October 17 — Environmentally oriented retirement communities are beginning to earn a toehold in this country. But the pressure for green communities and for energy and environmental conservation is really coming from the people who live in retirement communities — more so than from the developers. A recent study from the Mediamark Research BoomerView study found that 40.7% of baby boomers say “Preserving the Environment” is a very important guiding principle in their lives (that is 11% higher than reported by all adults). A good example of green (sustainable) retirement communities are the cohousing projects for baby boomers that are being built in the American West.
We recently came upon 2 great environmental sustainability resources that we recommend. One is a cooperative project developed by the Whitney Center, a retirement community in Hamden CT. Their useful Environmental Handbook on Conservation for Retirement Communities is free to download.
Another great site is a fun to read blog by Carol Gulyas - GreenGeezer. Carol posts entries almost every day about building and living in green homes. She and her husband are building a “green” home near their old college town of Bloomington Indiana. Carol will be writing an article for this website in the near future - stay tuned.
Resources:
Check out this Tips and Picks article - Looking for Green Retirement Communities?
Story about Lily Valley - an exciting new community that is very green
Walkability Score - Move to a community where you can walk! Use this tool: Enter an address, find out what you can walk to from there