The purpose of the project is to understand the housing needs of the elderly and to develop different housing strategies that will fulfill the needs of the elderly. To accomplish our goal, the following steps were implemented. First, a windshield survey check list was developed, with which, a general impression of the selected cities (Bayard and Guthrie Center of Guthrie County, Iowa) was drawn. 

Second, a detailed information was collected by pulling data from the electronic media (World Wide Web).Geographic location of the targeted cities and the demographic information are also presented in the project report. Third, two elder volunteers were recruited during a group field trip. Later, two participants agreed to have an individual interview in their present dwelling. Students measured the bathroom of the subject and developed three suggested remodeling plans. 

Lastly, available housing resources for the elderly were discussed. In the section, different housing resources and terms were defined and the related issues were explained. Phone list is another useful resources. Students collected the phone numbers of different human resource agents in the State of Iowa, and organized by the geographic locations. 

Bayard 

On Thursday, February 6, 1997 a fifteen passenger van full of students in a class called Housing and Environments for the Elderly arrived in Guthrie County. One of many stops was a small town called Bayard. Bayard is along the northern boundary of Guthrie County. My personal impression of Bayard after spending a couple of hours walking and driving through town is that it is a very small aging community. One thing I did notice was that for a town its size, Bayard had many amenities within the community that are equally comparable to towns twice its size. I was particularly impressed by the condition of the streets and the handicap accessibility on the side walks. Another noticeable aspect of the town was that there was no new construction. The majority of the homes appeared to be quite old. 

The majority of the population of Bayard is elderly. The sidewalks in the community had low curbs and were wide enough for wheel chair accessibility and ramps on all public buildings. The town also has an excellent infrastructure system and a water tower. The streets had good lighting. The majority of the housing was single family detached. There were some multi-family units in the form of FmHA housing. Several mobile homes were in the town and many were placed on foundations. Many of the single family detached homes were old and not well maintained. Most of the homes were bi-level. The total housing mix is composed of single single family detached, apartments and mobile homes. 

The overall appearance of the housing was fair. Windows and doors were in good condition. Snow removal was present on sidewalks, streets and driveways. Vacant housing and new construction were in very few numbers. The majority of the housing is very close to the main part of town near small business. There is a small department store, hardware store, newspaper, grocery store, modern library, and pumps for a gas station. The town also had a bank, post office and salon. A funeral home, community center, dance hall, and lounge were also found. For a town so small and old it had many amenities. 

Some educational, cultural and religious areas were also present. The commercial business of town would be the Coop grain elevator and farming. Railroad tracks ran right through the middle of town. Services that were present in the community were health and safety services via a police car, fire station, and a dentist office. There was no neighborhood watch. Handicap parking was available but no automatic doors were present. Overall, Bayard is a small aging town. However, the quality of the resources and services the town has is comparable to communities of much larger size. 

Guthrie Center 

Guthrie Center is in the middle of Guthrie County. It is south and east of Bayard. Guthrie Center is twice the size of Bayard and is the county seat. The landscape is very hilly while Bayard was very flat. Although Guthrie Center appears to be far more modern than Bayard physically, the population also appears to be mostly elderly and aging in place. FmHA housing units were present in the form of small multi-family units. There also appears to be no vacant housing or public transportation available. The community appears to be older with limited new construction, but the majority of existing homes seem to be well maintained. Many of the homes had additions built on to them. 

Guthrie Center had many similarities to Bayard. The streets were also paved and well maintained. Sidewalks were available in most areas and in good condition. The streets had good lighting and there appeared to be no public transportation. No handicap parking, ramps or automatic doors were noticed. The housing types were quite similar to Bayard’s. They consisted of single detached, apartments, multifamily, townhouses, and retirement homes. Guthrie Center had many more modern homes than Bayard. 

There were many different styles of the housing and many of the older units had new additions. The physical appearance of the homes overall was good. The stairs, windows and doors were in good condition. The neighborhood makeup appeared to have more of a mix of age groups than Bayard. There was shopping available via grocery and a drug store. Other businesses available consisted of a gas station, restaurants, eye care, a law office, hospital, police station, chiropractor, post office and hotel. There were recreational areas and churches. There was also a courthouse that appeared to be built in the 1960s in design. The commercial areas were in one central location. There were not really any industrial areas. Overall the condition of the town was good and fairly modern. 

   
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