Sustaining an age-friendly movement takes as much commitment as sparking one.
That’s the chief takeaway from Princeton’s efforts to make an already age-friendly community even stronger through what project leaders are calling “Age-Friendly Princeton 2.0.”
In 2014, Princeton became the first community in New Jersey – and only the third in the nation – to join the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Cities. The effort was led by the Center for Modern Aging Princeton (CMAP), then known as the Princeton Senior Resource Center, together with a small task force of municipal and community leaders. The original action plan focused on priorities such as affordable housing, transportation, and strengthening neighborhoods. While implementation slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic as organizations responded to immediate community needs, CMAP continued expanding programs like Grandpals and Third Act Volunteer Corps , as well as digital literacy, volunteer engagement, and lifelong learning initiatives that support older adults.
Being selected for a community planning grant in 2025 offered Princeton an opportunity “to strengthen its original age-friendly framework while engaging residents and community partners in developing a more inclusive, collaborative, and sustainable model for the future,” said Naomi Rosenblum, CMAP’s Director of Advocacy & Age-Friendly Princeton.
Founded before the Revolutionary War, Princeton is internationally recognized for the Ivy League university that bears its name and is also home to renowned research, cultural and philanthropic institutions. Situated almost equidistant from Philadelphia and New York City, the Mercer County town is “experiencing many of the same challenges affecting communities nationwide, including rising housing costs, increasing social isolation, and the growing need for coordinated services for an aging population,” Rosenblum said.
“Our older adult population is diverse and evolving, and we recognize that not all residents experience aging in the same way,” Rosenblum said. “That reality has strengthened our commitment to community-driven planning that centers the voices of older adults themselves.”
Princeton has a long history of building public-private partnerships to tackle community challenges and social justice issues of the day, a legacy that leaders of this grant project relied upon in their efforts to gather feedback from a diverse cross-section of older residents.
“That collaborative spirit is at the heart of Age-Friendly Princeton 2.0,” Rosenblum said.
More than 300 residents participated through surveys, listening sessions, stakeholder interviews, meetings, and other planning activities, including 162 adults age 55 and older. Participants represented a broad cross-section of the community, including low- to moderate-income older adults, immigrants, racial and ethnic minority residents, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“Despite initial concerns that participation among older residents with low or moderate income might remain limited, trusted partnerships and grassroots outreach helped us achieve stronger engagement than in previous community assessments,” Rosenblum said.
One consistent finding throughout the community engagement process was that many respondents were not aware of the wide range of older-adult programs and services in the community, highlighting the need for improved coordination, communication, and awareness of existing resources.
Others expressed a need for expanded senior transportation routes and hours and cited worsening affordability challenges. Nearly three-quarters of lower-income older adults in Princeton live in subsidized or affordable housing, and over 80% rent their homes. About 9% of low- and moderate-income residents who responded said they were a month or more late on rent, mortgage, homeowners’ fees or utility bills.
As Age-Friendly Princeton’s leaders look to guide implementation of the Princeton 2.0 Blueprint and Action Plan based on this more recent assessment, Rosenblum said one key difference from a decade ago is that older residents will be actively shaping this revived initiative.
“The grant has strengthened partnerships among municipal leaders, nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, and older adult residents themselves, creating a more coordinated and responsive support system for aging in community,” she said. “Most importantly, this initiative reinforces that older adults are not simply recipients of services. They are essential partners, volunteers, leaders, and changemakers whose voices and experiences are helping shape Princeton’s future.”