Five years ago, the first edition of “The Maturing of America,”
a report undertaken by the National Association of Area Agencies
on Aging with groups representing local governments and city
planners, found that most communities hadn’t begun to plan for
the tidal shifts of the coming years. The proportion of people
older than 65 is expected to swell from 13 percent of the
nation’s population today to nearly 20 percent by 2030. The
second edition, released on Thursday, finds a greater awareness
of the trends in the 1,400 communities surveyed. But it also
notes that the recession has had devastating effects. Most
communities “have been able only to ‘hold the line’ —
maintaining policies, programs and services already
established,” the report said. “Thus, they have not been able to
move forward to the degree needed to address the nation’s
current ‘age wave.’” A few bright spots emerged. More local
governments have trained emergency staff to help older adults in
the event of a disaster, probably a reaction to the