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Millennials and seniors: More in common every day

​Creative zoning and a fresh approach to digital communication are two ways to bring a city’s younger and older residents together.

Curt Steinhorst, expert on generational trends and the age of distraction
Curt Steinhorst, expert on generational trends and the age of distraction

The opening general session of the Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting highlighted two speakers with distinct but overlapping philosophies on this idea of building cities for all generations. Curt Steinhorst, an expert on generational trends and the age of distraction, and Peter Kageyama, a community development specialist and author, presented ideas to bridge the cultural and geographic gaps between seniors and millennials. And both noted that older residents and millennials—adults ages 18 to 34 in 2015—have an increasing number of interests in common.

Take communicating, for one.

"Something fascinating has occurred where we’re seeing the converging of our relationship with our technology, so that even older generations and younger generations are all starting to look just like what you often associate with this millennial generation," Steinhorst said. "If it hasn’t happened to you yet, just wait another year.

If you’re thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to ignore this younger generation and do it the way the older generation wants,’ know that you’re also going to lose the older generation over the next five years, as well, as we see technology transforming everyone from the youngest to the oldest."

What’s in: Short, bulleted lists; texting instead of calling; social media as a way to get the fastest results; cities and businesses using websites combined with apps to offer services; and quick, explanatory YouTube videos. What’s out: Telephone calls, voicemails, wordy emails with vague subject lines and instruction manuals.

There are compelling reasons city and town leaders should accommodate younger residents, but at the same time not forget the needs of older residents.

Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce and the largest segment of the population in cities, and they are on track to overtake baby boomers’ purchasing power in less than two years, said Steinhorst, himself a millennial.

"As you look into the future, you must understand that people of all ages are changing rapidly as a result of technology. And what feels new and challenging today is quickly becoming the minimum expectations of tomorrow," he said. "If you don’t understand what’s driving these shifts in behaviors, then you will have massive challenges moving forward."

Young people and seniors will increasingly resemble one another in the ways they interact with technology, he said.

Peter Kageyama, Community development specialist and author
Peter Kageyama, community development specialist and author

The trend goes beyond technology. Kageyama, too, revealed ways that different age groups are becoming unexpected allies. Millennials and seniors often want the same things from their city—walkability, cost-efficient housing, a vibrant food scene—but at different times of day, he said. He also pointed out how that’s good for restaurants. For example, it extends their hours.

Kageyama urged city leaders to consider plans that encourage senior citizens to interact with the larger neighborhood. He gave an example of New York City’s micro-apartments—structures far smaller than the 400-square-foot minimum of a conventional apartment—that appeal to new college graduates, millennials and retirees. It’s an idea that could take root in small communities, too, if the zoning and approvals allow it.

"Let’s rethink rules and regulations around housing," he said, emphasizing that cities are already multigenerational. It’s just a matter of enhancing the existing amenities. For example, a playground should be recast as a "grandparent-friendly playground," complete with design features to appeal to older residents who may be visiting the park with their grandchildren.

Kageyama said the "tower-type mentality" of concentrating a single demographic group in a given building, such as the now-demolished Cabrini Green public housing high-rise in Chicago, should not be replicated in senior housing.

"We need to spread these folks out," he said. "We need to integrate them into other communities."

He described a plan in East Lansing, Michigan, to convert an old elementary school into senior housing, an approach used in many South Carolina cities. The building is near the Michigan State University campus, placing seniors in a neighborhood surrounded by fraternity houses and student rental houses. Ideally, city leaders will add amenities, such as a dog park, to bring college students and seniors in contact with one another, said Kageyama.

"One of our great downfalls as people get older is isolation," he said. "As we get older, our world tends to shrink."

But what about the unspoken things that keep people from going downtown? Kageyama described one city’s solution to its public restroom shortage. In Traverse City, Michigan, the downtown development authority effectively created more public restrooms by offsetting the cleaning expenses of some downtown merchants’ bathrooms, in exchange for opening the facilities to the general public.

"Little things actually do make a difference," he said.