Meanings of place and displacement in three groups of older immigrants

Abstract

Using a theoretical framework that encompasses concepts of space and place, this research addresses meanings of place to three groups of older immigrants living in an inner city. This qualitative research is based on multiple interviews with 211 persons over the age of 50 in three ethnic groups: Latinos, Filipino Americans, and Cambodian Americans. Living conditions were found to be complex and difficult for most respondents, yet living arrangements were also sources of intergenerational family support and long-term, intimate friendships. An examination of meanings of place illustrates how seemingly disparate topics such as social relationships, memory, displacement, the reworking of identity, and the presence of identity politics are interwoven in the lives of these elders, and how people work to ameliorate their sense of displacement while living in problematic living conditions in old age.