Exploring Older Adults’ Experiences of Urban Space in the COVID-19 Lockdowns:

Abstract

Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of social distancing protocols to hinder the spread of the virus. Older adults, who are acknowledged to be vulnerable to the virus, were encouraged to self-isolate. This chapter explores the similarities and differences in the lockdown experiences of older adults in urban environments in the UK and the Netherlands by drawing on telephone interviews with 38 older adults. The interviewed elderly, in response to perceived risks of crowds, often chose to be in, and interact with, spaces at a short distance from their homes. Though this reduced mobility and hyperlocal everyday life might seem restricting at first, it could also facilitate ‘aging-in-place’ in the long term, as the elderly become more familiar with their immediate surroundings.