Human Development Pathways for Understanding Sustainable Use of Neighborhood Resources and Successful Aging During Crises

Human development (HD) pathways play an important role in the sustainable use of neighborhoods and their resources for successful aging in a world of crises, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and climate change. Human development theory and research suggest that the older people who are more educated, equity-oriented, self-efficacious, self-reliant, and empowered are more capable in efficiently using neighborhood resources than their peers with opposite attributes (e.g., dependence, despair, and disempowerment) to meet their human needs during the crises. Despite this, little is known about how HD pathways influence the sustainable use of neighborhood resources for older adults’ adaptation in context of COVID-19 and climate change. In this chapter, based on systematic review of human development theories and research, we formulate an integrated theoretical framework that provides an understanding of HD pathways toward the sustainable use of neighborhood resources for successful aging in the world of crises. This theoretical analysis of HD pathways may contribute to the field of developmental and environmental gerontology and would provide research and policy implications for successful aging.