Japanese Delegation on Aging-In-Place and Climate Resilience visits Miami

[Sonia Chao, University of Miami Associate Dean of Research and Co-Director of MPS in Urban Sustainability & Resilience Professor, organized a group of experts to share with the delegation highlights of their research and presented a synopsis of her work Design Matters: Assessing the vulnerabilities of humans and of buildings at the hyper-local scale of parcels.] — Sonia Chao, University of Miami Associate Dean of Research and Co-Director of MPS in Urban Sustainability & Resilience Professor, organized a group of experts to share with the delegation highlights of their research and presented a synopsis of her work Design Matters: Assessing the vulnerabilities of humans and of buildings at the hyper-local scale of parcels.

[Calvin Johnson, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring, addresses the delegation at the end of their visit to Miami.] — Calvin Johnson, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring, addresses the delegation at the end of their visit to Miami.

[Rosa Salgado, resident of Rebecca Towers who prepared Valentine cards for the visitors, shares with HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Jose Alvarez her appreciation for the care and services seniors receive at the public housing facility.] — Rosa Salgado, resident of Rebecca Towers who prepared Valentine cards for the visitors, shares with HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Jose Alvarez her appreciation for the care and services seniors receive at the public housing facility.

On February 8, 2023, HUD Southeast Regional Administrator José Alvarez, Miami Field Office Director Luis Rolle, and Miami FPM staff welcomed a 11-member Japanese delegation to Miami, including Setsuko Saya, Special Advisor to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Satoshi Ishizaka, Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Housing Bureau; Kazushi Tanaka, Director for Policy Research, Policy Research Institute for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Daiki Katayama, Director General for Corporate Coordination and Information/Communication, Urban Renaissance Agency; and Ryosuke Tada, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in the US. The Japanese delegation was joined by 8 members of HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), including Calvin Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring, Regina Gray, Director Affordable Housing Research and Technology Division, and Cindy Campbell, Director International and Philanthropic Affairs Division.

The focus of the delegation’s visit to Miami was on elderly and supportive services, climate resilience, and historic preservation. The visit started with a tour of the Miami Beach Art Deco, with the Housing Authority of the City of Miami Beach (HACMB). Preservation of community and environmental history is extremely important to the Japanese, and the tour focused on the history, the transformation, and the fabulous Art Deco buildings.

On February 9th, the delegation visited HUD funded elderly designated housing. Japan’s ‘super aged’ society is the oldest in world, and the delegation was eager to interact with elderly residents and observe them receiving social services and medical care that promotes aging-in-place. The first stop was Rebecca Towers, and Miguel Campos, Executive Director of HACMB provided a tour and overview of the varied social services that help residents remain independent and live in the Rebecca Towers community for as long as possible avoiding unnecessary move outs. Next, they visited the River Parc/Robert King High Tower Community Center and Martin Villas. Michael Liu, at the time Executive Director of Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development, provided a tour and overview of the Robert High Tower Community Center senior programs, and the senior disabled oriented 104-unit Martin Fine Villas 8’ wide wheelchair/mobility scooter accessible indoor ramp that extends through the full 7 stories of the building. Finally, the day ended with a tour of the Carrie Meek Senior Center, a very robust Active Older Adults Program run by Miami-Dade County’s Department of Community Action and Human Services Department. The delegation viewed adults 60 years of age and older participating in recreational, social, and educational programs.

On February 10th, the delegation visited the University of Miami for enlightening presentations about climate resilience planning. Spearheaded by Professor Sonia Chao, Associate Dean of Research and Co-Director of MPS in Urban Sustainability & Resilience and Kimberly Brown, Director of Resilience Planning & Implementation for Miami-Dade County, the delegation viewed numerous presentations on such topics as Affordable Housing & Urban Resilience in Miami, Community Engagement: Environmental Resilience & Elder Care-Nursing and Public Health Perspectives, Next Generation Pipe Sizing and Water Efficiency for Residential Occupancies and its Broader Impacts on Energy and Public Health Implications, and Design Matters: Assessing the vulnerabilities of humans and of buildings at the hyper-local scale of parcels. The delegation engaged with the presenters and had their questions answered.

The delegation’s Miami visit concluded with a debriefing at the HUD Miami Field Office. Led by Field Office Director Rolle, the delegation received an overview of the various services provided by the different program areas at the HUD Miami Field Office. The delegation found the site visits where they interacted with elderly residents and observed them receiving medical care and social services from external providers informative. They enjoyed the presentations on climate resilience and found them relevant and interesting. Finally, the delegation thanked the Miami Field Office for hosting their visit and they look forward to future collaboration with HUD on aging-in-place and climate resilience.

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