Abstract
In the coming years, transportation planners and policy makers in the United States will need to shift their focus to acknowledge the needs of the growing aging population. A principal task that must be addressed is how to cope with meeting the demands of aging adults who may not be able to operate and maintain their own personal vehicles because of growing physical and financial constraints. Transit-oriented developments (TODs), typically defined by mixed-use and pedestrian-friendly development surrounding a transit stop, are places that might benefit aging populations and meet their transportation needs. This paper explores demographic trends and characteristics surrounding transit-oriented developments. To compare how the environment has changed in terms of socioeconomic characteristics, this study examined census attributes such as people’s age, income by age, and the number of various activities performed in TODs. Also investigated were trends in TOD road infrastructure and activity locations. It was found that TODs and their adjacent areas in 2010 had a higher density of road network characteristics compared with TODs in 2000. It was also observed that aging populations (65 years and older) were a lower proportion of the population residing in TODs for 2000 and 2010. If TODs are a possible solution to meeting the accessibility needs of aging adults, more research is required to understand better how to attract aging populations to these communities.
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