Starting my tenure as executive director at The Center at Belvedere at just 39 years of age in 1999, I began thinking of aging as a societal issue long before most of us do. A fundamental concept I learned was that creating something that helps our community be more accessible for an older adult will help all generations.
The classic example is curb cuts, which are the slopes between curbs and streets. They not only help older adults using mobility devices but also help anyone with a stroller or who otherwise find curbs a barrier to their daily life.
The first step to creating our shared future is imagining it.
For Charlottesville Tomorrow’s 20th anniversary, we are inviting central Virginians to share their visions for the next 20 years.
I am inspired when residents have the information they need — from impactful local news organizations like Charlottesville Tomorrow — and the encouragement to stand up and speak truth to our public officials. While I find it discouraging to think we have little impact on actions at the national level, I know from a multitude of experiences of speaking up myself and watching others speak up that local leaders do listen and act on what they learn from residents.
While working at The Center, I collaborated with other organizations to form the Charlottesville Area Alliance, a group working to build a more age-friendly community. We successfully advocated for public officials in Albemarle County, Charlottesville and Fluvanna County to commit to an age-friendly community framework to make our area more livable for people of all ages, particularly older adults. We used guidance from AARP, a nonprofit that advocates for older adults.
When Albemarle County and the Virginia Department of Transportation were planning an intersection improvement at the corner of East Rio Road and Belvedere Boulevard in September 2021, they solicited public feedback on initial plans through in-person events and online. Many people who used that intersection pointed out design issues. A far better design is now in place. The project was recommended for funding in January 2023 and construction will begin soon; VDOT estimates completion in late 2027.
Additionally, area residents advocated for Albemarle County and Charlottesville to make capital investments in building The Center at Belvedere starting in 2016. I don’t recall either locality having made such investments in age-friendly communities, but resident advocacy was vital to convincing management and elected officials to approve the request. The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors contributed $2 million and the Charlottesville City Council allocated $1.2 million over five years. The project broke ground in November 2018 and opened its doors to the public in the summer of 2020.
I am excited that the city of Charlottesville in particular is investing in improving accessibility through the built environment and better public transit, which are vital to public health, safety and a more accessible and equitable community for all.
In 20 years, my vision is: people can walk from home to access public transit. They can cross streets to services or to simply recreate. Roads are designed for all users, not just for automobiles. Bus shelters with shade are installed so that riders do not have to stand in the rain, snow or increasing summer heat. Bike lanes are developed and more often protected as they are on the new Belmont Bridge.
Right now, the Albemarle County and Charlottesville area is a fantastic place to live for many people. But in the next 20 years, it will be a great place to live for all of us.
—Peter Thompson, former executive director of The Center at Belvedere
We can and must do better in these areas. If we continue to invest in this concept over the next 20 years, we will be a more livable place for a wider group of people.
The greater Charlottesville area has been good to me. I achieved a great education at the University of Virginia, met my wife and a wonderful array of friends, and discovered and thrived in two different work worlds. However, the vast discrepancies in the quality of life due to entrenched institutions, a painful history of discrimination, and systems that simply do not meet the needs of all our residents negatively impacts all of us.
I don’t want to live where only some of us are doing well; I envision a community where all of us have the same opportunities to not simply survive, but to thrive.
I think that a fundamental tension in American history has been our belief in individualism and the reality of how much we all rely on one another, on living within a community. Our current culture is out of balance, focused too much on individualism and lacking any overarching alignment, any sense of our common good.
We need more of a shared purpose. We need to make a commitment to community. One way we can do this is working together to ensure we have an accessible built environment and better public transit that benefits everyone.
Right now, the Albemarle County and Charlottesville area is a fantastic place to live for many people. But in the next 20 years, it will be a great place to live for all of us.
