Abstract

MEMBRADO, Monique. Growing old and the urban experiences: a study in the South-West of France. Alteridades [online]. 2010, vol.20, n.39, pp. 57-65. ISSN 0188-7017.

This article is the end result of a research in the South-West of France. I try to show that use of the city does not stop when people gets old, but they change their urban practices depending as much on the places in public spaces left for them as on their mobility. If they live in the city center, though it has symbolic value it suffers from the absence of quiet intermediate spaces which are found in the suburbs or urban social housing located on the outskirts of the city. The relationship to of the senior citizens to their space is analyzed in terms of life experience, their place and their sense of belonging to a collective history.

Keywords : aging; urban practices; life trajectories; sense of belonging to a collective history; detachment.