Aging At Home: Helping Seniors Stay Put
New Millennial Homes designed this ranch house for Jim and Cheryl Waggoner in Tampa Bay, Fla. Because its universal design features were planned at inception, the cost — $171,000 — is about the same as a traditional house. This photo captures the house in its final stage of construction earlier this summer. They have since moved in.
Building Homes to Age In
()With baby boomers about to turn 65, homebuilders see a big market for a building concept called universal design. It means houses are designed so owners can stay as they grow old -- even if they develop physical limitations. The trick is making them beautiful enough that no one suspects they're meant for seniors.
Series Overview: Growing Old, At Home()
August 22, 2010 The number of seniors in the United States will more than double in the coming decades, and the overwhelming majority will want to grow old in their own homes. According to the AARP, nine out of 10 seniors stay where they are when they retire. In a series of reports, NPR explores high- and low-tech ways to make it easier for seniors to age at home.
Universal Design: The House Of Your Future?()
August 24, 2010 Imagine building a house when you're young that you can live in as you age: wide doorways can accommodate both a stroller and a wheelchair; towel racks in the kitchen double as grab bars as balance grows unsteady; and entryways are smooth to prevent tripping. Here, take a tour inside a home designed to be accessible to all.
Reporter's Notebook
What Does It Feel Like To Be 75? Say Goodbye To Spry()
August 29, 2010 Researchers at the MIT AgeLab developed bodysuit that simulates the strain and stiffness of the well lived-in body. They are using the suit to help 20-something engineers feel the aches and limitations of an average 75-year-old, so they can design better products for them.
