Elderburbia: Aging with a Sense of Place in America

An informed and often moving account of the crucial role of place in the lives of elders and what researchers and city planners are doing―and need to do―to make communities more age-friendly.

Elderburbia: Aging with a Sense of Place in America argues that aging is not about time and the body, but about place and relationships. Drawing on the fascinating, multidisciplinary field of ethnography, it gives readers a deeper understanding of how the aging experience is shaped by where people call home, as well as a look at what makes a place well-suited for post-retirement living.

Elderburbia combines cutting-edge scholarship with practical advice. The book provides an introduction to pivotal research on the broad subject of aging and place, including studies of migration and relocation. It also takes readers inside innovative elder-friendly community planning around the United States, particularly AdvantAge―an initiative to help counties, cities, and towns prepare for the growing number of older adults who are "aging in place," as opposed to moving to retiree-only communities. Everyone from individuals and families to social workers, activists, and city officials will find this a helpful, enlightening resource.

• 20 individual profiles of community development initiatives and design guidelines for elder-friendly communities, participatory research, and planning methods

• Excerpts from original ethnographic research on the sense of place and meaning of home, sociability design guidelines, and participation methods

• Graphics depicting elder-friendly community indicators and four domains of an elder-friendly community

• An extensive bibliography drawing on sources from anthropology, community planning, gerontology, and the broad literature on sense of place and phenomenology