Linda Bennett

What benefits the elderly crowd benefits people of all ages, according to organizers of a workshop on strategies to attract and accommodate a more senior population to Chattanooga.

"A lot of things you might do with a senior view in mind will really help everyone across the board," said Linda Bennett, executive director of Choose Chattanooga, which promotes the city to people looking to relocate. The group is one of the organizers of a free workshop focused on building "livable" communities.

As the baby boomer generation ages, "smart communities are really taking a hard, close look at the numbers, and they are making sure they're addressing those needs," she said.

Organizers hope the workshop will foster discussion about how to build on Chattanooga's "livability" -- from improving public transportation to adding diverse housing options and capitalizing on the city's health care and education facilities, as well as its natural beauty.

The event is the 12th and final in a national series of free workshops held over the past two years that have focused on initiatives to help older Americans age in place by improving their communities, said Penny Cuff, senior program officer for Partners for Livable Communities. The nonprofit organization promotes quality of life, economic development and social equity.

The workshops seek to capitalize on the motivation for change sparked by a rapidly aging population, as the eldest of the baby boomers hit 63, she said.

"You never want to let a good crisis go by without making something happen," Ms. Cuff said. "All towns (have) people getting older. It's just a fact of the demographics, so everybody has to adjust to that and make new plans."

The workshops are the product of a partnership among Partners for Livable Communities, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging and the MetLife Foundation.

Each event focuses on a different angle of making communities more "livable," and in Chattanooga the workshop will focus on economic development through attracting an elderly population to the region, Ms. Cuff said.

"Chattanooga has a particularly interesting lens," she said. "People wouldn't think that attracting people over the age of 65 would be economic development."

The statewide Retire Tennessee program and local Choose Chattanooga initiative aim to draw retirees to the area. Such residents tend to have more disposable incomes and create jobs in areas such as the health care industry, Ms. Bennett said.

Recent legislation highlights the move in Tennessee toward offering seniors more choices and independence as they age, said Steve Witt, director of the Southeast Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability.

A recent piece of legislation, awaiting Gov. Phil Bredesen's signature, would create adult care homes, which would house no more than five elderly or disabled residents, he said.

"As far as we're concerned, it's one of the truly positive things," Mr. Witt said. "Part of a livable community is having the options to be able to stay home if you are ill or disabled, or to choose nursing home care or assisted living, and then this new possibility of the adult care home."

Ms. Cuff said a report on the outcomes of the Chattanooga workshop will be disseminated nationally.