Aging Bodies in Transforming Cities: A Dynamic Approach to Investigate a Complex Relationship

Elaborating on a qualitative research carried out with 17 individuals aged 65 or over and 18 key informants working in services for the aging population in the Northern Italian metropolitan city of Turin between 2019 and 2020, the contribution aims at reflecting on the relationship of older adults with their space of living. In particular, it investigates the interrelations between the transformations of the urban space – at the neighborhood, block and house level – and the sense of belonging related to the concept of ‘aging in place’. It observes how elderly people interact with an urban space that does not cater the needs of aging, non-performing, bodies and how this interaction takes place within cities that are ever-changing, challenging both the material and the socio-symbolic relationship with urban spaces. The analysis shows that the city struggles to include aging bodies, especially if the aging process is not ‘active’ or ‘successful’, which can bring to a progressive social and spatial exclusion of older adults, up to forms of ‘soft’ confinement. Furthermore, it sheds light on the strategies that older adults put into play to make sense of such transformations in their daily routines. In doing so, the contribution also problematizes the approach of ‘aging in place’ and the model of age-friendly-cities arguing for a more nuanced analysis in which the concepts of ‘the right to the city’ and of ‘socio-spatial justice’ can be particularly enriching.