State of Aging in Portland

Introduction From 2006-2019, the Age-Friendly Portland Initiative operated as a city-university- community partnership that began in 2006, resulting from a global World Health Organization (WHO) research project. In 2010, the City of Portland joined the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities and in 2012, it also joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. The Action Plan for an Age- friendly Portland was passed by Resolution by Portland City Council in 2013 (Resolution No. 37039) and contains 10 domains: (1) housing; (2) transportation; (3) outdoor spaces and buildings; (4) employment and the economy; (5) civic participation and volunteering; (6) social participation; (7) respect and social inclusion; (8) health services; (9) community services; and (10) communication and information. From 2006-2019, the age-friendly efforts were coordinated by two of the co-authors of this paper – Margaret B. Neal and Alan DeLaTorre – and in 2019, the City of Portland funded a program manager position within the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability; Alan DeLaTorre moved from Portland State University to the City in December 2019, and currently manages the program. About this Study The State of Aging in Portland study highlights historical, current, and projected trends related to older adults and the age structure in the city of Portland and the greater metropolitan area. Although the primary focus has been the city of Portland, we have also looked at trends with respect to broader metropolitan area, including the seven counties that include and surround Portland city. Some analyses have looked at the city, compared to its inner and outer suburbs, while others compare Portland to other mid-size cities in the U.S. These approaches are meant to highlight trends and to provide researcher a roadmap for future research. The study is intended to inform staff at the City of Portland, partners in the aging network, and other stakeholders interested in and involved with making our community a better place to grow up and grow old. Although the original WHO conceptualization of age-friendly research defined the study population to be 60, we have generally used age 65 when discussing older adults in this report. However, we have used many different age groupings to analyze and display data; furthermore, we have examined trends from birth to death, in some sections, and understand the aging experience is not uniform and is influenced by many factors. This study and the partnerships that have made it possible, have emphasized equity through intersections with age, such as race and disability, both of which are critically important to understanding aging and health. Other factors such as gender, housing tenure, and household size and composition, and more have been examined. Accompanying this report are five learning modules in PowerPoint format that correspond to the sections of this report: (1) Population, (2) Race, (3) Disabilities, (4) Housing, and (5) Livability. Each of those learning modules should be viewed as a presentation as they are animated; those modules provide deeper analyses, as compared with this summary report