ABSTRACT
The issue of rural ageing has gained increased attention in the last few decades, perhaps due to the fact that over half of the world’s older people live in rural areas (Wenger 2001). As populations age, the need to provide services to the increasing number of older people will become more acute, even if the share of older people living in rural areas is likely to decline in the future. The reciprocal relationship between space and the individual becomes important with age, particularly where there is physical incapacity. Older people need access to services and facilities at a local level, but this is not always possible or feasible due to supply-side inadequacies arising from concerns about the cost of provision. Older people living in rural areas may, therefore, become disadvantaged simply because of where they live.
