AARP’s Livable Communities team released guides that support housing and transportation that can help communities working to become more age- and dementia friendly to accomplish goals that include creating more housing options and streets that accommodate all users.

The guides include Re-Legalizing Middle Housing: A Model Act and Guide to Statewide Legislation, which provides options for state governments to pass effective and customized middle housing legislation that works for their communities. There is also Expanding Middle Housing Options: A Guide to Local Middle Housing Regulations that offers practical local guidance and best practices for how cities and counties can craft location-supportive middle housing standards and regulations. Overall, “middle housing” refers to a set of residential building types that exist in the middle of the continuum from detached single-family houses to large apartment buildings. Typically, these housing types are more affordable and preferred among older adults.

AARP also released Complete Streets: Model Legislation for States and Municipalities. Complete Streets is an approach to transportation planning and policy that considers the needs of all roadway users. The resource features solutions for speeding up the Complete Streets implementation process, applies the Complete Streets approach to transportation funding and emphasizes the importance of equity in Complete Streets decision-making. The guide includes tools for project selection criteria, and for measuring and reporting performance.