Retirement neighborhoods should be places where people feel like they’re on vacation every day. Stress may creep into everyone’s lives if their community doesn’t support their essential values like living more sustainably or bonding with their neighbors.

These are a few ways to engage residents and create sustainable neighborhoods in Florida through community development. You can start changing lives with these ideas by making the world a better place right at home.

1. Implement Neighborhood Solar Panel Policies

People have to decide to put solar panels on their homes individually. However, retirement communities with Homeowners Association (HOA) rules or general neighborhood guidelines can encourage residents to make the change.

Consider writing a new policy to connect residents with solar panel installation opportunities and work with them every step of the way. Having someone by their side to guide them through the process could make more residents install solar panels because they’re less intimidated.

It’s important to remember the rise of sustainable housing demands as retired generations shift in the coming decades. The first millennials start to retire in 2040, given that the oldest were born in 1980 and may work until they’re 60.

Research also shows that 42% of millennials will pay more for sustainable construction. If they’re willing to purchase homes at higher prices to match their sustainable values, the entire neighborhood’s resale value will increase as more retire.

2. Retrofit Living Spaces for Safety Concerns

Eco-friendly home upgrades can also make those spaces safer for older adults. Unsustainable hardwood floors use limited natural resources to match the interior design preferred by the home builder. Residents may choose to change their flooring, making the natural resource sacrifice more wasteful. The deforestation to create those wood floor panels hurt the environment in addition to creating dense floors that cause joint pain.

Slippery hardwood floors also increase a resident’s fall risk. Ergonomic, eco-friendly flooring is a better alternative. It reduces the risk of injury by utilizing softer flooring materials that reduce the impact on joints, which could deteriorate a retiree’s quality of life.

More textured ergonomic flooring preventing slips would also make a retiree’s life safer. They wouldn’t fall as easily on floors with more grip on their socks or house shoes. The cushioning materials could minimize the physical harm done if they fall in their home. Retiree communities become better places to live when details like flooring upgrades create safer, more sustainable indoor environments.

3. Emphasize the Cost Savings

There may be some initial fees to install solar panels that make a few retirees reject the idea. Community leaders can encourage residents to proceed with this project by emphasizing how they’ll save long-term on monthly bills.

The average homeowner in Florida pays $459.40 per month on utilities, which could be better spent on activities or travel that people have waited their entire lives to do in retirement. Reducing their electric bill with solar panels would improve a retiree’s quality of life, make their lifestyle more eco-friendly and boost their property value.

4. Schedule Informative Meetings

People in retirement communities may feel intimidated by the process of installing sustainable upgrades in their homes. They may not understand the technology or installation terminology, but informative meetings can help with that.

Scheduling recurring community meetings for interested residents would provide a connection where they can ask questions. The meeting leaders could explain the installation process and answer each resident’s concerns. 

5. Install Electric Car Charging Stations

Many retirement neighborhoods have community centers, which creates a unique opportunity for another sustainable upgrade. Community leaders could use annual dues to install electric car charging stations. They would transform the neighborhood into a sustainable community while making monthly activities more appealing to attend. Residents could charge their vehicles while attending bridge nights or other parties without affecting their utility bills.

6. Invest in Landscaping

Florida residents need to consider their flood risks when moving somewhere new. Retirees have to weigh that factor more heavily because they may have mobility issues that make flood evacuations challenging. Even though 76% of Floridians would evacuate before a flood-inducing event like a hurricane, that isn’t always logistically possible.

Retirement communities can ease this concern by investing in general landscaping additions. New plants like shrubs and small trees that soak up excess water runoff could mitigate flooding events outside of major storms. Their root systems would keep the soil from breaking apart too. As long as they aren’t high enough to pose a risk to nearby roofs, landscaping will improve a neighborhood’s value and mitigate flood damage.

7. Upgrade the Community Pool

Retiree neighborhoods often have a community pool. It’s an excellent leisure resource in addition to a spot for group classes like water aerobics. The only downside is the use of chemicals. Standard water treatment chemicals can irritate sensitive skin, especially for older people who may not have the elastic, healthy skin of their younger years.

Switching to a saltwater pool is a great way to engage residents and create a more sustainable neighborhood. They’ll have less physical discomfort in the water, which may help more neighbors use the pool. There also won’t be chemical runoff when passing storms cause the pool to overflow.

8. Provide Free Bicycles

Younger retirees may enjoy borrowing free bicycles from the community center in their neighborhoods. It’s an easy way to stay active without putting too much pressure on their joints. 

Bikes also create opportunities for more group activities. Residents can form bike clubs and enjoy rides around their town or local golf communities. It’s a sustainable way to enjoy more time outdoors and maintain strong muscles without the same risks as lifting weights at a gym.

Maintaining bikes is also inexpensive, so they won’t drain community funding long-term. Residents will appreciate their free entertainment, especially in neighborhoods with less affluent residents.

Engage the Future of Retired Communities

Future retirement community members will engage more in sustainable neighborhoods that put their interests first. Community development leaders can consider these options when planning residential upgrades. Whether residents make individual changes to their homes or vote for community changes, these ideas will appeal to current and future retirees.