Negotiating sameness and difference in geographies of older age

Abstract

To advance understanding of the geographies of age segregation, this paper examines the intersectional social dynamics of age-segregated environments, considering how migration interacts with age segregation to breed sameness or diversity in ageing environments. We juxtapose findings drawn from two research projects, the first on international retirement migration in Spain, where older people inhabit certain geographical and social spaces with "people like them" sharing similar identity characteristics and preferences. The second project was in older people's centres in South London, more diverse sites where people are brought together on the basis of need rather than choice. In interrogating the different social dynamics operating in these age-segregated environments, we reflect on the implications of "choice homophily" for ageing experiences. We recognise the potential of differentiated spaces for ageing, but also question how homophilic choices in retirement can create self-selected and socially segregated retirement environments that reproduce divisions of "race" ethnicity and social class, which would undoubtedly be seen as problematic in other spheres of the life course.

‘I shall miss the company’: participants’ reflections on time-limited day centre programming

“…In contrast with US day centres, which are often privately funded, UK day centres, operating with a deliberate function to target those who are pg. 19 disadvantaged and in greater social need (Rill, 2011), are more likely to attract populations from lower socio-economic strata with higher rates of benefits dependency (Oliver, Blythe and Roe, 2018). In this study, a social mix of participants included those from professional careers as well as those much less well off, particularly in the case of some of the female respondents.…”

Urban green spaces for the social interaction, health and well-being of older people— An integrated view of urban ecosystem services and socio-environmental justice

“…bspw. McHugh, 2003Oliver, Blythe, & Roe, 2018). Weiterhin sind Muster und Motivationen für Umzüge im Alter und die Destinationen der Umzüge Gegenstand wissenschaftlicher Debatten (Haacke et al, 2019;Litwak & Longino Jr, 1987;Teti et al, 2012;Wiseman, 1980;Zimmerli, 2016).…”

Ageing strategically: On migration, care, and diversity in later life

“…For these migrants, as the Azoreans who return, care is positioned in the “south,” and productive work in the “north.” Imaginaries and feelings of physical and emotional security have also been presented as potentiating a desire to return home, especially in contexts of (unforeseen) bodily changes, impairment, and recognition of life finitude (Walsh, ). A yearning for spatial and social familiarity and homophily in later life embodied, for example, in the ability to be cared for in one's native language and/or cultural milieu may also pose a significant appeal for mobility close to or in later life (Oliver, Blythe, & Roe, ).…”

“…Imaginaries and feelings of physical and emotional security have also been presented as potentiating a desire to return home, especially in contexts of (unforeseen) bodily changes, impairment, and recognition of life finitude (Walsh, 2018). A yearning for spatial and social familiarity and homophily in later life embodied, for example, in the ability to be cared for in one's native language and/or cultural milieu may also pose a significant appeal for mobility close to or in later life (Oliver, Blythe, & Roe, 2018). and self-portrayed as "economic refugees," these older individuals' decision to relocate to the Central and South America offers a (financially) liberating alternative to personal austerity in the "Golden Years" (Hayes, 2015, p. 280; see also Botterill, 2017).…”