An Ecological Framework of Place: Situating Environmental Gerontology within a Life Course Perspective

Abstract

This article presents an emergent heuristic framework for the core environmental gerontology concept of "place." Place has been a central concern in the field since the 1970s (Gubrium, 1978) for its hypothesized direct relationship to identity, the self, and agency--suggestive of the appropriateness of lateral theoretical linkages with developmental science. The Ecological Framework of Place (EFP) defines place as a socio-physical milieu involving people, the physical setting, and the program of the place, all catalyzed by situated human activity and fully acknowledging that all four may change over time. The article begins with a concise overview of the EFP before moving on to consider it within three theoretical terrains: place theory, developmental science theory, and environmental gerontology theory. The EFP will be argued to be a place theory which subsumes themes of emergent environmental gerontology theories within a developmental science perspective. Implications for theory, method and practice are discussed. One of the strengths of the model is its ability to serve both research and practice, as is exhibited in its ability to incorporate applied design research and inform architectural decision-making so often lacking in other environmental gerontology models. Place should be viewed as an integrative concept providing opportunities for both environmental gerontology and developmental science to more critically concern the profound role places have in terms of agency, identity and sense of self over the life course.

The Influence of Place on Everyday Life: Observations of Persons with Dementia in Regular Day Care and at the Green Care Farm

“…As mentioned, Moore's (2014) Ecological Framework of Place (EFP) refers to four dimensions: the physical environment; people (here, participants and staff in day care services); the program (with a special focus on the rules and routines established in a particular place); and activities that give meaning and value to a place [12]. These four dimensions always interact with each other.…”

“…Data collection was inspired by Diaz Moore's Ecological Framework of Place [12], but in addition, we used an inductive entrance to ensure broader data collection. Data were collected for both day care services by two researchers (GESM & ES) between February and April 2014 and in a second period by one researcher (GESM) from January to March 2015.…”

“…Hence, place is vital for persons with dementia and their everyday life in day care services. According to Diaz Moore (2014), place plays a powerful role throughout the life span and particularly in later life. The Ecological Framework of Place (EFP), developed from Lawton and Nahemow's ecological model of ageing (1973), defines place as: "socio-physical milieu involving people, the physical setting, and the program of the place, all catalyzed by situated human activity and fully acknowledging that all four may change over time" ([12], p. 183).…”

Neighborhood Environment, Lifestyle, and Health of Older Adults: Comparison of Age Groups Based on Ecological Model of Aging

“…As for the older adults living in communities, their ecosystem is composed of multiple factors including older adults themselves, neighborhood environment, older adults' lifestyle or the mode of activity, and the older adults' health. It emphasizes not only the significance of neighborhood environment to older adults' health, but also the combined effect of their lifestyle in this ecosystem [7,18].…”

“…The model provided a general framework for comprehending the influence of environment on actions and welfare of older adults [6]. In brief, the Ecological Model of Aging assumed that the dynamic influences among people, physical environment, behavior, and quality of life, which constitute the living ecosystem of older adults [7]. Based on extensive studies on the relation between neighborhood environment and older adults' health [8,9], an increasing number of researchers start to focus on the Ecological Model of Aging [6,7].…”