Guest Editor's Introduction

Cheryl A. Levine
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Gavin Kennedy
Emily Rosenoff
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. government at large.

The Symposium, Aging in Place, in this issue of Cityscape explores the topic of affordable housing plus supportive services. Through an ongoing collaboration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), this issue represents the shared interest in aging in place. Previous collaboration resulted in a synthesis of affordable housing plus services models in which "the relationship between older age, chronic illness and disability, and higher use of long-term care services is well established. In response to the rising demand for long-term care, consumer advocates, policy makers, and service providers have encouraged the development of new models of organizing and delivering health-related and supportive services that are attractive and affordable to older adults, particularly those who are poor or of modest means."