Three Not-So-Bad Things on Aging and Longevity
A Weekly Newsletter
There’s no denying it: we are constantly bombarded with bad news. A pandemic, climate change, inflation, war, political discord—the list goes on. Here at the Longevity Project, we understand that bad news can be enough to take years off your life, so we want to do our part (however small) to balance the scales.
At the end of the day, though, we’re realists. Good news is hard to come by, no matter how hard you look. So we’ll aim a little lower and without further ado, we are pleased to share our first weekly newsletter: Three Not-So-Bad Things on Longevity and Aging. Feel free to share with others and send us items you want to see included. With some luck, you will see this newsletter (and some more not so bad news) every Wednesday.
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APRIL 15, 2026
1. Your Neighborhood May Be Out to Get You.
Life expectancy in the tony Georgetown neighborhood of Washington DC is a remarkable 92 years, but six miles away as the crow flies, life expectancy in Anacostia is just 67 years. The concept that where you live – and your access to adequate healthcare, groceries, green spaces, good schools, and safe streets – impacts how long and how well you will live is not a new or controversial one. But we are learning more every year about how neighborhood impacts our lives.
The latest study comes from a team at NYU that is studying the impact of neighborhoods on cellular aging. To understand the connection between neighborhood and cellular aging, the researchers analyzed data from 1,215 American adults, including blood samples measuring molecular markers of cellular aging. They also assessed neighborhood opportunity for each participant using the Childhood Opportunity Index 3, which calculates 44 location-specific measures of education, health and environment, and social and economic resources (e.g., employment, homeownership, and income).
The researchers found that people living in low-opportunity neighborhoods had significantly faster rates of cellular aging, even after accounting for other socioeconomic, health, and lifestyle factors. The association between neighborhood opportunity and cellular aging was strongest for social and economic factors.
“Stressors related to income, jobs, and housing are not occasional, but persistent conditions that shape daily life,” said Adolfo Cuevas, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at NYU School of Global Public Health and the study’s lead author. “Our findings suggest that chronic stress caused by economic deprivation and limited mobility may be the primary driver of cellular aging.”
The research indicates that efforts to improve economic opportunity and mobility should also be seen as public health initiatives since they may have a greater impact on healthy aging than traditional public health efforts.
2. Or We Could All Just Move to Cumby, Texas.
Because that is where Robyn Yerian has built a tiny house community for women 60 and older. It’s only 11 homes, so tiny describes both the style of homes and the size of the community. Most of the women who live at the Bird’s Nest are single (as are half the women in this country over 65) and the group has the explicit commitment to support each other through the end of life.
The Bird’s Nest was started by Yerian with a $150,000 stake from her retirement savings, with the goal of creating affordable homes (rent is about $450/month) and a new 21st century version of a second family as we age. It’s another example of the new “family of choice” communities reflected in cohousing projects such as Eastern Village Cohousing in Silver Spring, MD or the pocket neighborhoods designed by architect Ross Chapin.
Shameless Self Promotion #1.
Oddly, Ryan Frederick, an expert on place planning and a Texan himself, failed to mention the Cumby tiny house development during the taping of the final episode of Century Lives: The Home Stretch. But that is about all he left out as he talked with our callers in the first ever call-in podcast for Century Lives. It was a fun, engaging, and revealing hour on the housing and social connection challenges that we face as we age. Listen in here.
3. Maybe the Government Can Chip in at The Bird's Nest.
Americans 50+ are equally divided over who should bear the cost of caregiving, according to a new poll from the University of Michigan, with roughly 45% believing it should be the financial responsibility of families, 45% believing that government should be responsible, and 10% arguing that the nonprofit sector should bear the costs.
The researchers found that views on who should shoulder the costs of caregiving is more shaped by whether a person is a caregiver or not than other factors. Caregivers over the age of 50 are more likely to say the government should take primary responsibility for long-term care costs (51% vs. 43% of non-caregivers). They’re also more worried - nearly two-thirds report being very concerned about costs, and half are deeply concerned about whether quality care will even be available.
About 18% of adults over 50 are currently caring for someone over 65. That percentage is expected to rise in the coming years, possibly reshaping the public’s expectations about the role of government and its obligations to support caregivers in the future.
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