Brave New Boomers

"Whenever people build what I'm going to label 'elderly housing,' you really need to call it 'elderly storage,' " he said. "It's placing older people out of the way and giving them a nice park to walk through and a social center to learn to dance in. It's allowing people to idle till they die. . . . Why give all that wisdom away? They should be integrated into the community, where they can teach their grandchildren -- and your grandchildren."

Howard, which changed its zoning laws to attract more age-restricted communities a few years ago, now has 28 such communities, with 3,767 units either completed or in the pipeline. However, most developers assume their buyers will still be driving; few provide shuttle services. The county is often left scrambling to shift bus lines to accommodate the new residents, said Carl Balser, transportation chief for the county's department of planning and zoning.

Balser said another issue is a need for sidewalk connections. "The county has evolved from a very rural community into one that is very suburban. . . . As more of these facilities come into place and we have more able-bodied seniors, these folks don't want to stay in their apartments. They want to go to restaurants and other activities."

The county recently added a stretch of sidewalk along Snowden River Parkway so residents of a new senior complex could walk to the nearby Krispy Kreme.

One way to stave off isolation is to build more housing in pedestrian-friendly communities or near a Metro station, legislators and planners say.

Although senior transit use is declining nationwide, a 2006 study by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission showed that 18 percent of seniors living in walkable areas such as Arlington, Reston or the region's historic towns had used public transportation in the previous week, compared with 7 percent of those in the suburbs and 2 percent in the exurbs.

Arlington has won praise for putting large-scale retail and residential development near Metro stations. Fairfax County recently approved 375 units of senior housing for the massive MetroWest, a development of 2,250 homes, offices and retail space at the Vienna Metro station.

Stern said that one reason she found the age-restricted community in Howard appealing is that the homes were built with features for her age group.

In her home, for example, the master bedroom is on the first floor, a layout targeted for those who may one day have trouble climbing stairs. Proponents of universal design -- the theory that products should be usable for anyone regardless of age or disability -- call today's newer homes with curving staircases and slippery marble bathrooms "Peter Pan houses": perfect if you never plan on growing old.

"Baby boomers are the most optimistic, the most stubborn and the most in denial of any age group. . . . They're convinced, 'I'm never going to grow old. . . . I'm going to be as active at 75 as I was at 45.' That's the boomer attitude," said Leon Harper, a former housing specialist for AARP who now consults on universal design.

Harper says developers should start thinking about building houses with roll-in showers, wider doorways and elevators.

Howard requires that universal design be used for its 55-and-older communities. Fairfax is set to approve a measure soon requiring it for its affordable apartments and is considering drawing up guidelines for developers of all new homes.