Creating a 'City For All Ages'

Experts who study these things tell us we're on the brink of becoming a much older nation than ever before.

By 2030, 25 percent of the Bay Area's population will be 65 and older, according to the California Department of Finance.

So what does that mean for San Ramon?

According to Don Weden – one of those experts warning folks to prepare for an aging population – that means the city needs to start planning future development to accommodate the over-65 crowd. 

"Probably the greatest impact on the future of our communities is the aging of our population," said Weden, a retired Santa Clara County planner. "Where and how will we house the future population? I think that's the most important policy question of the 21st Century."

He described to City Council members on Tuesday what that Baby Boomer-friendly vision for the future entails.

It means building denser, more walkable neighborhoods, close to shops and other businesses and connected by public transportation, trails and parks.

It means a less-suburban, more sustainable future San Ramon.

Thankfully for the city's aging residents, San Ramon's already working toward that vision – for many other reasons.

For one, new federal and state regulations require cities to plan denser development anyway – to cut down commuting and thus greenhouse gas emissions.

We've written about San Ramon's talks of a sustainable future before. ().

"We're fortunate in this city in that we've thought about this and we're already moving toward it," said Mayor H. Abram Wilson. "But it's always important to be reminded of important things."

Notes from the presentation

(source: Don Weden)

• A third of the nation's workforce are Baby Boomers
• Suburbia's false promises about transportation: Cars are the most convenient way to get around, gas will always be cheap, we will be able to drive no matter how old we get
• Women, on average, won't drive for the last decade of their lives; and men for the final six years
• Non-driving seniors will: Make 12 percent fewer trips to the doctor, take 59 percent fewer trips to shop or eat out and 65 percent fewer trips to visit friends and family
• One in three seniors who live in an urban setting take daily walks, compared to one in 14 living in suburbia