ABSTRACT
The many assets that contribute to community development can be classified as "capitals"-assets invested over a long time horizon. Bonding social capital consists of interactions within a specific group, such as at a senior center or a church, while bridging social capital consists of interactions across social groups. Older adults often have connections with institutions and people in other places they have lived that can enhance community development as local groups learn about the networks that can bring resources from the outside to fulfill community visions. Financial capital consists of forms of currency used to increase capacity. Drawing on the cultural capital of older adults, "old timers" and newcomers, social capital can increase, resulting in coordinated political capital. Building social capital by linking all age groups, but especially older adults, to natural, cultural, and human capital can create an aging population committed to the future of their community.
