116: Livable Communities for the 50-Plus Population with Rodney Harrell, PhD: Part 1

Welcome to NAR's Center for REALTOR® Development podcast. I'm Monica Neubauer, your host. We are very excited to have Dr. Rodney Harrell from the AARP as our guest today.

 

Rodney Harrell, PhD, is the Vice President of Family, Home, and Community at AARP, where he leads national work on housing, livable communities, and aging in place. He created the AARP Livability Index™, guiding how we evaluate and design neighborhoods that truly work. With a PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Maryland and a deep background in public policy and community development, Dr. Harrell brings data-driven actionable insights on how real estate intersects with longevity, lifestyle, and liveability. He is a housing specialist who focuses on housing for mature adults and people who want to become mature adults one day.

 

[:52] We are very excited to have Dr. Rodney Harrell from the AARP as our guest today. Welcome, Rodney!

[:57] Monica introduces Dr. Harrell and describes his role with the AARP and his focus on livable communities for mature adults and future mature adults.

[2:10] Monica is excited to talk with Dr. Harrell. She taught the Senior Real Estate Specialist Designation for many years. She brings up these points about 50-plus people: Boomers do not want to be called Seniors. The 50-plus market has three generations in it. What do the 50-plus want to be called today?

[2:40] Dr. Harrell says it's important to consider that aging isn't always the same. It's not the same as it has been, and it's not the same as it will be in the future. It's not the same for everybody. Your aging journey is your journey.

[2:54] Dr. Harrell likes to think about people by age group. People who are 50 and older are part of the 50-plus population. More importantly, he thinks about people at life stages. What's going on in their life, family, and self? Are you an empty nester, not driving, or having trouble with stairs?

[3:26] For thinking about people as a group, age ranges or life stages are useful. Dr Harrell likes to think of people as individuals.

[3:34] Monica is of an age where she could have grandchildren. She has grown children, and she could have grandchildren, but she doesn't. She's rearranging her life stage with some of the other things that go with grandchildren, but not having that mile marker.

[4:01] Dr. Harrell notes that we go through these different parts of life at different points. When he talks to people about housing decisions, he asks them to think about where they are today and where they think they will be in the future, not where someone tells them they should be.

[4:22] We should all think about our life journey. When we're talking to folks who are buying real estate or making housing decisions, the more we can personalize and make this decision point about them, the better off we'll be.

[4:51] Monica starts a discussion of the AARP Livability Index™. How do REALTORS® use it? Dr. Harrell and his colleagues at AARP created it 10 years ago. It's the world's first nationwide, neighborhood-based livability index.

[5:30] The index measures every neighborhood in the country across 61 indicators and creates seven category scores, including Housing, Transportation, the Environment, and Healthcare. Using the seven scores, it creates a combined score.

[5:48] Dr. Harrell and his team created the index with input from experts around the country to answer the question of what makes a community livable.

[4:54] What is the kind of community that people of all ages, incomes, and ability levels can age in? How do we measure that and put it in a way that anybody can grasp quickly? It took about three years to put the Index together. They've been improving it for 10 more years.

[6:15] Monica points