Retirement Communities

These spots offer a balance of affordability, access to healthcare, and outdoor recreation opportunities that make them ideal for those seeking comfort and quality of life in their golden years.

October 8, 2024 - Los Angeles Times

Designing roads for low-speed vehicles like golf carts can make getting around safer and easier for seniors.

September 5, 2021 - Curbed

Now frequently associated with retirees and sprawling developments in the U.S. Sun Belt, master planned communities, also known as new towns or planned communities, were invented as an escape from the haphazard growth of urban areas in the mid-20th century.

August 24, 2021 - James Brasuell

Some parts of The Villages, Florida, the nation's largest retirement community and one of its most popular master planned communities, bear a striking resemblance to the neotraditional development favored by famous early examples of New Urbanism.

July 20, 2020 - James Brasuell

The Villages is one of the strangest, and most significant, planning and development stories in recent memory—with surprisingly regular relevance in the media and numerous intersections to politics and culture.

July 13, 2020 - James Brasuell

A feature article in Marketwatch describes a future for retirement communities that look more like WeWork than the golf course-adjacent exurban communities of the 20th century.

May 28, 2019 - Marketwatch

In a region where most people “age in place,” facilities offering services and socialization give primary caregivers a much-needed break.

January 15, 2018 - The Texas Observer

Though many retirement communities still look just as they have for many decades—defined by cul-de-sacs and golf courses—many seniors are looking for a more urban lifestyle.

October 23, 2016 - The New York Times

Planners convene to discuss a model plan for the smart growth of an aging population.

December 12, 2015 - Urban Institute

Seniors are on the cutting edge of a movement to make Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs), otherwise known as golf carts, a viable form of everyday transportation.

October 12, 2015 - The Atlantic

Portland's over-educated, under-employed population is largely a semi-retired community of young adults, according to some. But with rising housing prices and overall cost of living, it is unclear how Portland will retain these characteristics.

September 18, 2014 - The New York Times Magazine

After postponing home purchases during the recession, people over the age of 55 have been the first group to return to the home buying market.

June 2, 2014 - New York Times

Several trends are conspiring to challenge America's ability to house and care for its senior citizens. Utilizing successful examples, architect and planner Eric C.Y. Fang examines how the suburbs can be adapted to support an aging population.

April 5, 2013 - Eric C.Y. Fang

Architect Mattias Hollwich talks about BOOM, a community designed with the unique needs of gay and lesbian retirees that has become a blueprint for new retirement developments the world over.

December 5, 2011 - SmartPlanet

There are senior-living and retirement communities all over the U.S., but a new breed of housing for the elderly is emerging in cities across the world: the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community, or NORC.

March 18, 2010 - Urban Omnibus

Unable to sell their homes, thousands of aging seniors throughout the U.S. who would have moved to assisted or independent living or retirement communities are staying put - in homes they would love to leave but are financially tied to.

November 25, 2008 - The New York Times