A research agenda for geographies of everyday intergenerational encounter

Yarker, Sophie

Abstract

This paper calls for a research agenda that attends to the geographies of everyday intergenerational encounter that occur informally in communities. Using the theoretical framing of social infrastructure and encounter, it argues that we need to better understand the potential of the everyday, mundane, and often fleeting social interactions we have in the everyday shared spaces of our neighbourhoods, and that it is these interactions that can have the biggest impact on intergenerational relations. This argument is made in response to a lack of research on “naturally occurring” intergenerational encounters when compared to a more well-established body of research on intentional intergenerational practice and design. To demonstrate the value of attending to encounters of the everyday, the paper draws on a body of research within social and cultural geography on intercultural encounters that points to the value of “everyday civics” in contributing to community cohesion in the context of cultural diversity.

Citation

Yarker, S. (2021). A research agenda for geographies of everyday intergenerational encounter. Area, 53(2), 264-271. https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12716

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 19, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Mar 27, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Deposit Date: May 29, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 3, 2024
• Journal: Area
• Print ISSN: 0004-0894
• Electronic ISSN: 1475-4762
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 53
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 264-271
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12716