Abstract
Gerontology has for a long time been described as “data rich, but theory poor”. This is true for the study of spatial exclusion, too: in a recent scoping review on old‑age exclusion, Walsh and his colleagues called for more theoretical work in the field of spatial exclusion. To answer this call, our article sketches out a heuristic model of an “ageing, space and exclusion” triangle, mainly based upon Lefebvrian thoughts. We applied our model to interpret the political concept of “Age Friendly Cities and Communities” (AFCC), promoted by the World Health Organization, and its practices worldwide. Some concluding remarks suggest further steps in improving this theoretical perspective.
Highlights
In an increasingly globalized world, gerontology’s attention turns towards the risks this entails for older adults and the spatial dimension of exclusion in later life (Phillipson 2004)
ISSN 1214-813X. 1 This article is inspired by discussions from the “Community/Spatial Working Group” (WG) of the COST-financed Research Network “Reducing Old-Age Exclusion: Collaborations in Research and Policy” (ROSEnet); it has benefited from exchanges from all members of the WG in Oslo (March 2017) and Brno (September 2017)
Concepts of age‐friendly cities would constitute a case of the representations of space. We suggest that such concepts would assist in offering a more thorough understanding of the experiences of everyday life of place in relation to public policies. It might be a starting point for conceptualizing new solutions for the challenges of social exclusion and place – for example, Wanka (2018) shows how a public park in a distressed neighbourhood in Vienna can illustrate the dynamic between these logics: an apparently excluded older man who is considered as tramp by social services, is embedded into the local security system of the park and has, by this function, a sense of belonging to the community; a woman apparently in poor health, from the same area, reveals herself as the historical leader of a local campaign to protect the park against destruction for building a car park
Summary
In an increasingly globalized world, gerontology’s attention turns towards the risks this entails for older adults and the spatial dimension of exclusion in later life (Phillipson 2004). We suggest that such concepts would assist in offering a more thorough understanding of the experiences of everyday life of place (spatial practice) in relation to public policies (which are influenced by representations of space) It might be a starting point for conceptualizing new solutions for the challenges of social exclusion and place (spaces of representation) – for example, Wanka (2018) shows how a public park in a distressed neighbourhood in Vienna can illustrate the dynamic between these logics: an apparently excluded older man who is considered as tramp by social services, is embedded into the local security system of the park and has, by this function, a sense of belonging to the community; a woman apparently in poor health, from the same area, reveals herself as the historical leader of a local campaign to protect the park against destruction for building a car park. - Perception of places - Place attachment - Place appropriation - Modification and adaptation of places - Processes of inclusion and invisibilisation - Members of a community and rights - Invisibilities of ‘non-members’ or ‘notidentified’ (migrants, poor people, very old adults, rural places, people in vulnerable conditions, etc.)
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