Reflecting trends likely to effect many cities in the coming years and decades, Magdalena Wegrzyn reports on the growing need for affordable housing for seniors in the City of Longmont, 30 miles outside of Denver.
With the deep recession effecting the retirement accounts of most Americans, and hitting those Baby Boomers approaching retirement especially hard, some will likely find themselves in a similar position to the residents Wegrzyn interviews at The Lodge at Hover Crossing, a 50-unit building for low-income seniors in Longmont.
"Right now, The Lodge has 54 tenants, including four couples. The average age of tenants is 62, and most are former professionals, said Lodge manager Jennivee Lawrence. 'These are people who had savings and lost them in the economy,' Lawrence said. 'They're not here because they planned to be here. They're here because of the economy.'"
"The Lodge has a waiting list of 220 seniors, some dating back to 2009, waiting for an affordable housing unit to open up. 'Almost every day, I get a new application,' Lawrence said. And that number is only going to increase as baby boomers retire, many with far fewer dollars in savings than they'd like."
With the types of grants from the federal Housing and Urban Development Section 202 program that funded the construction of The Lodge being cut drastically, the prognosis for cities across the country hoping to provide decent affordable housing for their seniors grows ever more dim.
FULL STORY: Need for affordable senior housing in Longmont expected to increase

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie