Introduction : Framing community and spatial exclusion

This section focuses on the community and spatial aspects of social exclusion. For this introduction, we defne the community aspect of exclusion as the unintended reduction of participation in local life and spatial aspects of exclusion as the unin tended reduction of mobility outside and inside of a person’s home. Fighting against social exclusion of older adults is a priority due to the negative effects of exclusion on older adults’ quality of life as well as on the equity and cohesion of an ageing society as a whole (adapted from Levitas et al. 2007 in Walsh et al. 2017, p. 83). Place, as a socio-spatial phenomenon, can shape older adults’ lives and their experi ences of social exclusion. It encompasses dimensions such as social and relational aspects of place, amenities and built environment, place-based policy and experien tial belonging. The purpose of this chapter is to briefy introduce some allied con cepts related to older people’s relationship with their place and environment, and broadly illustrate the relevance of this relationship to old-age social exclusion. The chapter closes with a short introduction to each contribution within this section