Toward Understanding Person–Place Transactions in Neighborhoods: A Qualitative-Participatory Geospatial Approach

Emerging research regarding aging in context reveals much about how neighborhoods relate to aging adults’ health, participation, and inclusion. Quantitative studies have identified neighborhood characteristics that relate to wellbeing and inclusion and qualitative studies have explored phenomena such as exclusion in neighborhoods. More in-depth and nuanced information about the nature of these person–place relationships is needed to support aging in neighborhoods, creating the challenge of developing innovative research approaches that can generate such information. As such, this article describes an approach that draws on qualitative and geospatial methods aimed at understanding transactions between older adults and their neighborhoods, illustrating its development and reflecting on its potential.