Can Oakland reimagine itself?
I’m a new resident of the East Bay. I moved here after spending the 30 years of my life on the East Coast. I love the East Bay; I love Oakland. I hope to spend many, many years here. In fact, I hope to grow old here. That’s one of the many reasons Oakland must get serious about adopting the World Health Organization’s “Age-friendly city” framework.
In just a few years, 25 percent of Oakland will be over the age of 60; there will be 100,000+ residents over 85.
Broadly, the world’s population is aging rapidly — by 2050, people age 60 and up as a proportion of the global population will double and, for the first time in human history, there will be more older people than children ages 0–14.
Oakland needs to reimagine how we think about the pillars of community — housing, transportation, outdoor spaces and buildings, volunteerism, community and health services — so that our residents can successfully and prosperously “age in place” and the whole community can flourish as a result.
Steffi DeckerBerkeley
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