ABSTRACT
Planning and design incorporate and require a broad, holistic approach–not just the built environment but also the natural environment and health, urban design, transportation, housing and land-use patterns, as well as social care services. Therefore, considering what is an 'optimal' or 'ideal' environment for 'ageing well' is complex and multifaceted. At a European level, innovation in design of ageing communities has revolved around housing and urban design, ambient assisted living, urban environments, dementia-supportive environments, physical activity, age-friendly businesses and services, tourism, transport and the voices of older people. Geography is an interdisciplinary-based subject, a mosaic with a conceptual bricolage and is necessary to reframe designing ageing communities from perspectives of time, space and place. Geographical gerontology opens new ways of capturing the dynamics of peoples' experience and the environment. There have been a number of measures assessing the impact of the environment on the well-being of older people on which to build interventions.
