Editorial introduction

This chapter presents work from a Canadian project exploring the potential of community-based participatory research for drawing out how communities play a role in resilient ageing. The project used creative approaches as part of the research method rather than as the subject of the study. The chapter focuses on the importance of place and the authors helpfully explore the nuances of ‘place’. This common interest in community resilience, ageing and place is one of the features that draw Chapters Five, Six and Seven together. Another is the action-oriented nature of the research. The research discussed here, much like Chapter Seven, was intended both to explore the views of older people in the community and, through that, to give those people a voice in local processes of housing development.

Introduction

This chapter critically explores the potential of an action-oriented, community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to reveal ways in which communities can be resilient to the opportunities and challenges of ageing-in-place. In particular, the chapter considers the potential for using qualitative and creative methods to bring distinct viewpoints of local community stakeholders to the fore in terms of embedding aspects of place into the development of affordable housing for older adults. Community resilience refers here to the ‘existence, development and engagement of community resources by community members to thrive in an environment characterized by change, uncertainty, unpredictability and surprise’ (Magis, 2010, p 401). This is particularly important in the context of supporting ageing-in-place, where living in resilient communities can provide opportunities for civic participation, remaining active and sustaining community identity (Woolrych, 2017). Within the field of urban studies, there has been a shift towards a more transdisciplinary appreciation for community resilience, which combines the physical and psychosocial aspects of urban resilience (Coaffee, 2008). As such, the affordances of physical space play a role in supporting or constraining community resilience, particularly for older adults who may rely on the immediate neighbourhood for service supports and maintaining social roles (Hildon et al, 2009). This is important both in terms of the everyday life of the community and in responding to the challenges and opportunities of old age.