Program on Communities and Aging
The Institute on Aging is developing a program focus area on communities and aging that will recognize and research aging issues in a community context. One major dimension of community in North Carolina is the rural-urban dimension, as North Carolina has a large older population living in rural areas. North Carolina is also a state in which there is considerable development of planned continuing care retirement communities, as well as the development of naturally occurring communities with a high proportion of older people. Community life is greatly affected by the transformative social and economic changes, with the decline of the tobacco, textile and furniture sectors, the rise of high-technology and banking sectors, widespread migration of younger people to urban centers, and an influx of retirees.
Current Activities & Projects
- The Cedars of Chapel Hill Community Survey
- A Feasibility Study to Determine Best Approaches to Study Visitable Single-Family Housing and Health Outcomes of Older Women
Information Resources
- The Institute's Information Center actively builds its digital and hard copy resources in this area. Search our digital library database for the subject terms 'rural', 'living arrangements', 'communities' and/or 'urban planning' to get a list of available resources.
- See the 2000 report from the IOA, Serving older adults in rural North Carolina : meeting the challenge .
