Yes / Communities play an important role in supporting people living with affected by dementia. The aim of this study was to explore what could be changed in the local community to enable those with dementia to live well. People with dementia and carers taking part in the IDEAL programme responded to open-ended questions. Responses from 1,172 people with dementia and 702 caregivers were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: raising awareness, improving access to support services, providing social events and activities, and supporting people to engage in the community. These highlight the role of individuals, resources and the environment in supporting those with dementia. Longer-term investment in services is needed to underpin dementia-inclusive communities. / The IDEAL study was funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) through grant ES/L001853/2. The IDEAL-2 study’ is funded by Alzheimer’s Society, grant number 348, AS-PR2-16-001. The support of ESRC, NIHR and Alzheimer’s Society is gratefully acknowledged.

Äldreperspektivet i stadsplaneringen är ett nästintill outforskat område i Sverige. Samtidigt står vi i Sverige, precis som i många andra länder, inför stora demografiska utmaningar kopplade till den snabbt åldrande befolkningen. Där stadsplanering med ett äldreperspektiv identifierats som en i raden av insatser som krävs för att möta de utmaningar som en åldrande befolkning för med sig. I den här studien har äldrevänlig stadsplanering undersökts utifrån en fallstudie av stadsutvecklingsprojektet Ulleråker i Uppsala kommun. En kommun som sommaren 2016 gick med i Världshälsoorganisationens (WHO:s) globala nätverk för åldersvänliga städer och samhällen, och därmed precis påbörjat sin resa mot att bli en mer äldrevänlig stad. Då äldreperspektivet är ett nytt fenomen i svensk stadsplanering, saknas kunskapen om vad kommunen bör göra för att tillgodose ett sådant perspektiv, vilket utgjort utgångspunkten för denna studie. Studiens syfte har på så sätt varit att bidra med ökade kunskaper om innebörden av äldrevänlig planering, och hur Uppsala kommun skulle kunna utveckla sitt arbete för att på ett bättre sätt tillgodose ett äldreperspektiv. Materialet som legat till grund för fallstudien baseras på dokumentstudier av styrdokument och planhandlingar, samt intervjuer med aktörer som är involverade i stadsplaneringen utifrån ett äldreperspektiv i Uppsala. I studien identifieras en rad faktorer som inom forskningsvärlden framhävts som betydelsefulla vid planeringen av en äldrevänlig stad. Och resultatet från fallstudien tyder på att kommunen, trots att de inte uttalat arbetar med ett äldreperspektiv i stadsplaneringen idag, indirekt tillgodoser vissa delar av äldreperspektivet i sin planering. Samtidigt identifieras i studien en rad förbättringsområden. Bland annat att synen på äldreperspektivet bör tydliggöras och breddas, samt att kommunen bör anta en gemensam målsättning för äldreperspektivet. Likaså föreslås att hanteringen av äldreperspektivet bör ses över, för att förtydliga vilka delar av den kommunala organisationen som ska vara ansvarig för att uppfylla vilka delar av äldreperspektivet. Fallstudien pekar även på att frågan om äldres boende bör lyftas tidigare i planeringsprocessen än vad som görs idag. Slutresultatet från studien, indikerar att ökad kunskap om äldreperspektivet bidrar till att öka medvetenheten om vilka vi planerar för och hur äldre påverkas av olika beslut gällande stadsmiljön, vilket kan ses som en förutsättning för ett medvetet och hållbart samhällsbyggande. / The elderly perspective is currently missing in urban planning in Sweden. At the same time, Sweden and many other countries are facing demographic challenges in terms of an ageing population. However, the integration of an elderly perspective into the planning process of cities can be considered as one of a number of efforts to meet these challenges. In this study, an elderly-friendly planning approach has been investigated through a case study of the urban development project Ulleråker in Uppsala, Sweden. In 2016, Uppsala municipality became a member of the WHO global network for age-friendly cities and communities. Hence, the municipality of Uppsala has just begun its journey towards becoming an elderly-friendly city. Since the elderly perspective is a comparatively new phenomenon in the planning agenda in Sweden, the municipality lacks the knowledge needed to cater for such a perspective. With this as a starting point, the purpose of this study is to advance knowledge of elderly-friendly planning, as well as identify ways in which Uppsala municipality could improve their planning procedures to better meet the needs of the elderly in the urban environment. The case study is based on document reviews of regulatory and planning documents linked to the development project of Ulleråker. In addition, five in-depth interviews have been carried out with actors involved in the planning process from an elderly perspective in Uppsala. The study identifies a number of factors of importance in creating an elderly-friendly urban environment. On the one hand, the result of the case study indicates that the municipality does not explicitly consider an elderly perspective in the municipal planning process. On the other hand, the same case study reveals that an elderly perspective is considered indirectly to some extent. Furthermore, the study highlights a number of areas of improvement in order to strengthen the elderly perspective in Uppsala. For instance, it is suggested that the municipality should broaden its view of the needs of older people in urban environments. In addition, the municipality’s handling of the issue should be reviewed to determine the extent to which different parts of the municipal organisation should be responsible for ensuring different factors in creating an elderly-friendly urban environment. Moreover, the case study also suggests that the dwelling issue of elderly people should be considered at an earlier stage in the planning process compared to what is done today. The conclusion indicates that increased knowledge about the elderly perspective in urban planning may raise the awareness of who we plan for, and how older people are affected by different decisions concerning the urban environment. Which can be understood as a precondition for sustainable development.

Esta investigação teve por objetivo analisar a participação de idosos em direção à promoção da saúde considerando a articulação com oito aspectos da vida urbana do projeto cidade amiga do idoso (espaços abertos e prédios, transporte, moradia, participação social, respeito e inclusão social, participação cívica e emprego, comunicação e informação, e apoio comunitário e serviços de saúde) do bairro Vila Tibério, município de Ribeirão Preto, estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva de abordagem qualitativa sustentada pelos conceitos e princípios da promoção da saúde, a partir da perspectiva da participação social e do estabelecimento de ambientes saudáveis, motivo do alinhamento com os aspectos da vida urbana do Projeto Cidade Amiga do Idoso. A pesquisa atendeu aos preceitos éticos, sendo sua realização aprovada por Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. A captação do empírico se deu por meio da realização de grupos focais com base no Protocolo de Vancouver, desenvolvido pelo Government of British Columbia, somando 32 idosos e 6 representantes de prestadores de serviços em 5 grupos focais. Adicionalmente, foi aplicado instrumento de avaliação funcional para verificar condição de independência ou dependência dos 32 idosos, sendo feita avaliação qualitativa da capacidade autorreferida pelos idosos, segundo a escala utilizada. Realizou-se análise de conteúdo na vertente temática para o material dos grupos, com a identificação de três temas: território: lugar de vida e cidadania, formação de redes de suporte social ao idoso e participação dos idosos na vida do bairro. A violência, o abandono presentes no território, em especial nos espaços coletivos, trazem preocupação e medo aos idosos, pois dificultam a livre circulação no território. Por outro lado, há no bairro certa tradição e possibilidade de serem construídas relações de amizade e apoio, que permitem ao idoso sentir-se acolhido, sendo enfatizado que as relações de amizade e mesmo as institucionalizadas, como por exemplo, o trabalho dos agentes comunitários de saúde, são necessárias às relações de convivência e sustentação na vida dos idosos. É trazida a importância dos jornais do bairro e de seu papel como elemento constitutivo da rede apoio na área de comunicação e informação dentro do território. A vinculação ao mundo do trabalho, com atividades remuneradas, ainda é uma forma que os idosos encontram de se manterem próximos aos amigos e participantes da vida em comunidade. Há dificuldade em ampliar a participação dos idosos por diferentes motivos que vão desde a dificuldade de mobilidade dentro do bairro, acesso à informação sobre as atividades disponíveis, ausência de canais mais ágeis de comunicação, baixa adesão aos processos de participação social no campo da saúde e assistência social, trabalho dos idosos como cuidadores de outros idosos familiares ou de netos. Situações que dificultam maior adesão aos processos de participação social, embora seja assinalada a importância destes processos para a melhoria do bairro. O conjunto dos resultados aponta que os idosos apresentam muitas dificuldades para ampliar sua participação nos processos coletivos no bairro, que por vezes se mostra hostil em suas condições a este grupo. Por outro lado se fazem presentes potencialidades, nas brechas e sugestões que indicam a possibilidade para se situarem no processo de construção da Promoção da Saúde no território em que estão inseridos, utilizando de suas características, perfis de vida e atuação para agir com autonomia e constituírem-se como protagonistas dos processos e de ações no território. Com a ciência dos limites, credita-se a esta investigação a possibilidade de que os elementos aqui discutidos possam oferecer subsídios para que as políticas voltadas ao envelhecimento saudável nos âmbitos da saúde, segurança, educação, assistência social, dentre outras possam se repensadas ou reestruturadas / This research aimed to analyze the participation of older people towards health promotion considering the articulation with eight aspects of urban life of the age-friendly city project (open spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, participation civic and employment, communication and information, and community support and health services) of Vila Tibério neighborhood, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. This is descriptive qualitative research supported by the concepts and principles of health promotion, from the perspective of social participation and the establishment of healthy environments, align the subject with aspects of age-friendly city. The research meets the ethical precepts, and its realization approved by the Research Ethics Committee. The collection of empirical occurred by conducting focus groups based in the Vancouver Protocol, developed by the Government of British Columbia, adding 32 seniors and 6 representatives of service providers in 5 focus groups. Additionally, functional assessment instrument was applied to verify condition of independence or dependence of 32 elderly, being made a qualitative assessment of the capacity self-reported by the elderly, according to the scale used. Content analysis was carried out in the thematic strand for the material groups, with the identification of three themes: territory: place of life and citizenship, formation of social support networks for the elderly and participation of older people in the neighborhoods. Violence, abandonment present on the territory, especially in collective spaces, bring fear and concern for the elderly, because hinder the free movement in the territory. On the other hand, there are in the neighborhood certain tradition and possibility to be built friendly relations and support that allow the elderly to feel welcomed, and emphasized that the friendly relations and even institutionalized, such as the work of community health agents, are required to support coexistence and relationships in the elderly lives. It brought the importance of newspapers in the neighborhood and its role as a constitutive element of the support network in communication and information area within the territory. Linking to the world of work, with paid activities, is still a way that the elderly are to remain close to friends and participants of community life. It is difficult to increase the participation of older people for different reasons ranging from the difficulty of mobility within the neighborhood, access to information about the activities available, absence of more agile channels of communication, low adherence to social participation processes in health and social care, older people work as caregivers for other elderly relatives or grandchildren. Situations that hinder greater adherence to the processes of social participation, although it is indicated the importance of these processes to improve the neighborhood. The set of results shows that the elderly have many difficulties to expand its participation in the collective processes in the neighborhood, which sometimes shows hostile in their condition to this group. On the other hand are present potentials gaps and suggestions that indicate the possibility to situate in the process of building the Health Promotion in the territory in which they live, using its features characteristics, life profiles and activities to act autonomously and constitute themselves as protagonists of the processes and actions in the territory. With the science of limits, is credited to this research the possibility that the elements discussed here may offer subsidies for policies geared at healthy aging in the health areas, security, education, social assistance, among others can be rethought and restructured

The impact of transportation concerning older adults is under scrutiny as the number of older adults is expected to significantly increase in the coming years. The World Health Organization (WHO) spearheaded a world wide initiative that sought to examine what contributed to an “age-friendly community” in both developed and underdeveloped nations. This paper examines, in particular, the role that transportation plays in relation and contribution to an “age-friendly” community in Saanich, British Columbia, as an addition to the WHO initiative. Focus groups were conducted to ensure that information received was the lived experience of the individual. Results suggested that transportation was more than the ability to operate a vehicle, but in the ability to move safely within an environment. Additional information provided by participants spoke to the necessity of increasing awareness of licensing systems and improvements that could be implemented to ensure safety for older adult drivers and the community.

The impact of transportation concerning older adults is under scrutiny as the number of older adults is expected to significantly increase in the coming years. The World Health Organization (WHO) spearheaded a world wide initiative that sought to examine what contributed to an “age-friendly community” in both developed and underdeveloped nations. This paper examines, in particular, the role that transportation plays in relation and contribution to an “age-friendly” community in Saanich, British Columbia, as an addition to the WHO initiative. Focus groups were conducted to ensure that information received was the lived experience of the individual. Results suggested that transportation was more than the ability to operate a vehicle, but in the ability to move safely within an environment. Additional information provided by participants spoke to the necessity of increasing awareness of licensing systems and improvements that could be implemented to ensure safety for older adult drivers and the community.

Esta investigação teve por objetivo analisar a participação de idosos em direção à promoção da saúde considerando a articulação com oito aspectos da vida urbana do projeto cidade amiga do idoso (espaços abertos e prédios, transporte, moradia, participação social, respeito e inclusão social, participação cívica e emprego, comunicação e informação, e apoio comunitário e serviços de saúde) do bairro Vila Tibério, município de Ribeirão Preto, estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva de abordagem qualitativa sustentada pelos conceitos e princípios da promoção da saúde, a partir da perspectiva da participação social e do estabelecimento de ambientes saudáveis, motivo do alinhamento com os aspectos da vida urbana do Projeto Cidade Amiga do Idoso. A pesquisa atendeu aos preceitos éticos, sendo sua realização aprovada por Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. A captação do empírico se deu por meio da realização de grupos focais com base no Protocolo de Vancouver, desenvolvido pelo Government of British Columbia, somando 32 idosos e 6 representantes de prestadores de serviços em 5 grupos focais. Adicionalmente, foi aplicado instrumento de avaliação funcional para verificar condição de independência ou dependência dos 32 idosos, sendo feita avaliação qualitativa da capacidade autorreferida pelos idosos, segundo a escala utilizada. Realizou-se análise de conteúdo na vertente temática para o material dos grupos, com a identificação de três temas: território: lugar de vida e cidadania, formação de redes de suporte social ao idoso e participação dos idosos na vida do bairro. A violência, o abandono presentes no território, em especial nos espaços coletivos, trazem preocupação e medo aos idosos, pois dificultam a livre circulação no território. Por outro lado, há no bairro certa tradição e possibilidade de serem construídas relações de amizade e apoio, que permitem ao idoso sentir-se acolhido, sendo enfatizado que as relações de amizade e mesmo as institucionalizadas, como por exemplo, o trabalho dos agentes comunitários de saúde, são necessárias às relações de convivência e sustentação na vida dos idosos. É trazida a importância dos jornais do bairro e de seu papel como elemento constitutivo da rede apoio na área de comunicação e informação dentro do território. A vinculação ao mundo do trabalho, com atividades remuneradas, ainda é uma forma que os idosos encontram de se manterem próximos aos amigos e participantes da vida em comunidade. Há dificuldade em ampliar a participação dos idosos por diferentes motivos que vão desde a dificuldade de mobilidade dentro do bairro, acesso à informação sobre as atividades disponíveis, ausência de canais mais ágeis de comunicação, baixa adesão aos processos de participação social no campo da saúde e assistência social, trabalho dos idosos como cuidadores de outros idosos familiares ou de netos. Situações que dificultam maior adesão aos processos de participação social, embora seja assinalada a importância destes processos para a melhoria do bairro. O conjunto dos resultados aponta que os idosos apresentam muitas dificuldades para ampliar sua participação nos processos coletivos no bairro, que por vezes se mostra hostil em suas condições a este grupo. Por outro lado se fazem presentes potencialidades, nas brechas e sugestões que indicam a possibilidade para se situarem no processo de construção da Promoção da Saúde no território em que estão inseridos, utilizando de suas características, perfis de vida e atuação para agir com autonomia e constituírem-se como protagonistas dos processos e de ações no território. Com a ciência dos limites, credita-se a esta investigação a possibilidade de que os elementos aqui discutidos possam oferecer subsídios para que as políticas voltadas ao envelhecimento saudável nos âmbitos da saúde, segurança, educação, assistência social, dentre outras possam se repensadas ou reestruturadas / This research aimed to analyze the participation of older people towards health promotion considering the articulation with eight aspects of urban life of the age-friendly city project (open spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, participation civic and employment, communication and information, and community support and health services) of Vila Tibério neighborhood, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. This is descriptive qualitative research supported by the concepts and principles of health promotion, from the perspective of social participation and the establishment of healthy environments, align the subject with aspects of age-friendly city. The research meets the ethical precepts, and its realization approved by the Research Ethics Committee. The collection of empirical occurred by conducting focus groups based in the Vancouver Protocol, developed by the Government of British Columbia, adding 32 seniors and 6 representatives of service providers in 5 focus groups. Additionally, functional assessment instrument was applied to verify condition of independence or dependence of 32 elderly, being made a qualitative assessment of the capacity self-reported by the elderly, according to the scale used. Content analysis was carried out in the thematic strand for the material groups, with the identification of three themes: territory: place of life and citizenship, formation of social support networks for the elderly and participation of older people in the neighborhoods. Violence, abandonment present on the territory, especially in collective spaces, bring fear and concern for the elderly, because hinder the free movement in the territory. On the other hand, there are in the neighborhood certain tradition and possibility to be built friendly relations and support that allow the elderly to feel welcomed, and emphasized that the friendly relations and even institutionalized, such as the work of community health agents, are required to support coexistence and relationships in the elderly lives. It brought the importance of newspapers in the neighborhood and its role as a constitutive element of the support network in communication and information area within the territory. Linking to the world of work, with paid activities, is still a way that the elderly are to remain close to friends and participants of community life. It is difficult to increase the participation of older people for different reasons ranging from the difficulty of mobility within the neighborhood, access to information about the activities available, absence of more agile channels of communication, low adherence to social participation processes in health and social care, older people work as caregivers for other elderly relatives or grandchildren. Situations that hinder greater adherence to the processes of social participation, although it is indicated the importance of these processes to improve the neighborhood. The set of results shows that the elderly have many difficulties to expand its participation in the collective processes in the neighborhood, which sometimes shows hostile in their condition to this group. On the other hand are present potentials gaps and suggestions that indicate the possibility to situate in the process of building the Health Promotion in the territory in which they live, using its features characteristics, life profiles and activities to act autonomously and constitute themselves as protagonists of the processes and actions in the territory. With the science of limits, is credited to this research the possibility that the elements discussed here may offer subsidies for policies geared at healthy aging in the health areas, security, education, social assistance, among others can be rethought and restructured

Det pågår en demografisk förändring i Malmö stad. Inom 10 år beräknas antalet äldre i kommunen att öka med cirka 10 000 personer. Med anledning av detta syftar denna jämförande fallstudie att undersöka hur kommunen förhåller sig till den äldre befolkningsgruppen i den fysiska planeringen genom antagandet av ett äldreperspektiv. Uppsatsen ska undersöka och redogöra för vilka behov äldre personer har i stadens fysiska utformning, hur kommunens äldreperspektiv ser ut i dagens fysiska planering samt hur kommunen kan bli mer äldrevänlig. Här används teorier kring åldrandet, WHO:s äldrevänliga stad och hälsofrämjande planering för att analysera strategiska planeringsdokument och kommunens förhållningssätt till äldres behov i stadens fysiska utformning. Studien är byggd på empiriskt material insamlat genom en jämförande fallstudie mellan Sveriges tre största kommuner till befolkningsantal; Stockholm stad, Göteborg stad och Malmö stad. De behov som äldre har i staden präglas av tillgänglighet, säkra övergångsställen, trygghet, promenadstråk, grönområden, tillgängliga bostäder, sittplatser, tillgång till service och sociala mötesplatser. Man vill som äldre också ha ett större inflytande över den fysiska miljön. Äldreperspektivet bör härstamma direkt från äldre genom dialog, intervjuer, enkätstudier och statistik. Det innebär att äldreperspektivet kan ta sig i uttryck olika beroende på plats och är lokalt förankrat. Därav går det att se att Malmö stad har ett äldreperspektiv i fysisk planering vad gäller boende, då man i samband med boendeaspekterna vänt sig direkt till äldre i staden. Detta har man däremot inte gjort vad gäller utomhusmiljöer och byggnader, transport eller sociala mötesplatser vilket gör att Malmö stads äldreperspektiv har brister. Malmö stad kan bli mer äldrevänlig genom att bli medlemmar i WHO:s äldrevänliga stad, något som Malmö stad åtog sig att göra 2019. Processen har dock förhalats på grund av en politisk oenighet. Ett medlemskap i WHO:s äldrevänliga stad innebär att Malmö stad behöver föra aktiva dialoger med äldre vad gäller den fysiska miljön. Det innebär också att äldrefrågor lyfts på förvaltningsövergripande nivå som kräver en tvärsektoriell samverkan för att belysa äldrefrågor även i rumsliga miljöer. Ett medlemskap i WHO:s äldrevänliga stad innebär att Malmö stads äldreperspektiv stärks och anpassas efter stadens egna förutsättningar. Nyckelord: Äldreperspektiv, seniorperspektiv, äldrevänlig stad, fysisk planering, Malmöstad, tillgänglighet / There is an ongoing demographic change in the municipality of Malmö. Within 10 years, the number of elderly people in the municipality is estimated to increase by around 10 000 people. Due to this, this comparative case study aims to investigate how the municipality relates to the elderly population in spatial planning through the adoption of an elderly perspective. The essay will examine and explain the needs of elderly people in spatial planning, how the municipality´s elderly perspective looks in spatial planning and how the municipality can become more age-friendly. Theories of ageing, WHO:s framework for creating age-friendly cities and health-promoting planning are used to analyse strategic planning documents and the municipality’s approach to the needs of the elderly in the elderly in the spatial planning. The study is based on empirical material collected through a comparative case study between Sweden ́s three largest municipalities in terms of population; Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The needs of elderly people in spatial planning are characterised by accessibility, safe road crossings, security, accessible walkingpaths, green areas, accessible housing, places to sit, access to services and places for social connection, as well as a wish for greater influence over the physical environment. The elderly perspective should originate directly from the elderly through dialogue, interviews, survey studies and statistics. Wherefore the elderly perspective can express itself differently depending on location, and is locally anchored. Malmö has an elderly perspective in spatial planning with regard to housing, as Malmö has turned directly to the elderly in the city with the housing aspects. However, this has not been done with regard to outdoor environmentsand buildings, transport or social meeting places, which results in a deficient elderlyperspective. Malmö can become more age-friendly by becoming a member of WHO:s network for Age-friendly Cities, something that the municipality committed to do in 2019. However, the process has been delayed due to a political disagreement. Membership in the network means that the municipality needs to conduct active dialogues with the elderly regarding the physical environment. It also means that elderly issues are raised at an administration-wide level, which requires a cross-sector collaboration to shed light on elderly issues in the spatial environment as well. The membership means that the elderly perspective is strengthened and adapted to Malmö municipalities own conditions. Keywords: Elderly perspective, senior perspective, age-friendly cities and communities,physical planning, Malmö city, accessibility

This thesis presents an ethnographic account of the everyday meanings and processes associated with the idea of ‘community’ within the London neighbourhood of Kilburn. In policy and popular discourse, community is cast both as somehow able to unite people across difference, and as under threat from the proliferation of difference, which is seen as impeding mutual understanding, cooperation and belonging. Within scholarly writing, ‘community’ is often challenged as too archaic, too rigid or too ambiguous a concept to provide sufficient analytical leverage or to work as a normative ideal. Against this background, my PhD takes a look the neighbourhood of Kilburn, where amidst significant diversity, tropes of community are still widely used. I investigate how residents imagine various forms of community in relation to diversity, as well as the connections and discontinuities between these various imaginings. I draw on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork, following over a dozen community projects and groups, tracing informal local networks and getting to know residents individually. My ethnography ranges from community cafes, to religious youth groups, to urban ‘gangs’, to government-led urban regeneration projects. Despite the variation in how different individuals imagined ‘community’, there was a shared view of community as a space which facilitated the bridging of difference and the construction of shared moral projects. These spaces did not exist sui generis. Rather they were opened up through the balancing of two traits: fixity and fluidity. Fixity involved defining community in terms of a clearly identifiable and familiar set of boundary markers, which serve to give it an ‘objective’ existence. Fluidity involved suspending this attempt to define community in terms of the familiar, once people were involved, in order to allow for new, shared understandings and values to emerge. The first two chapters unpack this balancing of fixity and fluidity. Chapter 1, traces inclusion and exclusion in a range of community projects, and Chapter 2 looks at tropes of race and ethnicity, examining how such ideas might be treated as simultaneously fixed and fluid. . The two chapters unpack the transformational power of community. Chapter 3 looks at a community centre for young Muslims, as well as at a local community radio station, and argues that community spaces have the potential to foster an ethic of continual openness to difference. Chapter 4 looks at a group of ‘street youth’ and their diverse views of success, and argues that community can act as a collective repository of future potential, allowing community members to transform their ethical trajectory within their own lives. The final two chapters look at contestations over community. Chapter 5 looks at clashing uses of public spaces and argues that such spaces are often read in highly fixed ways, and as lacking the potential for community-like negotiations. Chapter 6 looks at local regeneration projects and contrasts the ways in which community is valued locally, to the ways in which it is valued by state and market actors. The thesis concludes by emphasizing the necessarily plural, dynamic, contested and grounded nature of the idea of community described here.

Challenging a long-held attachment to the medical model, this research develops a cultural model placing local governments at the center of policy making and refocusing policy attention on mobility, housing, the built environment and services. To examine the phenomenon of age friendly policy adoption by cities and the magnitude of adoption, a 21-question web-based survey was administered to a sample of 1,050 cities from the U.S. Census having a population over 10,000 and having at least 14% of their population aged 65 years and over. The goal of the questionnaire was to help identify what kind of policy objectives cities establish to facilitate the opportunity for older adults to live healthy and independent lives in their communities as they age. Multiple linear and ordinal regression models examined the likelihood of policy action by cities and provide evidence as to why some cities support more age friendly policy actions than others. Evidence illustrates theoretical advancement providing support for a cultural model of aging. The cultural model includes multiple factors including bureaucratic responsiveness reflected in the management values of the administration. Findings show variation in the integration of a cultural awareness of aging in the municipality's needs assessment, strategic goals, citizen engagement strategies, and budgetary principles. Cities with a cultural awareness of aging are more likely to adopt age friendly policies. Findings also provide support for the argument that the public administrator is not the driving sole factor in decision making. A shared spaced with mobilized citizen need of individuals 65 and over is identified.

No description available.