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Older Adults and Gentrification: The Positive Role of Social Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2024

Joyce Weil ,
Ronica N. Rooks ,
Emily E. Leonard  and
Emily Evans
Joyce Weil*
Affiliation:
Gerontology Program, Department of Health Sciences, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Health Professions, 3120-U, Towson, MD 21252, USA
Ronica N. Rooks
Affiliation:
Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Colorado Denver, 3023C North Classroom, P.O. Box 173364, Campus Box 188, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA
Emily E. Leonard
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA
Emily Evans
Affiliation:
Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO 80202, USA
*
Corresponding author: Joyce Weil; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Supportive public policies are suggested as ways to lessen gentrification’s impact for older adults. While explicit policies designed to help older adults with gentrification are rare, literature on age-friendly cities is a close proxy. We utilized three North American cases undergoing gentrification: New York City, NY, and Denver, CO, in the United States and Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada, to present existing neighbourhood-based policies as social determinants of health in housing, resource access, healthcare, transportation, and communal places. Age-friendly policy application gap examples and COVID-19’s impact were included. Using a qualitative comparative case study method, we found policies were not specifically designed to address older adults’ gentrification needs. With the call for age-friendly designations, the role of gentrification in neighbourhoods with older populations must be included. We call for gentrification-specific policies for older adults to provide greater safeguards especially when events such as COVID-19 compete for existing, over-stretched resources.

Résumé

Résumé

Des politiques publiques favorables sont proposées comme moyens d’atténuer l’impact de la gentrification sur les personnes âgées. Même si les politiques explicites conçues pour aider les personnes âgées confrontées à la gentrification sont rares, la littérature sur les villes-amies des aînés en est un bon exemple. Nous avons utilisé trois cas nord-américains en cours de gentrification : New York City, NY et Denver, CO, aux États-Unis, et Hamilton, en Ontario, au Canada, pour présenter les politiques de quartier existantes comme déterminants sociaux de la santé en matière de logement, d’accès aux ressources., les soins de santé, les transports et les lieux communaux. Des exemples de lacunes dans l’application des politiques favorables aux aînés et de l’impact de la COVID-19 ont été inclus. En utilisant une méthode d’étude de cas comparative qualitative, nous avons constaté que les politiques n’étaient pas spécifiquement conçues pour répondre aux besoins de gentrification des personnes âgées. Avec l’appel à des désignations amies des aînés, le rôle de la gentrification dans les quartiers à population plus âgée doit être inclus. Nous appelons à des politiques spécifiques à la gentrification pour les personnes âgées afin de fournir de meilleures garanties, en particulier lorsque des événements tels que la COVID-19 rivalisent pour les ressources existantes, surchargées.

Keywords

older adultsgentrificationsocial policyneighbourhoodshousingsocial vulnerabilitypersonnes âgéesgentrificationpolitique socialequartierslogementvulnérabilité sociale
Type
Article
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , First View , pp. 1 - 11
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Copyright
© Canadian Association on Gerontology 2024

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