New homes focus on senior-friendly features

— -- States and cities worried about where the growing number of senior citizens will live when they're older are starting to ask that all new homes be built to accommodate the elderly.

Almost 60 state and local governments have passed initiatives — some mandatory but most voluntary — asking all builders to include at least three features in new houses to help seniors and the disabled: no steps at the entrance, a bathroom on the ground floor and wider doorways.

"We know that people want to stay in their homes and want to live independently as long as they can," says Elinor Ginzler, senior vice president for livable communities at AARP. "The design of homes is a critical factor."

AARP commissioned a report being released this week on "visitability," a term widely used in Europe to describe homes accessible to people in wheelchairs, on crutches or using walkers.

A growing number of jurisdictions, including San Antonio, Tucson and Pima County, Ariz., now require basic senior-friendly features in new homes, the report found. Others, including Austin, offer builders incentives to provide them. States including Georgia and Maryland are considering similar legislation.

Advocates hope the policy eventually will become standard nationwide.

"It's a relatively young movement," says Jordana Maisel, co-author of the report and a director at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access at the University of Buffalo. "States are realizing they need to address this for their own constituency. It's catching on because of the aging of the population, and people can't afford to have assisted care."

The oldest of 79 million Baby Boomers turn 62 this year. Many seniors are homebound because they can't negotiate stairs. Often, they're stuck in second-floor bedrooms because that's where the bathroom is.

Nancy and George Mairs were delighted to find Armory Park del Sol, a development in downtown Tucson of homes designed to provide easier access. Nancy, 65, has multiple sclerosis and is a quadriplegic. George, 67, is her caregiver. "In addition to the accessibility, it's a green house. It has solar power," Nancy says. "It has zero-step entry front and back."