Ageing in urban spaces : developing inclusive urban environments for older people in Global South cities

In the Global South, older persons are often living in poverty and informality and have increased biological, socio-economic and physical vulnerabilities. Responses to the challenges of urbanism have resulted in increasing numbers of older people living in spaces of socio-spatial inequality. Despite the growing stream of literature in the development of inclusive and resilient urban areas in the Global South, there has been relatively little discussion of urban development in an ageing context. This research seeks to address this gap by asking two main questions. How does the physical and social urban environment impact older people? And, how can inclusive urban environments for older people be achieved in global South cities? Research was conducted in two selected case studies of informal areas in Harare, Zimbabwe. A qualitative method of data collection was adopted with semi-structured interviewing, informal conversations with key informants and older persons, spatial sketch mapping and the collection and analysis of key documents. Additional discourse analysis, participant observation and key informant interviews were conducted in Manchester, United Kingdom to explore how Global North cities can be developed with and for older people. The primary contribution of this study to the discourse and practice on inclusive urbanism and ageing in the Global South is a conceptual framework offering interdependent thematic areas that explain the urban concepts that influence the lives of older people. Additionally, this research extends the current literature on ageing, urbanism and informality by exploring the relationship between the social and spatial fabric of informal communities and the lives of older people. The rights based approach is discussed together with a focus on the gendered experience of ageing. Importantly, the findings presented in this thesis contribute to dominant paradigms of vulnerability and contribution by foregrounding the spatial agency of older people and the existing strategies employed in the production of the city