Identity & Community

Keystone Crossroads: Rust or Revival?

Keystone Crossroads: Rust or Revival? explores the urgent challenges pressing upon Pennsylvania's cities. Four public media newsrooms are collaborating to report in depth on the root causes of our state's urban crisis -- and on possible solutions. Keystone Crossroads offers reports on radio, web, social media, television and newspapers, and through public events.Our partner stations are WHYY in Philadelphia, WPSU in State College and witf in Harrisburg. Read all of the partner stories here.Pittsburgh’s WQED joins the collaboration as an associate partner. Support for this project comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Pennsylvania's Population Becoming Older, More Diverse

90.5 WESA | By Lindsay Lazarski | Keystone Crossroads

Published June 30, 2015 at 7:33 AM EDT

Gloria Jamison, right, escorts her mother, Isabella Jamison, who was born on Feb. 14, 1914, to Philadelphia's 15th Annual Centenarian Celebration at a union hall on Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania's older and minority populations continue to grow, according to a new report released by Penn State Date Center.

The number of Pennsylvania residents 65 and older reached more than 2.1 million in 2014 — that's one in six people — continuing the trend of the state's increasing older population.

Since the 2010 Census, Pennsylvania's 65+ population has grown by 8.9 percent.

Over the next 20 years, the Pennsylvania Data Center projects that cohort group will continue to grow and peak to more than 3.2 million residents, making up nearly a quarter of the state's total population by 2035. This means Pennsylvania cities and communities need to plan for potential challenges that come along with an aging population — like access to affordable housing and increases in public health costs.

Read more of this report at the website of our partner Keystone Crossroads.