Ryan Wang<\/a>, an associate professor and vice chair for research of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern.<\/p>\n\u201cPopulation aging is not a critical social issue at this point in the U.S. compared to some other countries \u2014 Korea, Japan, some European countries \u2014 but that does not mean that it will stay like this. \u2026 We predict that without a significant policy shift, many of the demands for the aging population in the society will not be met.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aging population faces inconsistent access to services<\/p>\n
Using a massive amount of mobility and demographic data, including visitation patterns based on GPS, U.S. census data and environmental data from the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers were able to assess how easily aging populations in communities nationwide could access specific points of interest. This primarily included grocery stores, health care facilities and housing service providers.<\/p>\n
By analyzing all this data, they categorized communities as either high-aging, where over 50% of residents are 65 or over, or low-aging, with under 20% of residents 65 or over. They then were able to track how many visits residents of those communities made to certain points of interest. If a high-aging community made a certain amount of visits to essential service providers within a 5-mile radius, it was considered accessible.<\/p>\n
![\"Headshot](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/072925_AS_Qi_Ryan_Wang_008.jpg\")
\u201cAt this stage, we are not ready for the aging population,\u201d says Ryan Wang, associate professor and vice chair for research of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern. Photo by Alyssa Stone\/Northeastern University<\/p>\n
Contrary to his hypothesis, Wang says that, on the whole, researchers didn\u2019t \u201cobserve significant disparities\u201d in accessibility across the country. However, zooming into specific regions and even cities or counties, there were some notable differences in terms of what the researchers labeled the Fairness Index.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn different places, like in Florida, because there are more aging populations, there are more policies toward meeting the needs of the aging population,\u201d Wang says. \u201cBut then in other states, like Arizona or California, their results are mixed. Some [places] are better, some are worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Older adults struggle to access groceries and care<\/p>\n
There are also disparities when it comes to accessing different kinds of services. Housing was more accessible in high-aging communities, while access to groceries was more limited. Meanwhile, aging-specific services like nursing care and home health care were largely more accessible in high-aging communities, although much less accessible than more broadly used essential services. However, that doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t troubling service deserts.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne extreme case of that is that 70% of high-aging communities in Arizona don\u2019t have sufficient accessibility to those services,\u201d Wang says. \u201cIn other states, it\u2019s not that extreme but could be problematic compared to the other more general essential needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
With America\u2019s aging population growing, the need for those services will be even more important in the coming decades, Wang adds.<\/p>\n
Currently, Wang says the country isn\u2019t facing a serious aging issue, partially because the immigration of younger people to the U.S. helps maintain a more stable population. But that won\u2019t remain the case, and the country needs to prepare to help its aging population or else these disparities will get even deeper.<\/p>\n
For Wang, the solution is not only providing more essential services but designing our cities and towns in ways that help older adults access those services. Wang says ideas like the 15-minute city<\/a> could be a potential solution for policymakers and urban planners alike.<\/p>\n\u201cWe want the aging population to be more mobile,\u201d Wang says. It\u2019s good for their mental health, for their physical health, for their neuro-psychological health, but at the same time, there are more constraints or obstacles for them to be mobile. \u2026 Are we developing these places [and] developing infrastructures to align with their needs? That matters and that also matters in the future as the society and population in the U.S. ages over the next 30, 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Elderly1400.jpg\")
There are disparities in how easily America\u2019s aging population can access certain essential services, Northeastern researchers find. (Photo by Jaap Arriens \/ Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)<\/p>\n