Aging in the downtown corridor: Mapping the neighborhood experiences of Seattle's unhoused adults over age 50

Abstract

Research has established the importance of understanding the dynamic relationship between older adults and the environments in which they are embedded. However, the meaning of place for unhoused older adults amidst an increasingly contested urban landscape is largely unknown. This exploratory study aims to further include unhoused older adults' experiences in the scholarship on aging and place by asking how unhoused adults over age 50 (1) describe their spatial patterns and experiences and (2) negotiate their relationship with common urban places. Through iterative mapping conducted in focus groups and interviews at Seattle senior centers, respondents identified how they interacted with their communities and environment. Using inductive and deductive coding of both textual and geospatial data, thematic analysis indicated that respondents: (1) experienced confinement to the downtown corridor and expulsion from surrounding areas– a phenomenon compounded by physical and subjective aging; (2) created routines amidst geographic and temporal restrictions to maximize comfort and security; (3) attempted to create residential normalcy in public places through adaptive and accommodative practices; and (4) experienced identities shaped by movement through and access to place. Current social, spatial, and political contexts of city living present many challenges for older unhoused adults. Supports that ignore people's identification with the places that are important to them are unlikely to be successful. Findings from this paper call for service, policy, and design strategies that facilitate personal agency and connection to place among unhoused people midlife and beyond.