The Washington-based International City/County Management Association (ICMA), the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties have created a toolkit to help communities provide better service for aging residents and, by extension, all ages. Topics covered by the toolkit include education, economic development, health, housing and transportation.

ICMA members from Albany, Ore.; Lincoln, Calif.; Port Richie, Fla.; and Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., piloted the development of the toolkit. The communities implemented some aspects of the program, such as its planning worksheet and community checklist, to facilitate existing programs in their areas with positive results. The toolkit is available at http://www.viablefuturestoolkit.org/index.html.