Sustainable Neighbourhoods for Ageing in Place in a World of Crises: An Introduction

The neighbourhood plays an important role in health-seeking behaviours, health outcomes, and longevity of residents. In contexts where residents benefit from the use of neighbourhood attributes such as services, parks, and social networks, people age in optimal health in their community. Even so, some crises (i.e. climate change events, the outbreak of infectious diseases, radical industrialization, earthquake, and humanitarian disasters due to violence) can make it less possible for residents to use neighbourhood resources to age well in place. To suggest directions for future research and policy development, this book provides a multidisciplinary dialogue concerning (1) the impacts of the crises on neighbourhoods and the ability of individuals to use them and (2) strategies for enabling individuals to age in place despite crises. After undergoing a double-blind peer review process, 11 chapters were accepted for inclusion in this book. There are 28 contributing authors from 6 continents (i.e. Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America) and at least 9 countries (i.e. Ghana, Chile, China, Germany, Japan, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States). There is a need for people, especially older adults, to be enabled to use neighbourhood resources to age well in place during calm as well as times of crises.