Aging Populations as a Wicked Solution

The term “Wicked Problems” arose in the 1970s to distinguish major challenges of public policy from those of the hard sciences. Most famously articulated in a 1973 paper by Rittel and Webber in Policy Sciences, Wicked Problems are issues that are very difficult, if not impossible, to solve because they are 1) highly complex, with no readily apparent solution, 2) intricately interconnected with other problems, 3) entrenched in the landscape and/or the political arena, and 4) volatile, presenting constantly moving targets to policy makers. These problems defy conventional solutions because the typical set of policy responses are insufficient to address these problems in any meaningful way.

Notable Wicked Problems in my area of interest and expertise, Urban & Regional Planning, include rising levels of obesity and urban sprawl. In each of these areas, the challenges are many and interconnected, and easy solutions and policy response simply do not exist. For example, rising obesity is a function of access to and prevalence of unhealthy foods, insufficient physical activity at all ages, urban environments that are unfriendly to walking and biking, and the allure of technology that puts kids and adults in front of computers, televisions, gaming devices, and smart phones for large portions of every day. Sprawl is the result of a toxic mix of a real estate industry dominated by one housing model, land use regulations that emphasize a separation of uses, infrastructure investments allowing for far flung living, white flight from central cities, and a market preference for detached units. There is no single policy or investment that can address these complex problems of modern American society.

One generally accepted idea is that a Quality Growth approach can serve as one means of addressing many of planning’s Wicked Problems. Quality Growth refers to a system of regulations and incentives that promote dense, mixed use development that allows for a wide range of housing types and travel using a range of modes (by car, transit, bike, and foot). At its core, Quality Growth is about expanding housing and transportation choices for people of all ages, and moving beyond an entrenched single-family housing model that requires long drives in automobiles to access employment and shopping. Communities that embrace Quality Growth make it easier for citizens to access the range of destinations required in everyday life, including groceries, drug stores, offices, parks, and schools.

It is Quality Growth that offers the necessary fuel for the idea that an aging population offers a potentially Wicked Solution to these Wicked Problems. How might this be? Evidence from surveys by groups like AARP and the Urban Land Institute find that older households desire exactly the set of attributes in their homes and neighborhoods that lie at the core of the Quality Growth concept. Older adults (aged 55+) want neighborhoods with a diverse mix of units, sidewalks, neighborhood retail, and easy access to health care, community centers and parks. These age groups also foresee the time at which their driving abilities will diminish and they voluntarily or unwillingly hand over the keys to the car, and they therefore desire communities with quality transit services to help them get around town. While most report wanting to age in place within their existing communities, most neighborhoods need to be retrofitted or rebuilt to accommodate this.

As the Baby Boom generation (Americans born between 1946 and 1964) move into their retirement years many will downsize their dwelling unit and seek neighborhoods that meet a different set of day-to-day and transportation needs. Many will live in what Eric Klinenberg calls “singleton” households, where individuals living alone in small units. As USC’s Dowell Myers and the University of Arizona’s Chris Nelson have written, Baby Boomer helped fuel the suburban housing trend and now there is opportunity for promoting urban redevelopment and suburban densification to meet their housing preferences.
At the same time that older households move into locations that epitomize Quality Growth, there is a rebirth of the one or zero cars and smaller housing unit arrangement among younger adult cohorts. Combined these older and younger households are contributing to the creation of new urban, walkable, mixed use neighborhoods in places as diverse as Tampa, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Austin and even Tallahassee. Evidence suggests these neighborhoods promote more active living, more engaged citizens, lesser environmental impacts, and happier residents, and therefore strike at the heart of the challenges of obesity and urban sprawl.

It is research and teaching on public policy questions like this that rest at the heart of a major initiative in the FSU College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. In the coming year the College will be hiring scholars to support an initiative that revolves around the theme of Public Policy for Successful Aging. These new scholars will join existing faculty in the College to work on the topics of public health, demographics, finance, housing, social services, health care, and community development for an aging population. These Public Policy for Successful Aging faculty will work closely with the Institute for Successful Longevity to undertake research, educate students, and provide community service that improves the lives and communities for older adults in Florida and around the globe. Wicked Problems may abound, but strangely enough our aging population may offer one potentially Wicked Solution.