You’re about 60, rent a place in uptown, likely multilingual, immigrated to Canada earlier in your life, and your hip/arthritis/rheumatism makes it a little more difficult to visit your grand kids in Queensborough as often as you’d like but you’re damned if you’re gonna let that slow you down.
And in a few years time, you’ll be the new norm of a New Westminster resident.
The Royal City is gearing up to surf the “Silver Tsunami,” which will see the number of seniors living in New Westminster explode in the next 25 years.
In 2011, people aged 50 to 65 comprised 35 per cent of New Westminster’s population, while those aged 65 and over accounted for another 13.5 per cent.
That means nearly half – 48.5 per cent – of the Royal City’s 67,500 residents are already classified as seniors.
But that’s nothing to what’s expected to happen by 2036. The number of people over the age of 65 living in New Westminster will jump 147 per cent and those between 50 and 65 by 130 per cent.
In less than 25 years, over 43 per cent of the city’s population will be in the 50 to 65 age bracket and another 22 per cent over 65 for a combined total of 65 per cent. That equates to over 62,000 seniors living in New Westminster.
And that has city planners preparing for a future that will see nearly seven out of every 10 Royal City residents over the age of 50.
New Westminster senior social planner John Stark says the city is doing everything it can to meet the challenges posed by a the coming Age Wave.
“Not only is the city’s population aging, it’s becoming increasingly diverse,” said Stark.
“We’re just trying to get ahead of it.”
Stark is at the forefront of the city’s campaign to create an “Age-Friendly City” that will meet the needs of an aging population. Two of the city’s key programs to realize this vision are the adaptable housing policy and the age-friendly business initiative.
Under the adaptable housing policy, 40 per cent of new, single-storey, multi-family housing has to be adaptable for senior living. For example, bathrooms in adaptable units are larger and more accessible and already contain support bars in the walls so they don’t have to be installed after the fact. There are wider halls and doorways. Electrical outlets are higher and light switches are lower.
As people age, they can adapt the unit and even the common areas of a building more easily and cheaply, allowing them to age in place, says Stark.
“We want people to be able to stay within their units,” he said.
“Studies show that people who stay in their communities, where they often have extended formal and informal support systems, stay healthier for longer.”
Stark said the costs to developers is quite modest and are offset by a density bonus, allowing them to add extra square feet to a project in exchange for adaptability features.
The city is also working with local businesses under the age-friendly business initiative to enhance comfort, respect and safety for older customers. Something as simple as having more scooter parking and staff trained not to be condescending to aging baby boomers can make a big difference.
“We’re working with businesses to encourage them to make changes which are, again, not costly, but greatly improve the quality of life and the experience of seniors,” said Stark.
“We inform businesses that there are lots of good reasons for being more senior friendly.”
One of those reasons is the sheer buying power of the Silver Tsunami, the fastest-growing consumer demographic in North America. And seniors also tend to be more loyal customers, so it will pay businesses to attract and retain older shoppers.
The city is also coordinating with senior levels of government to ensure that other critical services like health care and transit meet the ever-growing demands placed on them by an aging population.
If you want to get a glimpse of what New Westminster will be like when the Age Wave peaks, take a look at the city’s uptown neighbourhood.
“Uptown gives you a perspective into the future. It’s relatively flat by New Westminster standards, it’s close to services and transit, and there is rental housing available – it’s as complete as you can get,” said Stark.
“By 2036, I see the city as being a diverse, vital community and a great place to be. And seniors are going to play a major role in that.”
The challenges
A 2006 Statistics Canada snapshot of the New Westminster seniors age 65 years and older showed many faced health and other challenges:
– Some 57 per cent reported health and activity limitations
– Over 38 per cent lived alone and over 35 per cent rented
– Nearly 40 per cent didn’t have a high school certificate, diploma or degree
– Almost 40 per cent had immigrated to Canada
– Just over 30 per cent had a mother tongue other than English or French
– In total, 14 per cent lived in a different municipality, province or country five years ago
By the numbers/statistics on the grey wave in New Westminster
In 2011, people aged 50 to 65 comprised 35 per cent of New Westminster’s population, while those aged 65 and over accounted for another 13.5 per cent. That means nearly half – 48.5 per cent – of the Royal City’s 67,500 residents were seniors.
By 2036, those numbers are expected to jump to over 43 per cent of the city’s population in the 50 to 65 age bracket and another 22 per cent over 65 for a combined total of 65 per cent. That equates to more than 62,000 seniors living in New Westminster. The city’s overall population is predicted to reach nearly 98,000 residents.
The numbers forecast a dramatic increase in the number of people over the age of 65 living in New Westminster: a whopping 147 per cent. The number of those between 50 and 65 will jump by 130 per cent.
Currently, the uptown neighbourhood has the highest percentage of seniors aged 65-plus at 24 per cent. Glenbrooke South has 21 per cent, Glenbrooke North 15.5 per cent and the downtown district just over 14 per cent.
Queensborough had the lowest percentage of seniors at 7.4 per cent, followed by the Brow of the Hill (8.3 per cent), Kelvin (8.7 per cent) and Connaught Heights (9.5 per cent).
(Source: City of New Westminster, Statistics Canada)
