Health & Place 14 (2008) 299–312 Local environments and older people’s health: Dimensions from a comparative qualitative study in Scotland Rosemary Day à School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK Received 15 March 2007; received in revised form 6 July 2007; accepted 17 July 2007 Abstract Based on the perspectives of older people themselves in three urban neighbourhoods in the Glasgow region of Scotland, this article explores the ways in which the local outdoor physical environment may support or challenge older people’s health. Five dimensions are proposed: cleanliness; peacefulness; exercise facilitation; social interaction facilitation; and emotional boost. Consideration is also given to potential equality issues, arguing that such aspects of the local environment may disproportionately affect older people, and also that relevant environmental qualities vary between places. Greater equity and the improved well-being of older people may be achieved through planning and design consideration across sectors. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Older people; Environmental equity; Environment; Neighborhood; Planning; Health Introduction The population of the developed world is ageing. In 2005, 17.4% of the population of Western Europe and 12.4% of North America were aged 65 and older; by 2020 these figures are projected to be 21.3% and 16.1% (United Nations, 2005). Whilst a minority of the older population reside in hospitals and care homes, the great majority continue to live in the wider community until their very final years; indeed, this is the option generally preferred by both the individual and the state. It is therefore impera- tive that our communities are planned and designed in a way that facilitates the health and well-being of this significant sector of the population. That said, it is also essential to recognise that older people are not a homogeneous group (Golant, 1984, Daatland and Biggs, 2006). Physical ageing is a process that starts in our earliest years and happens at different rates and with different out- comes, depending on a myriad of circumstances and choices over the life course. Nevertheless, as a group, older people (defined by the World Health Organisation as aged 60 and over) are more likely to experience a range of health-related changes and challenges, with the likelihood of these increas- ing with increasing age: immunity to infectious disease is lowered (Pawelec, 2006); the incidence of many chronic illnesses including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes increases (WHO, 1998, 2003); senses become impaired (WHO, 2003); muscle strength and the range of motion in joints decline with age (WHO, 1998, Schultz, 1992); ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/healthplace 1353-8292/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.07.001 à Tel.: +44 121 414 8096; fax: +44 121 414 5528. E-mail address: r.j.day@bham.ac.uk