Mike Davis. Dead Cities: A Natural History. New Press, New York, 2002. 288 pp., pbk $16.95 ISBN 1 56584 844 6.

Eric Klinenberg. Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2002. 320 pp., pbk $15.00 ISBN 0 226 44322 1.

Katherine S. Newman. A Different Shade of Gray: Midlife and Beyond in the Inner City. New Press, New York, 2003. 400 pp., hbk $29.95 ISBN 1 56584 615 X.

The environmental context of ageing, and issues relating to place and location in particular, has re-surfaced as a major theme within gerontology (Kendig 2003; Wahl, Schiedt and Windley 2003; Wahl and Weisman 2003). Drawing on classic studies from Rosow (1967), Rowles (1978), Lawton (1980) and others, the mission of environmental gerontology has been viewed as understanding a number of key tasks facing older adults in diverse physical and ecological settings. These include: ‘preserving as-independent-as-possible everyday life in the face of physical and mental impairments by using environmental resources outside the home environment (‘ageing in place’), initiating processes of relocation if desired or necessary, and adapting to new living environment settings (such as nursing homes or other planned housing) after relocation' (Wahl and Lang 2003: 7).

This paper presents key findings of a recently completed socio-legal study of international retirement migration in the European Union (EU). It highlights the diverse nature of retirement migration and the differential citizenship status that is formally granted to various groups of retired migrants. ‘Citizenship of the European Union’ (Articles 17–22 of the Treaty establishing the European Community) bestows important social and political rights on nationals of EU Member States (‘Community nationals’). These rights are not, however, universal or based on nationality as such. In practice, the residency and social rights that a mobile EU national can claim in another Member State depend on the type of social contribution they have made and their personal relationships. Contributions through paid employment and/or membership of the family of a mobile EU worker gives rise to maximum social benefit. Whilst the European Union citizenship provisions extend residency rights to all EU nationals (irrespective of work status), those whose mobility is not connected to employment derive significantly inferior social entitlements when resident in a host Member State. Put simply, the rights of people (and members of their family) who move following retirement in their home country differ substantially from those who retire following a period of working in another Member State (and achieve the status of ‘community migrant worker’ prior to retirement). This formal ‘discrimination’ is further compounded by the diversity of the social welfare systems of the member states that results in distinct social, economic and spatial inequalities across the EU. To that extent, the ‘choice’ of retirement location significantly impacts on citizenship status. However, retired migrants are not merely passive spectators of formal rights and policies. Many show considerable skill in actively managing their rights (at both national and EU levels) and other resources to optimise personal benefit. This ability to maximise wellbeing is unevenly distributed.

This article analyses the determinants of the quality of life in a sample of 600 people aged 60 or more years living in deprived areas of three English cities. Data were collected by means of a face-to-face administered questionnaire. Two standardised measures, the ‘Satisfaction With Life Scale’ (SWLS) and the ‘Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale’ (PGCMS), and a single-item question were used to produce outcome measures of the quality of life. Using a conceptual model of quality of life factors, 21 socio-demographic, objective and subjective variables were correlated with each of the measures. Thirteen of these variables were subsequently entered in three multiple regression models. Subjective variables correlated significantly with all three quality of life measures, but socio-demographic and objective life condition variables correlated less strongly. Regression analysis revealed perception of own health, perceived ability to cope financially, perception of poverty over time and loneliness to be important determinants of the quality of life across all three quality of life measures. Variables that described characteristics of the urban environment had limited direct influence on the quality of life. The findings support the conceptual framework and highlight the key role played by subjective variables in determining the quality of life of older people in deprived urban areas.