs of these residents in planning and preparation, emergency managers may wrongly believe that planning for them fulfills their responsibility to consider the needs of all older adults. 

More than 90 percent of older adults live in their homes, often alone. They live in urban centers, suburban communities, and rural (or even frontier) places. They may be isolated physically, socially, and emotionally, making them more difficult to reach and plan for than those in congregate facilities—and therefore even more in need of targeted support and planning. Emergency and evacuation plans must account for the needs of residents of congregate living facilities—and of facilities not governed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Emergency Preparedness Rule, such as adult day centers and respite care facilities—as well as those who live on their own. For example, San Francisco’s Resiliency and Emergency Preparedness plan acknowledges this and seeks to ensure that there is a strategy in place in multistory buildings for evacuating people with mobility challenges. The plan further recommends “policies and procedures that account for and are prepared to respond promptly to seniors and people with disabilities, prioritizing those who require additional support or are unable to shelter in place for 72 hours.”

The challenge of adapting our communities to climate change is complex and urgent – but taking the time to recenter our collective efforts in the needs of older adults will be effective in reducing their risk and making all of us more resilient.  We do not have time to waste in preparing our communities; let’s get to work with a clear focus on how this growing segment of older adults – a cohort which we will eventually join – will fare in our new climate future.

Danielle Arigoni is a policy and program expert in the fields of livable communities, affordable housing, and climate resilience. She has worked for more than 25 years in the federal government and nonprofit sectors in pursuit of more equitable, sustainable, and resilient places. She began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya and has since led impactful and innovative teams at USAID, EPA, HUD, and AARP, currently serving as Managing Director of Policy and Solutions at National Housing Trust. She serves on the boards of Smart Growth America and the League of American Bicyclists. Her new book is Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation.