Developing environments responsive to the aspirations and needs of older people has become a major concern for social and public policy. This article aims to provide a critical perspective on what has been termed 'age-friendly cities' by shifting the focus from questions such as 'What is an ideal city for older people?' to the question of 'How agefriendly are cities?' This approach, it is argued, might be more suited to deal with the complexities of cities as sites of interlocking and conflicting commercial, social, and political interests. This theme is developed by examining: first, the main factors driving the age-friendly debate; second, constraints and opportunities for older people living in urban environments; third, options for a critical social policy; and, fourth, examples of involving older people in the development of age-friendly environments. The article concludes with a brief summary of current tensions and contradictions in the age-friendly debate.

This article explores various issues concerned with belonging and identity in the context of community change and residential location. It examines the changing nature of community attachments in later life, and their impacts on the quality of old age lives. It also notes the increased importance of environmental perspectives within gerontology, not least because environments are being transformed through the diverse social, cultural and economic changes associated with globalisation. The argument is developed that globalisation offers a new approach to thinking about community and environmental relationships in later life, and that the impact of global change at a local level has become an important dimension of sociological aspects of community change. It is argued that it is especially important to apply these perspectives to older people, given that many have resided in the same locality for long periods. At the same time, globalisation also gives rise to new types of movement in old age, and is constructing an expanding mix of spaces, communities and lifestyle settings. A key argument of the article, however, is that global processes are generating new social divisions, as between those able to choose residential locations consistent with their biographies and life histories, and those who experience rejection or marginalisation from their locality.

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Research on older workers and retirement has yet to fully adjust to an environment influenced by a combination of demographic change, technological developments, and economic recession. A key dimension to the changing relationship between ageing and work is the tension between policies to extend working life (EWL) and the increasingly fragmented nature of late working life, with the emergence of varied transitions, including: bridge employment, second/third careers, part-time working, early retirement, and other variations. These developments indicate both the challenge of conceptualizing new forms of work-ending, and -in policy terms -the extent to which these can successfully accommodate longer working lives. The paper provides a critical perspective to the policy of extending working life and the narrative which underpins this approach. The paper argues that retirement has become a 'contested' institution in the 21st Century, fragmented across different pathways and transitions affecting people in their 50s and 2 60s. The paper argues the case for improving work quality and security as a precondition for supporting policies for encouraging working in later life. An essential requirement for this will include linking debates on EWL with technological developments and changes affecting the workplace, creating differentiated paths to retirement and labour force exit, enhancing the provision of training and continuing education, and re-thinking the idea of the 'older worker'.

The extent of social isolation amongst older people has emerged as a major concern for health and social policy. Although the social and health outcomes of social isolation are well documented, evidence regarding the prevention of isolation in later life remains scarce. This article addresses this by presenting the findings from a literature review focusing on the identification, assessment, prevention, and intervention strategies relevant to social isolation in older age. The paper first addresses the issues of identification and assessment, using an ecological framework to identify the risk factors for social isolation at four levels: individual, relationship, community, and societal. It then reviews different types of interventions to reduce or prevent social isolation in later life, including one-to-one, group, service provision, technology-based, neighbourhood, and structural interventions. The paper discusses both the opportunities and the constraints associated with these different approaches. The discussion highlights future directions for research, emphasising the need for a cultural change from 'cure' to 'prevention' of social isolation across the life-course, and the importance of acknowledging greater diversity within the ageing population.

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Developing age-friendly cities and communities has become a key part of policies aimed at improving the quality of life of older people in urban areas. The World Health Organization has been especially important in driving the "age-friendly" agenda, notably through its global network of age-friendly cities and communities. Despite the expansion and achievements of the network, challenges remain in responding to the growth of inequality and the impact of economic austerity on aging policies. Against the background of these limitations, this article sets out a "manifesto for the age-friendly movement" aimed at raising the aspirations of what is now a worldwide movement. The areas covered in the manifesto are challenging social inequality, widening participation, coproducing and codesigning age-friendly communities, encouraging multisectorial and multidisciplinary collaboration, and integrating research with policy. The article concludes with a discussion on developing age-friendly work as a contribution to a new agenda for urban aging.

This article explores conceptual and empirical aspects of the social exclusion/inclusion debate in later life, with a particular focus on issues of place and space in urban settings. Exploratory findings are reported from two empirical studies in Belgium and England, which sought to examine experiences of social exclusion and inclusion among people aged 60 and over living in deprived inner-city neighbourhoods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with an ethnically diverse sample of 102 older people in Belgium and 124 in England. Thematic analysis of interview data identifies four issues in relation to the neighbourhood dimension of social exclusion/inclusion in later life: experiences of community change; feelings of security and safety; the management of urban space; and strategies of control. The results suggest that neighbourhoods have a significant influence on shaping the experience of exclusion and inclusion in later life, with a number of similarities identified across the different study areas. The article concludes by discussing conceptual and policy issues raised by the research.