Age is not only a feature of individuals — it is also a feature of communities.Every place will differ in the age structure of its inhabitants. There has been concern about spatial (or residential) segregation of people according to ethnicity or class for many years. Debate is now growing about the extent, causes and consequences of residential segregation by age. Like other forms of segregation, age segregation can have serious impacts, such as social isolation.
In the UK, recent evidence suggests that residential segregation between older (65 years and over) and younger adults (25–40 years) has risen rapidly since the 1990s. In other words, on average, there is now less of an age mix in neighbourhoods than there was in the past. These findings align with previous research from the USA showing an increase in residential segregation between similar age groups (60 years and over vs 20–34 years).
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