At its annual conference on January 18-19, the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) will release the fourth edition of its municipal Best Practices series.

The 2018 edition of the publication included “Age and Dementia Friendly Communities” as a best practice that cities and towns can pursue. The 2019 version includes a recommendation that communities review and update their bylaws pertaining to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). 

An ADU is a smaller residential unit on a property of a larger home and was recently highlighted in an article featured in Next Avenue. The article mentioned a recent AARP survey of adults 50 and older where 31 percent said they’d be willing to consider building an ADU, perhaps to help them provide caregiving to their parent.

The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative will be presenting at the MMA annual conference on Age- and Dementia Friendly Communities with a panel of planning, housing and zoning experts and will be mentioning the Best Practice on ADUs.

For more information, see all the editions of the MMA Best Practice Series here.