Older People in Public Space(s) – Engagement or Disengagement?

Background: Public spaces are in transition, and it doesn't head towards age-friendly cities. Instead, spaces are turned into functions of mobility – lacking opportunities for social interactions and integration. This tendency intensifies in times of economic crisis with the withdrawal of public maintenance and the fortification of socio-environmental injustice. Older people are particularly affected as they are highly dependent upon their immediate residential environment for maintaining their quality of life.  

Methods: The main research question is how older people cope with the deprivation of public places and what role the specific localities play in their strategies. A comparative case study of contrasting residential areas in Vienna, Austria, will be presented. A mixed-methods design combining both quantitative and qualitative methods is deployed.

Preliminary Results: The quality of the residential area significantly correlates to older people’s outdoor behavior. Factors that reduce the likeliness of spatial engagement are a disadvantaged neighborhood and age discrimination in the residential area. Who owns little resources is even more affected. However, older people also own specific resources that can contribute to the revitalization of public spaces, increasing not only their own quality of life but the quality of city life in general.  

Conclusion: The intersectionality of old and new dimensions of inequality - like age intersecting with education and gender - poses new challenges for environmental justice discourse. Hence, environmental justice can be discussed under the keywords of age-friendliness. Without counteraction, environmental deprivation and the corresponding withdrawal of older people from public space will increase inequalities in older age – both in regards to health and significance. Who withdraws from public space becomes invisible in society. However, older people are also a highly competent group that is yet hardly targeted by urban revitalization initiatives. Here lies potential for inclusive ‘gentrification’ of urban areas.