ABSTRACT
With the rising life expectancy of urban populations and a growing proportion of older people, policies for ‘age-friendly cities,’ and with them, ‘aging in place’ have turned into central elements in cities’ planning and health policy. Researchers agree that beyond the private home, the immediate urban environment plays a crucial role for aging well in cities. While the provision of care infrastructures such as nearby medical centers are widely acknowledged, there is a lack of knowledge on the importance of informal settings of encounter as everyday dimensions of care of older people. This chapter is interested in those ‘hidden’ relations and practices of care at the intersection of public and private life that go beyond the formalized urban facilities for older people. The aim is to illustrate the multiple everyday care practices of older people in Stockholm, Vienna, and Zurich in order to promote a critical concept of ‘age-friendly cities.’
