Investigating the built environment surrounding naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) in Toronto

Introduction — A positive built environment can improve older adult health and support aging in place, yet little is known about those surrounding Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), geographic areas where many older adults live. We investigated walkability and amenity density surrounding NORCs in Toronto, Canada.

Methods — This population-based descriptive study linked built environment datasets with health administrative data and a provincial registry of high-rise NORC buildings by postal code. Mean walkability index scores, quartiles, as well as amenity density categories, were compared for NORC and non-NORC postal codes, or “sites”. Older adult resident characteristics were compared for NORC sites in the least and most favourable categories for each outcome.

Results — Our analysis of walkability and amenity density was based on 49,295 (488 [9.9 %] NORC) and 49,945 (489 [9.8 %] NORC) Toronto postal codes. NORC sites were in more walkable neighbourhoods (mean walkability 6.4 (SD 8.2) versus 4.3 (7.4) for non-NORC sites, std 0.26); although, 55 (11.3 %) were in the lowest quartile of neighbourhood walkability in Toronto. NORC sites were also in more amenity dense neighbourhoods, with 63.0 % in medium/high density neighbourhoods compared to 50.5 % of non-NORC sites, std 0.25. NORC residents in the least walkable or amenity-poor neighbourhoods were older, and proportionately more were immigrants compared to NORC residents in the most walkable and amenity-rich neighbourhoods.

Conclusions — Findings suggest that built environments surrounding high-rise NORC buildings are well-positioned to support aging in place given their walkability and amenity access; however, action should be taken to support NORCs with suboptimal environment conditions.