Abstract:
Geographers have been consistent contributors to understanding the landscapes of ageing; offering insight into such ‘real world’ issues as ‘age-friendly’ urban design, supportive housing and service provision. However, within such important yet potentially homogenising accounts lie other landscapes of ageing: the imagined and more idiosyncratic worlds of older people as they contest, create and curate their identities within increasingly diverse western societies. This chapter reflects on the changing contexts of ‘real’ landscapes of ageing then examines two examples of imagined landscapes: the role of views as generative of memories and imaginings of self; and the role of place-specific intergenerational musical performance that, in embracing diversity and contesting stereotypes, keeps participating seniors ‘young at heart’. We conclude that while there are objectively documented ‘real’ landscapes of ageing such as retirement communities, these publically-recognisable ‘singular stories’ can overlook and serve to override the varied ways that people imagine and narrate their particular place-in-the-world.