Geographical Gerontology: Mapping a Disciplinary Intersection

ABSTRACT

The intersection between geography and gerontology arises structurally in institutions and intellectually both in academic debates surrounding disciplinary territoriality and substantive fields of empirical inquiry (population ageing and movement; services and policy; living environments; emplacement; emotions, images and the body). Although recent years have witnessed an increasing theoretical convergence between geography and gerontology – resulting in ever fertile ground for research – a range of contemporary social processes have yet to receive substantive attention. Arising as consumer niches and economic networks, these involve connectivity across geographical scales from the local to the global. Although they provide opportunities and enrich lives, they also contribute to the continued disadvantage of older people in the developing world. We argue that addressing these in research is not only morally justifiable, it potentially generates a distinct body of theoretical knowledge that might inform ongoing empirical work.