Accessible Transit
This article talks about public transit as a barrier for seniors. It offers some good suggestions. Further thoughts...
* The higher the portion of seniors, the more accommodations a neighborhood needs. Places should be designed for the people who use them, not some "average" human. So in a neighborhood of retirees, the target user should be a senior, which means everything should be designed for limited mobility and senses. Everything, as a matter of course, from scratch, not standard crap with accommodations slapped on as an afterthought.
* Travel is a right. It is not a privilege doled out to those who are rich enough or pleasing enough that someone else deigns to cart them around. In a society built around travel, it is a survival need -- you can't get food, health care, or other needs at home anymore. Therefore, society must ensure that all citizens can travel to meet their needs. In a community of seniors, this means:
** The transportation planning committee should include at least one senior, and more would be better. If more, then aim for people with different limitations (e.g. one using a walker, one hard of hearing).
** The bus/train/other public transit should be comprehensive, reliable, and preferably free -- or at least cheap -- for seniors. It has to reach both the senior housing and the places those people need to go (e.g. local clinic, hospital, grocery stores, parks). Every bus stop needs a shelter with full benches plus space for wheelchairs or other devices. All buses in a senior neighborhood MUST be fully equipped for accessibility (kneeling, wheelchair ramps, etc.) with plentiful cargo space to store devices, groceries, etc. Docking for adaptive equipment must be flexible to accommodate all shapes; ratchet belts and cargo nets can be very helpful in this regard. Include education for travelers who may not be accustomed to using a bus system.
** The neighborhood should have a door-to-door travel service which is polite and reliable. None of this paratransit shit with abusive waiting times, limitations, and abandonment. It should be just like owning a car except someone else drives it for you, so you can go wherever and whenever you want. Enough groups have run motor pools that calculating needs should be straightforward; just add drivers.
** Each senior should have at least two people (friends, relatives, volunteers, etc.) who can take them places if their primary plan falls through.
** The neighborhood should be as walkable/bikeable as possible, because walking extends health and some people can still ride (especially an adult tricycle) after they stop driving a car. Wide smooth sidewalks accommodate many disabilities. Pedicabs offer another mobility option.
** Seriously consider a golf cart motor pool for neighborhood travel. Lowering the speed and weight of vehicles reduces the chance of injury in general, while offering many versatile vehicles for personal and utility use. This is especially important if the neighborhood is designed more for pedestrians than vehicles, since some people can't walk. Wheelchair-accessible golf carts and shuttles greatly expand mobility. Having at least one hauler makes it possible to move things like furniture or lawn waste without everyone needing their own vehicle.
* Assistance cards help tremendously. Anyone can make these with paper and pen, although printing them on a computer works better. Include the type of limitation, any necessary accommodation, and if possible a backup person to call.
* Make all information available by multiple means. Hardcopy text, video, Braille, internet, and face-to-face work for different people. Especially, don't make the only information a glowing moving sign. Those are much harder to read for anyone with vision or cognitive limitations. Minimize or eliminate touchscreen devices, which lack tactile feedback for low-vision users; push buttons can still be used via counting or Braille.
* Intentional neighboring is critical for the health and survival of seniors. If you warehouse them, then they tend to die on you quickly. Forcibly imprisoning people in an environment that kills them is murder. To minimize loneliness and the need for public services, practice homesharing. When done across generations, this also avoids creating a senior ghetto.
* Discuss with seniors what kind of protection they want or don't want. A mostly-white neighborhood may want more police; one with many minority members almost certainly will see police as a threat instead of help. They may prefer to hire security guards or set up their own neighborhood watch instead. A bus service may place staff at its busiest (e.g. mall) or most dependent (e.g. hospital) bus stops. In any case, neighborhood protectors should have advanced first aid training, mental health training, de-escalation skills, and other skills to cope with the challenges of serving an elderly population.
For areas with few senior or other disabled people, less accommodation may be needed. If a population is mostly young, fit adults then they would probably get more from investing in a public exercise park than in kneeling buses. At least until someone breaks a leg. You always need a minimum level of accommodation to handle unforeseen circumstances. What varies is which extras you choose based on your peak needs. In a homogenized society, you don't get enough clustering to justify those extras. In a more thematic community, you can tailor much more of the environment to particular needs.
This works even on a smaller scale: rather than shove a couple of add-ons into every building, an apartment complex can customize. A building for young families has extra laundry machines and a playroom. One for seniors has a nurse's office and rooms suited to different disabilities. And so on. The whole complex could share a courtyard with picnic tables, a community garden, etc. and a large bus for group outings.
* The higher the portion of seniors, the more accommodations a neighborhood needs. Places should be designed for the people who use them, not some "average" human. So in a neighborhood of retirees, the target user should be a senior, which means everything should be designed for limited mobility and senses. Everything, as a matter of course, from scratch, not standard crap with accommodations slapped on as an afterthought.
* Travel is a right. It is not a privilege doled out to those who are rich enough or pleasing enough that someone else deigns to cart them around. In a society built around travel, it is a survival need -- you can't get food, health care, or other needs at home anymore. Therefore, society must ensure that all citizens can travel to meet their needs. In a community of seniors, this means:
** The transportation planning committee should include at least one senior, and more would be better. If more, then aim for people with different limitations (e.g. one using a walker, one hard of hearing).
** The bus/train/other public transit should be comprehensive, reliable, and preferably free -- or at least cheap -- for seniors. It has to reach both the senior housing and the places those people need to go (e.g. local clinic, hospital, grocery stores, parks). Every bus stop needs a shelter with full benches plus space for wheelchairs or other devices. All buses in a senior neighborhood MUST be fully equipped for accessibility (kneeling, wheelchair ramps, etc.) with plentiful cargo space to store devices, groceries, etc. Docking for adaptive equipment must be flexible to accommodate all shapes; ratchet belts and cargo nets can be very helpful in this regard. Include education for travelers who may not be accustomed to using a bus system.
** The neighborhood should have a door-to-door travel service which is polite and reliable. None of this paratransit shit with abusive waiting times, limitations, and abandonment. It should be just like owning a car except someone else drives it for you, so you can go wherever and whenever you want. Enough groups have run motor pools that calculating needs should be straightforward; just add drivers.
** Each senior should have at least two people (friends, relatives, volunteers, etc.) who can take them places if their primary plan falls through.
** The neighborhood should be as walkable/bikeable as possible, because walking extends health and some people can still ride (especially an adult tricycle) after they stop driving a car. Wide smooth sidewalks accommodate many disabilities. Pedicabs offer another mobility option.
** Seriously consider a golf cart motor pool for neighborhood travel. Lowering the speed and weight of vehicles reduces the chance of injury in general, while offering many versatile vehicles for personal and utility use. This is especially important if the neighborhood is designed more for pedestrians than vehicles, since some people can't walk. Wheelchair-accessible golf carts and shuttles greatly expand mobility. Having at least one hauler makes it possible to move things like furniture or lawn waste without everyone needing their own vehicle.
* Assistance cards help tremendously. Anyone can make these with paper and pen, although printing them on a computer works better. Include the type of limitation, any necessary accommodation, and if possible a backup person to call.
* Make all information available by multiple means. Hardcopy text, video, Braille, internet, and face-to-face work for different people. Especially, don't make the only information a glowing moving sign. Those are much harder to read for anyone with vision or cognitive limitations. Minimize or eliminate touchscreen devices, which lack tactile feedback for low-vision users; push buttons can still be used via counting or Braille.
* Intentional neighboring is critical for the health and survival of seniors. If you warehouse them, then they tend to die on you quickly. Forcibly imprisoning people in an environment that kills them is murder. To minimize loneliness and the need for public services, practice homesharing. When done across generations, this also avoids creating a senior ghetto.
* Discuss with seniors what kind of protection they want or don't want. A mostly-white neighborhood may want more police; one with many minority members almost certainly will see police as a threat instead of help. They may prefer to hire security guards or set up their own neighborhood watch instead. A bus service may place staff at its busiest (e.g. mall) or most dependent (e.g. hospital) bus stops. In any case, neighborhood protectors should have advanced first aid training, mental health training, de-escalation skills, and other skills to cope with the challenges of serving an elderly population.
For areas with few senior or other disabled people, less accommodation may be needed. If a population is mostly young, fit adults then they would probably get more from investing in a public exercise park than in kneeling buses. At least until someone breaks a leg. You always need a minimum level of accommodation to handle unforeseen circumstances. What varies is which extras you choose based on your peak needs. In a homogenized society, you don't get enough clustering to justify those extras. In a more thematic community, you can tailor much more of the environment to particular needs.
This works even on a smaller scale: rather than shove a couple of add-ons into every building, an apartment complex can customize. A building for young families has extra laundry machines and a playroom. One for seniors has a nurse's office and rooms suited to different disabilities. And so on. The whole complex could share a courtyard with picnic tables, a community garden, etc. and a large bus for group outings.