Abstract The paper examines the process of ageing in Southeast European societies, focusing on the built environment as a key factor shaping the quality of life and visibility of older people in society. Based on an analysis of the role of the older population as a social group in socialist cities, as well as the corresponding policies and planning practices, the paper explores the transformation of postsocialist cities in Bulgaria from 1989 to the present. In so doing, it draws parallels between general political and administrative developments and their influence on existing and emerging infrastructures and the socio-cultural aspects of ageing. The country’s continuing political instability has led to the destruction of the existing urban infrastructure and socio-political mechanisms, fostering a general fear of ageing, which is equated with poverty and rising inequality. The latter affect people’s ability to secure basic housing and livelihoods, as well as to overcome the built obstacles found in an inhospitable urban environment.
Radoslava Guirguinova (Sun,) studied this question.