A Naturally Occurring Retirement Community

Wednesday Mar 8, 2023

• 
• 
• 

Full view

A Naturally Occurring Retirement Community

As Ambleside residents are predominately on the high end of the age spectrum and as many of us live in apartments, can we call all of Ambleside a “Naturally Occurring Retirement Community”?

This term was coined in Ontario probably by statisticians to describe groups of people who live in apartment buildings where the average age over time has increased to the point where the majority of the residents are seniors. Using the acronym “NORC”, planners can use this information to identify pockets of individuals who may require future government funds to sustain their ability to live-in-place and thus avoid the burden on hospitals and long term care facilities. 

Here is a TV Ontario link that describes this idea.

https://www.tvo.org/video/finding-naturally-occurring-retirement-communities

The idea of setting up NORC committees in apartment buildings with a high percentage of seniors has been evolving. There are many advantages of having your building or a neighbourhood identified as a NORC. Seniors can have a place to voice their priorities and possibly make changes happen. They can share ideas and set up ways to make their lives more enjoyable. This includes social options as well as the possibility of improved health and wellbeing. At the very least it can allow all of us to rethink how to age well in our own homes over time. 

Is there a way, maybe through the Local Area Planning Groups meeting in April, to ask the District if they could provide a Coordinator who would have the ability to help seniors living in  apartment buildings to set up their own NORC committees? Many economies of scale might become possible when these groups are able to communicate with each other.