Ageing in urban environments: Developing ‘age-friendly’ cities

This article aims to provide a critical perspective on what has been termed ‘age-friendly cities’ by shifting the focus from questions such as ‘What is an ideal city for older people?’ to the question of ‘How age friendly are cities?’ This approach might be more suited to deal with the complexities of cities as sites of interlocking and conflicting commercial, social, and political interests. This theme is developed by examining the main factors driving the age-friendly debate; the constraints and opportunities for older people living in urban environments; options for a critical social policy; and examples of involving older people in the development of age-friendly environments.