Envejecimiento, sentido de lugar y planificación urbana: facilitadores y barreras

The urban planning is a process that comprises successive improvements aimed at the quality of life of populations and the aging of the population puts pressure on social instances to assume new postures about the ways of planning this environment. To understand the elderly's attachment with the environment, it is necessary to understand the resources available in the place and the experiences lived in that context. From the sense of place, people transform spaces and are transformed by them. Thus, this study questioned how elderly residents of three locations in the city of Brasília build their sense of place, based on their identification of facilitators and barriers faced daily and the demands for building an aging-friendly environment. The qualitative data presented derives from the use of three research techniques: face-to-face interviews, go-along interviews, and photographic diaries. Sixty-three elderly persons between 60 and 90 years participated in the study. The analysis carried out using the Iramuteq software allowed the development of four classes related to social and community bonds, activities of daily routines, symbolic aspects that reflect the sense of place and the relationship with rural and urban elements perceived in each scenario. Being aware of the changes resulting from the demographic pyramid’s inversion incur on some of the issues identified in this study. However, the results confirm how much further progress is still needed to include more dynamically the elderly-environment relationship in studies that address the aging process.