Series editors’ preface

Summary

Demographic change and the growing proportions of older people across the world raise new issues and concerns for consideration by academics, policy makers and a wide range of professionals working with ageing adults worldwide. Ageing in a Global Context is a book series, published by Policy Press in association with the British Society of Gerontology, which aims to influence and transform debates in what has become a fast-moving field in research and policy. The series is seeking to achieve this in three main ways. First, it publishes books which rethink fundamental questions shaping debates in the study of ageing. This has become especially important given the restructuring of welfare states, alongside the complex nature of population change, both of these elements opening up the need to explore themes which go beyond traditional perspectives in social gerontology. Second, the series represents a response to the impact of globalisation and related processes, these contributing to the erosion of the national boundaries which once framed the study of ageing. From this have emerged the issues explored in various contributions to the series, for example: the impact of transnational migration, cultural diversity, new types of inequality, changing personal social relationships, and contrasting themes relating to ageing in rural and urban areas. Third, a key concern of the series is to explore interdisciplinary connections in gerontology. Contributions provide a critical assessment of the disciplinary boundaries and territories influencing the study of ageing, creating in the process new perspectives and approaches relevant to the 21st century.

Set within this context, we are delighted to include within the series a book which responds directly to major questions facing ageing societies across every world region. The global flourishing of age-friendly cities and communities initiatives provides fertile ground for critical thinking about what it is that makes places good places in which to age. The book's editors, Tine Buffel, Sophie Handler and Chris Phillipson, have been central to emerging scientific and policy debates about age-friendliness. In this book they have succeeded in bringing together an impressive cast of international scholars to explore multiple perspectives on the problems and the potential of designing age-friendly environments. Of particular importance is the focus on engaging directly with ageing adults in improving the environments in which they live. The book is essential reading for academics, policy makers and practitioners who share an interest in developing agefriendly societies.