Livability Fact Sheets - Road Diets, Form-Based Code, Roundabouts, More AARP Livable Communities

AARP Livability Fact Sheets

Information to help make your community a great place for people of all ages

The award-winning, 11-part AARP Livability Fact Sheets series is available in English and Spanish. (Follow the links below to download individual fact sheets or the entire collection.) A package of comprehensive, easy-to-read, livability resources, the 11 fact sheets can be used by community leaders, policy makers, citizen activists and others to learn about and explain what makes a city, town or neighborhood a great place for people of all ages. After all, a street that's made safer for an older adult to walk across is safer for a person walking to work, a parent pushing a stroller, a child riding a bicycle to school.
Each fact sheet is a four-page PDF document that can be read online or downloaded and printed. We encourage sharing, so please forward the fact sheet URLs or PDFs (individually, below, or as a collection, at right) to colleagues and friends, and use the fact sheets for discussions and research. Download the complete collection: (English)
(Español)
Or click on the images or titles below for individual fact sheets: (This page can be reached directly via the URL .) If you have comments or questions, contact us at .

Bicycling br

Half of all trips taken in the U.S. are three miles or less, yet only 3 percent of commuting trips are by bicycle. By helping communities embrace bicycling as a healthy and viable transportation option, we can improve our numbers.
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Density

The aging U.S. population and ongoing decline in the share of households with children is boosting the demand for smaller homes in more compact neighborhoods.
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Economic Development

Walkable, bike-friendly, age-friendly livable communities both save and make money — and they're very good for business.
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Form-Based Code br

By using the physical form rather than the separation of uses as an organizing principle, form-based code offers a powerful alternative to conventional zoning. ( )

Modern Roundabouts br

Circular intersections that move traffic counterclockwise around a central island can help reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries. Sometimes it's smart to drive around in circles.
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Parking br

The average American household has 1.9 vehicles, and finding a place to put them when not in use consumes land, time and money. Here's how we can do a better job parking our cars.
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Revitalization Without Displacement

As communities are redeveloped to become more livable, the efforts risk displacing an area’s current, often longtime residents and businesses. Redevelopment efforts can benefit all residents, regardless of income or age.
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Road Diets

Supersized, multilane roadways are fast-moving, unattractive and often impossible to cross. To protect both pedestrians and drivers many communities are putting their roads on "diets" by reducing street widths and the number of vehicle lanes.
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Sidewalks br

As public spaces, sidewalks are the front steps to a community, activating streets both socially and economically. It makes little sense that in so many neighborhoods, sidewalks are rare and even non-existent.
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Street Trees

To quote a Chinese proverb, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." Here's why tree-lined streets matter.
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Traffic Calming br

Measures used to slow motor-vehicle traffic, often without reducing overall daily traffic volumes, increase safety and create a balanced urban environment for all users, including pedestrians and bicyclists. ( ) Published 2015

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