Ageing, activism and social infrastructure: advancing spatial justice within the age-friendly agenda

Purpose This paper aims to explore the role of activism in the age-friendly movement, and its relationship to localised struggles over social infrastructure. The Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC) approach calls for coordinated action to support ageing in place, with social infrastructure understood as vital in supporting social networks and belonging in later life. Despite this, questions have been raised about the ability for the age-friendly model to address issues of spatial justice, including conditions like gentrification that threaten established social infrastructures used by older people. As a result, there are increasing calls for a greater exploration of radical, creative and rights-based approaches within the AFCC model to address the unequal contexts in which many older people live. Design/methodology/approach To further investigate, this paper reflects on the role of activism in developing age-friendly initiatives, based on a 30-month participatory action research project in a residential tower block in Hulme, Manchester. Findings The authors analyse two distinct but connected forms of activism within this case study – “activism through resistance” as explored through a protest movement against the destruction of an abandoned public house, and “activism through creation” through the bottom-up co-design of a new community space. Originality/value Through this analysis, the authors argue that the current conceptualisation of the age-friendly approach has limited tools for addressing underlying social inequities impacting older people in marginalised communities, and pose the question for the AFCC to be more accommodating of activist approaches when tackling issues of spatial justice.