Creating Communities To Grow Old In

More places are responding to the desires of older residents who want to remain in their communities as long as they can. But doing so can be a challenge.

"As simple or as practical as that idea might sound, reshaping suburbia requires elected officials like Mr. Steele, as well as planners, developers, architects and builders, to address a host of issues. They can be as large as transportation networks and zoning codes, and as small as the type of cooktop installed in a condominium's new kitchen, one that has to be safe for people ages nine through 90.

'From the region down to the doorknob—that's the challenge: integrating it all,' says Andrés Duany, co-founder of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co., an international planning and architectural firm based in Miami, and a leading voice in efforts to retrofit suburbia."