Retirement communities and their life stages

A developmental theoretical orientation is used to study age-dense environments for mature adults--retirement communities. By focusing on the community itself, we discovered two basic patterns of life-stage models that describe and explain the formation, development, and maturity stages of communities. Thirty-six communities in four states were visited by the researchers, who interviewed a variety of key insider and outsider informants. Retirement communities are both social and economic units. The development and viability of the community are related to two models based on residential ownership (Type I) versus rental (Type II) of land upon which their dwellings are located. Residents in both types of communities express satisfaction. In Type I, some communities may experience problems in self-government and community formation. In Type II communities, there is sometimes a threat of sale of the community by the owner--an event that is unanticipated by the residents and has profound repercussions.