PLACES OF CRI-ACTIVE AGING

Abstract

Brazil, like other countries in the world, has been showing an increasingly long-lasting population growth. Over the last decade, much research has focused on understanding the complexity and impacts of aging. However, it is still not clear whether there is any relationship between the specific ways of life of the elderly and the sense of place they experience. We ask: what places and types of activities can contribute to a better quality of life for the elderly in their home, neighborhood, neighborhood and city? In order to analyze how the elderly live with the places they inhabit in contemporary urbanity, in order to provide new strategies for inclusive urban planning, the research used the method of photographic diaries to understand these dynamics. The study was applied in the Brazilian cities of Pelotas/RS, Belo Horizonte/MG and Brasília/DF, each one with three sections of neighborhoods chosen by different income groups (high, medium and low). Even with their great urban, economic and cultural differences, these cities have in common the transformations in the age pyramid, making the study more heterogeneous and diverse. As a result, it was possible to approach the concept of “becoming-child”, bringing together contemporary French philosophy with the sense of "good place" found in the elderly in the research. These coexistences led us to propose the exercise of composition of a “becoming-child-elderly”, towards a will to power and affirmation of architectural and urban life for a “creative-active” elderly person.

Keywords:
Aging; Photographicdiaries; Becoming-Child-Elderly; Territories; Elderlyfriendlycity,Senseofplace

Resumo

O Brasil, assim como outros países do mundo, vem apresentando um crescimento populacional cada vez mais longevo. Na última década, muitas pesquisas se concentraram em compreender a complexidade e os impactos sobre o envelhecimento. Porém, ainda não está claro se existe alguma relação entre os modos específicos de vida dos idosos com o sentido de lugar que eles vivenciam. Questionamos: que lugares e tipos de atividades podem contribuir para uma melhor qualidade de vida do idoso na sua casa, vizinhança, bairro e cidade? Com o objetivo de analisar como o idoso convive com os lugares que habita na urbanidade contemporânea, a fim de proporcionar novas estratégias para um planejamento urbano inclusivo, a pesquisa utilizou o método dos diários fotográficos para compreender essas dinâmicas. O estudo foi aplicado nas cidades brasileiras de Pelotas/RS, Belo Horizonte/MG e Brasília/DF, cada uma com três recortes de bairros escolhidos por distintas faixas de renda (alta, média e baixa). Mesmo com suas grandes diferenças urbanas, econômicas e culturais, essas cidades têm em comum as transformações na pirâmide etária, tornando o estudo mais heterogêneo e diverso. Como resultado, foi possível fazer a aproximação com o conceito de “devir-criança”, agenciando a filosofia contemporânea francesa com o sentido do "bom lugar" encontrado nos idosos da pesquisa. Essas coexistências nos levaram a propor o exercício de composição de um “devir-criança-idoso”, na direção de uma vontade de potência e afirmação da vida arquitetônica e urbana para um idoso "cri-ativo".

Palavras-chave:
Envelhecimento; Diários Fotográficos; Devir-Criança-Idoso; Territórios; Cidade Amiga do Idoso; Sentido de Lugar

Resumen

Brasil, al igual que otros países del mundo, ha venido mostrando un crecimiento demográfico cada vez más duradero. Durante la última década, muchas investigaciones se han centrado en comprender la complejidad y los impactos del envejecimiento. Sin embargo, todavía no está claro si existe alguna relación entre las formas específicas de vida de las personas mayores y el sentido de lugar que experimentan. Nos preguntamos: ¿qué lugares y tipos de actividades pueden contribuir a una mejor calidad de vida de las personas mayores en su hogar, barrio, barrio y ciudad? Con el fin de analizar cómo las personas mayores conviven con los lugares que habitan en la urbanidad contemporánea, con el fin de brindar nuevas estrategias de planificación urbana inclusiva, la investigación utilizó el método de los diarios fotográficos para comprender estas dinámicas. El estudio se aplicó en las ciudades brasileñas de Pelotas / RS, Belo Horizonte / MG y Brasília / DF, cada una con tres secciones de barrios elegidos por diferentes grupos de ingresos (alto, medio y bajo). Incluso con sus grandes diferencias urbanísticas, económicas y culturales, estas ciudades tienen en común las transformaciones en la pirámide de edades, lo que hace que el estudio sea más heterogéneo y diverso. Como resultado, fue posible abordar el concepto de “convertirse en niño”, uniendo la filosofía francesa contemporánea con el sentido de “buen lugar” que se encuentra en los ancianos en la investigación. Estas coexistencias nos llevaron a proponer el ejercicio de la composición de un “hacerse-niño-anciano”, hacia una voluntad de poder y afirmación de la vida arquitectónica y urbana para un anciano “creativo-activo”.

Palabras-clave:
Envejecimiento; Diarios Fotográficos; Devenir-Niño-Anciano; Territorios; Ciudad Amigable de Ancianos; Sentido de Lugar

INTRODUCTION

This article is the result of a follow-up to part of the research “Designing places with the elderly: towards ageing-friendly communities”¹, carried out from 2016 to 2019. More specifically, of the follow-up to the stage of data collection, called photographic diaries, in the Brazilian cities of Pelotas (RS), Belo Horizonte (MG) and Brasilia (DF).

Brazil, like other countries in the world, has been presenting increasingly long-living population growth, within a transition from a young to an elderly country. It is estimated that by 2050 the elderly population over 60 years old will represent 29.3%, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics². The cities of Pelotas (RS), Belo Horizonte (MG), and Brasilia (DF), despite their population, economic and cultural differences, are included in a process of transformation of the age pyramid.

In the last decade, much research focused on establishing perspectives that are: biological/behavioral, discussing issues related to the physiological process of ageing; economical, addressing economic impacts related to healthcare and social security; and sociocultural, related to social constructions and representations(SIQUEIRA; BOTELHO; COELHO, 2002).Nonetheless, there is another approach that has been making efforts to include biological, economic, and cultural aspects of the lifestyles of the elderly: the transdisciplinary one, which we adopt herein. Understanding the old age with such complexity requires going deeper into the elderly daily lives, as well as reviewing established presumptions and assumptions.

It is not yet clear if there is a relationship between specific lifestyles of the elderly and sense of place, disposition to use public spaces or not, walking, wandering, meeting people from other generations, and physical and mental health (FLORIANO; DALGALARRONDO, 2007).

Therefore, this article seeks to answer: how, from the practice of photographic diaries, can we compose an overview on the elderly life? What places and kind of activities can contribute to a better quality of life for the elderly at their home, neighborhood, and city? Which adaptations and mutabilities can the elderly propose for architecture and urban planning for an ageing population?

As a result, the research allowed to observe and indicate affinities and differences among neighborhoods, age ranges, income, and gender, in three Brazilian regions (South, Midwest and Southeast): in Pelotas³- the historical city(with328,275 inhabitants)-; Belo Horizonte⁴ - the planned city (with 2,375.151 inhabitants)-;and Brasilia⁵ - the modernist city(with 2,570.160 inhabitants). It was not a comparative study of the cities but sought to understand how different regions and situations receive the ageing of the population. The choice of these cities was motivated by both diversity of the urbanization processes and demographic density, and also due to partnerships of researchers and universities.

In general, the elderly who participated as volunteers of the photographic diaries have good lives: they are close to their families, take part in community and social activities, circulate the city without great difficulties - they resist -, are economically active, and practice physical and/or leisure activities - they walk, travel, have fun, date, dance and so on.

Finally, we make an approximation with the concept of the becoming-child, addressing French contemporary philosophy together with the sense of a good place found in the elderly in the research. Such coexistences have led us to propose an exercise of composing a becoming-child-elderly (CORAZZA; SILVA, 2003), towards an in-between, a crack, a will to power and affirmation of architectural and urban life, to try and obtain clues for an age-friendly city.

BECOMING-ELDERLY AND SENSE OF PLACE

Silvana Tótora(2015), in the book “Old age: an aesthetics of existence”, proposes, highlighting a life with joy, a becoming-elderly as a possibility of reaction to the productivity decay that comes with ageing, of resistance to a nuisance identity that is reduced to social security pension, philanthropy and abandonment. We must break with the representations of the elderly/old as grumpy, nagging and chronologically-biologically awaiting death.

In the past, seniors were seen as wise. In the classical Greek period, to be old meant to have wisdom. With capitalism, old people were identified as people who disturb and must be sent to assisted-living homes - as un capable, mad people (PAULA, 2016). Nowadays, old people are seen as elderly that need to be occupied, to be turned into consumers, who must be provided with activities for leisure, sports, healthcare etc. It is necessary to be comfortable and safe to continue alive. The elderly must dance, exercise, go through plastic surgeries and look younger. They must never look like their real age.

The old-body must not walk about town limping. Dimenste in and Scocuglia (2015)state that the elderly must remain in the city, as a form of alterity and resistance. The elderly walk, circulate, wander, and live the city, discovering new possibilities and daily activations for architectural and urban spaces, for their homes and for open spaces in their neighborhoods, that means, new sense for the places.

The old-body is thought of as unspeakable in the city. It is seen, domesticated, made docile, but not verbalized (TÓTORA, 2015). To paraphrase Spinoza, we ask: what can a body do? (DELEUZE, 1992), what can an old-body do in the city? An old-body that walks, sits on squares, dances at balls, travels in organized trips, goes to theaters and movies, listens to music, plays, tells jokes, chats with neighbors, takes care of their gardens, looks out for their homes and neighborhoods, takes care of and is taken care of by their families, loves parties and reunions, remembers events, claims for their places, participates on social and civic life etc. The old-body in the city goes beyond, is inside and outside as a becoming, metamorphoses like a palimpsest, inscribes itself in the city.

From the philosophy and psychoanalysis by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari (1997), we approximate the old-body to a becoming-child, a becoming-child-elderly and a becoming-elderly (CORAZZA; SILVA, 2003). Elderly men and women in a pulsating life, as some creative power that reveals the unspeakable city.

The becoming-child, a concept coined by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari (1997), refers to a child that endures in the adult, as virtuality and differentiation, opening a path for the creation and invention of worlds and, in the study herein, for a sense of place, both at home and in the city. The becomings are always minorities. As opposed to the young-white-man hegemony, the heterogeneity of elderly-child-woman allows, to create, in the crack, new powers, policies, possibilities, clues, for life within the cities’ collectivities.

When the stable changes and displaces, creating movements, possibilities, and meanings for the places of ageing, new slippery maps - cartography - and fixed maps of re-existencecome up. This way, we are able to convene desires in the in-betweens of macro and micropolitics; legal and lived city; children and elderly; public and private; consumption and counterculture; repetition and playing (ROLNIK, 2000). We ask, then, what is the meaning, beyond common sense, of these places of ageing?

Yi-Fu Tuan (1979) developed, from a humanist perspective, some research to understand how human beings occupy places and organize to assign meaning to them. Norberg-Schulz (1980) defines such meaning as part of the genius loci or spirit of the place, in an interaction between place and identity that is ruled by multiple forces, from abstract to objective thinking, from the physical to the immaterial (memory) place.

More recently, Lineu Castello (2007) associated the sense of place to the presence of people, of “the others”, in the city. The sense of places will always come from social interactions and the realization of urban places depends on the approximations between “me” and “the others”. All of that, in a time of “naturality” of daily life (CASTELLO, 2007).

Fernando Fuão (2004) presents an idea of a place that only exists from the experience of the “I”, which is also outside of the oppositions of full vs. empty; inside vs. outside; inside vs. outside. Thus, the sense of place is in the elderly that participated of the research and not in the places of the elderly, which can be anywhere.

This articulation between what is built and the social interactions of places and ageing becomes then a research strategy, distancing the elderly from loneliness and isolation, through powerful senses of place, thought of together with their social, psychological and emotional bonds.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DIARIES AS A METHOD

Photographic diaries, also known as self-directed photography or auto-photography, are a research method in which photographic images are taken by participants instead of researchers. Another important aspect of this method is the construction of a narrative (interview) about the photographs, to discuss motivations and reasons behind their choices.

The auto-photography method was described by Robert Ziller (1985) in the 1970s, to be used in psychology studies. It consists in capturing a set of author photographs, from a question proposed by researchers, and was used, at first, to overcome verbal communication difficulties.

According to researchers Lucas Neiva-Silva and Sílvia Helena Koller, Robert Ziller presents works in which auto-photography is used to describe places and self. “It is proposed that participants, who perceive the world in a given way, are now perceived through their photography” (NEIVA-SILVA; KOLLER, 2002, v.7, p. 241 [our translation]). Amerikaner (1980) defines the content (photographs themselves) as a place, an aspect, a feeling, an activity that shows in the images, but maybe what was hidden is also important for analyses, for it may indicate great difficulty of verbalizing a certain category. So, the process here is focused on the indication about how people interact with the world around them. For that, according to the author, it is crucial to vary our attention between concrete and abstract, approximating individual ones to the whole set of analyses.

In our research, the methodological procedure consisted in providing the elderly with a camera for them to take a series of photographs (we recommended 12 images), in a period of two weeks, on their perspectives of “how is it to live in your neighborhood?” This procedure allowed to go deeper into details of their daily lives at home and in their neighborhoods.

Photographic diaries were applied in three regions of the cities of Pelotas, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília, between June and July 2017. The three regions of each city were defined by crossing data of income distribution, concentration of residents over 60⁶ and proximity to green areas. The maps and the process indicating the superposition of those criteria to select neighborhoods can be visualized in detail on the website of this research⁷. For this article, we have opted to emphasize the aspect of income distribution.

After making analyses and maps, the following regions were defined:(i) Pelotas: Navegantes (low-income), Fragata (middle-income) andDowntown (high income); (ii) Belo Horizonte:Aglomerado da Serra (low-income), Downtown (middle-income) and Anchieta (high-income);and (iii) Brasília: Vila Weslian Roriz (low-income), Asa Sul (middle-income) andAsa Norte (high-income). In Figure 1, we can observe the neighborhoods marked within the maps of each city, with purple representing low-income; yellow, middle-income; and red, high-income.

Figure 1
Map with the delimitation of the studied areas in Pelotas, Belo Horizonte and Brasília.

For the experts in ageing, like Ana Caramano (2002),elderly from 60 to 69 years old may be considered youngest-old, whereas those from 70 to 79 years old may be considered middle-old(IRIGARAY; SCHNEIDER, 2008). In addition to the age ranges, this classification can also regard the individuals’ biological, psychological, and social aspects.

There were 12 diaries per city, four for each region, making up a total of 36 photographic diaries, elaborated by elderly from 60 to 81 years old (only one diary was of a woman over 80), from which 12 were men and 24 were women and mostly youngest-old. More specific gender and race aspects were not addressed, however, it is notable that participants were mostly women, not only in number, but also in engagement to the research process, for they were more active and participative than men. Even with good racial diversity, most self-declared as white. Participants were identified and recruited considering the neighborhoods to be studied. The choice of volunteers was carried out according to indications by elderly groups or neighborhood associations. It is important to highlight that in each city, there was a research group at the local federal universities (UnB, UFMG and UFPel), which applied the method according to previously arranged guidelines. These research groups were in constant dialogue, with online and some in-person meetings to promote information sharing and discuss and improve methods, if necessary.

To make it easier to collect visual data, each participant was provided with a training session to learn how to use a small portable photo camera, in a comfortable and practical manner. Equipment have worked perfectly well and were made available in advance. Participants could also choose to use their own equipment (like digital cameras or smartphones) for the exercise. We believe that since most participants were youngest-old, more familiar to technologies like mobiles, to a certain extent, they have managed them well and did not report any equipment usage conflicts.

The images collected by participants were not autonomous, that means, they had to be analyzed within their contexts, otherwise they would be decontextualized. They had to be interpreted, connected to the reasons why they made them visible. So, there was a need to describe what the images were showing, the motivations behind the captures and their importance regarding the study objectives. For that, an interview with researcher and participant was schedule after the photographs, to reflect about the images collected. Interviews were audio-recorded and then transcribed. Thus, the photograph-interview created an analytic reflection session.

By the end of this process, researchers organized data, which required setting images and narratives in a coherent story, synthetizing key-points and making up the history of that resident.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: THE THREE REGIONS

Facing the great number of images and narratives by participants, a table (Figure 2) was elaborated to facilitate the analysis of collected materials. In the first column, are the images that demonstrate cre-active ageing, related to homes, surroundings, neighborhoods, and cities; in the second one, the captions (narrative by the authors of the photos, key-quotes); then, come the eight domains of the Age-Friendly Cities (AFC) Framework by WHO⁸ that relate with the photograph; in the fourth column is the general category, that means, the one that synthetizes the situation registered; followed by subcategories, which are other important topics mentioned by the interviewed; and finally, considerations/meanings researchers obtained from the information in the table.

Figure 2
Example of analysis table.

Cre-ative¬ elderly are understood as those that find solutions, adaptations, and mutations to live the city, sometimes to the detriment of an active ageing, provided by a becoming-elderly in constitution along with architecture and the city, in a translation of singular realities. Here, we have grouped analysis according to high, middle and low-income, in the cities of Pelotas, Belo Horizonte and Brasília.

HIGH-INCOME REGIONS

The neighborhoods considered as high-income were: Dowtown, in Pelotas; Anchieta, in Belo Horizonte; and Asa Norte, in Brasilia. Photographs and narratives of the elderly in these neighborhoods showed active participation in adjacent public spaces. Most of the interviewed left their houses to photograph urban life. They have captured squares, parks, public institutions, historical heritage buildings, and all of those appeared in narratives as places they are frequently, not sporadically, in contact with. Quality, accessibility, and maintenance of the urban design of those spaces, along with the proximity to their houses, favors the elderly’s interest and permanence in a more effective contact with these places.

In Pelotas, residents of the Historical Center described the potentials of Coronel Pedro Osorio square: vegetation, chess tables, urban furniture, playground, and countless cultural and artistic activities that take place at the square (Figure 3). They also photographed institutional historical buildings and churches, and the narrative that accompanied images brought up memories of the physical and usage transformations those constructions have gone through along time. These are meanings that reinforce the sense of belonging and urban appropriation.

Figure 3
File of the photographic diary in Downtown, Pelotas.

In Belo Horizonte, the Anchieta neighborhood was mostly portraited for the practice of sports and leisure that squares and parks offer. Anopen-air gym at the square, structured from public equipment, attracts residents, as well as playgrounds that allow recreation together with grandchildren and other kids with whom the elderly have some relationship. The quality of the pavement and the beautiful trees of Bandeirantes Avenue were mentioned as something that facilitates the practice of jogging (Figure 4). The elderly of this region also talked about a feeling of safety as they go about the neighborhood and enjoy public spaces. In this case, they referred both to safety of physical conditions -, related to the quality and the accessibility of the streets, in a less accidented topography -, and to personal and moral safety -, assured by the intense movement of people in the streets, which are agitated, due to local shops and services.

Figure 4
File of the photographic diary in Anchieta, Belo Horizonte.

In Brasilia, the situation was not very different. The elderly of the high-income neighborhood, Asa Norte, have expressed the potentials of living in a well-structured, equipped, green urban context that stimulates life outside. Vegetation and natural landscape were the most recurrent topics: the beauty of flowers, the singing of birds, the wonder of contemplating the sunset, have marked the diaries of these elderly (Figure 5). Asa Norte was also described as the stage of political and social activities. Some of the elderly have captured, from the window of their homes, demonstrations of teachers and local residents claiming for democracy; in another case, there was a meeting organized among neighbors, to promote intergenerational events and celebrations; and also the construction and maintenance of an urban vegetable garden, managed by residents.

Figure 5
File of the photographic diary in Asa Norte, Brasilia.

MIDDLE-INCOME REGIONS

The neighborhoods considered as middle-income were Fragata, in Pelotas; Downtown, in Belo Horizonte; and Asa Sul, in Brasilia. Although these neighborhoods are located in different contexts in each city - some far from commercial centers, others inserted within those centers -, the photographic diaries of these regions have in common the more affectionate and close relationships with neighbors, as well as a sense of community, in more restricted urban portions, like blocks or apartment complexes, with strong social and community participation. The elderly of these regions portraited daily life with more short walks, close to their houses, such as: going to the neighborhood bakery or farmers’ market; chatting around the newsstand; visiting neighbors; walking about the green area of buildings; among other neighborhood activities.

Fragata is a neighborhood in Pelotas known by residents as the city-neighborhood, for its great territorial and population extent, in addition to the diversity and dynamics of shops and services it offers. However, the narratives by elderly residents only include some blocks around their houses, in a smaller and more affective scale. As opposed to the high-income regions, in this case, residents did not mention a constancy of public spaces like parks and squares, but enjoyed green areas and equipment offered by their buildings or by internal yards at their houses.

There were constant complaints about the lack of maintenance and care for sidewalks and streets, making mobility harder and somehow justifying their preference for short walks. Living together, meetings and celebrations with neighbors were recurrent topics (Figure 6), enhancing their appreciation for the neighborhood and for remaining there.

Figure 6
File of the photographic diary in Fragata, Pelotas.

In Belo Horizonte, Downtown is served with good urban infrastructure and accessibility to services, so we notice the elderly as participants of activities in the neighborhoods, like church events, walks with pets, meeting friends at bars, cafés and newsstands (Figure 7).

Since Dowtown is favored by a concentration of shops and services, they have their activities close to home and do not need to go for long walks. However, some bigger cultural events, with publicity sponsorships, were not attended by the elderly, who mentioned they did not feel as they belong in those activities, thus preferring smaller meetings, in which contacts are restricted to friends from the neighborhood.

Figure 7
File of the photographic diary in Downtown, Belo Horizonte.

In the middle-income neighborhoodAsa Sul, in Brasilia, even though urban design was conceived and projected similarly to the high-income Asa Norte, there are some peculiarities regarding appropriation and experiences of residents in the so-called superblocks. The famous “Pilot Plan” by architect Lucio Costa has equaled the urban design of North and South, in a symmetrical balance in their physical conception, but throughout the years, uses and occupations brought up their differences.

And such differences are easily observed in narratives and photographs by the elderly. Just like the middle-income neighborhoods in Belo Horizonte and Pelotas, Asa Sul has showed neighbor contact, with short walks and especially with greater care and attention to green areas and leisure spaces close to their houses. Photographs of the entrance of the block, of Mister Lourival’s newsstand (Figure 8), of the changes in landscaping and on façades of access to buildings were some samples of a sense of belonging to the block in which they live. Even though the neighborhood has attractions like parks and shopping centers, most of the elderly held their attention to the outside surroundings.

Figure 8
File of the photographic diary in Asa Sul, Brasília.

LOW-INCOME REGIONS

The low-income regions analyzed were: Navegantes, in Pelotas; Aglomerado da Serra, in Belo Horizonte; and Vila Weslian Roriz,in Brasília. The photographic records of the elderly of those regions expressively portraited the place of the house, the home, the activities and details inside residences, going further until gardens and sidewalks. Now, the experiences of the elderly are restricted to the house and there were few narratives or photographs that related to the outside and, even when that happened, it was always from far, in a view from the window. It is a speech that is rooted in an intimate, cozy, and safe place, provided by the household. In addition to that, families were a highlight, with many photographs showing family meetings, people, activities, which led physical spaces, places, and environment to a second plan. This internal relationship was partly justified by the lack of infrastructure and maintenance of public spaces. In their narratives, the elderly reported the neglect of public services in their neighborhoods. They mostly complained about the inefficiency of public healthcare, pavements, accessibility, and lack of proper leisure areas.

This characteristic of being more attached to their homes is not directly linked to a sedentary lifestyle. Most of the elderly in these regions showed capability for numberless tasks, even inside the house, participating on household chores, maintenance of the house, handcrafts, and gardening, and also inviting neighbors and families for activities like gym and cards and board games. Some have describeda commitment to paid work, with cases of both complementary and essential income. As examples of these jobs, we can mention home-made sewing and food. The economic situation of these elderly forced them to readapt their lives, and informal jobs are one of the ways to do it.

The Navegantes neighborhood in Pelotas presents great difficulties regarding urban infrastructure, like unpaved streets, un piped sewer systems, insufficient street lighting, lack of maintenance and projects for squares, urban voids that receive garbage and debris, in addition to the social services issue, especially in healthcare. This scenario appeared in the elderly narratives, but in few photographs, for they gave more importance to positive aspects, found inside their houses. The elderly here, despite all the neighborhood conditions, have showed that their routine happened inside, during most of the day. Photographs show, among others, domestic activities such as preparing the mateor chimarrao (a typical Rio Grande do Sul drink) and lunch, gardening, welcoming visitors (Figure 9). Other aspects that were highlighted were the cooperation among neighbors and with the community, mutual support and companionship, which they greatly admire and, according to them, makes the neighborhood a special place to live.

Figure 9
File of the photographic diary in Navegantes, Pelotas.

In Belo Horizonte, the complex of favelas and neighborhoods called Aglomerado da Serra covers an extensive occupation area, siding with the Curral Mountain Rage. This neighborhood, of more spontaneous occupation, is located between environmental preservation areas and upper-class neighborhoods, close to the systematized planning of the city center. That means it is a favela complex that is not situated in the outskirts. Such fact was frequently highlighted by participants, who stressed how practical it is to live close to the city center. Despite that, they have also reported several urban problems they must face, especially street lighting and garbage accumulation. Among the photographic records of this neighborhood, we notice family events at home and parts of the house that reveals their lives history and memories (Figure 10).

Figure 10
File of the photographic diary in Aglomerado da Serra, Belo Horizonte.

Differently of the urban central location of Aglomerado da Serra, Vila Weslian Roriz, in Brasilia, is in one of the out skirsts of the Wings of the Pilot Plan. It was conceived to house workers of the “Torto” official presidential residence, but throughout the years a disorderly growth took place. Some of the elderly have reported difficulties to walk around in the neighborhood, due to the lack of maintenance of sidewalks, which decreases walkability. So, most of the captures of these participants focused on home activities, on the desire of staying at home, and in the well-being provided by the house (Figure 11). Their narratives highlight the presence of the family, especially the grandchildren, who are companions for playing cards, chatting and doing domestic chores.

Figure 11
File of the photographic diary in Vila Weslian Roriz, Brasilia.

CONCLUSION

After synthetizing the results obtained through photographic diaries, it is important to punctuate some considerations of this study. Firstly, we observed that the urban structure of the neighborhoods change from a city to another, not only in scale, density, topography and weather, but also according to historical, cultural, political and social differences. Brasilia, the land of modern urbanism, disposes, in its superblocks, an urban relationship that is very different from the one provided by traditional and historical urbanism of the cities of Pelotas and Belo Horizonte. Urban design, dimensions of the streets, sidewalks, lots, relationships with the neighbors, typology, and use and occupation of the lands, are some factors that directly influence the apprehension and activation of the place by elderly.

A second factor to be considered is the income classification of the cities in the study, which is not equivalent, for it was applied both for a regular city, Pelotas; a state capital, Belo Horizonte; and the national capital, Brasilia. Populational, territorial and economic proportions are quite distinct. Whereas the middle-income neighborhood in Pelotas presents basic problems like the quality of sidewalks, the high-income neighborhoods in Brasilia have much superior and accessible infrastructure. Thus, we highlighted, in this article, the qualitative characteristics pointed by the elderly regarding their experiences in these cities. Their relationships with urban spaces and their main daily activities provided clues about contemporary ageing in several situations.

Despite the huge diversity and complexity that these places house, it was possible to group common characteristics observed in the elderly diaries, considering the economic factor of each city, as well as correlated specificities and socioeconomic standards. This way, we noticed that, in high-income neighborhoods, the elderly have access to qualified public spaces which provide them with greater community experience. Those are neighborhoods with good urban infrastructure, that arouses their interest, inviting the elderly to go outside of their houses, or to enjoy the landscape from their windows, if they do not have enough physical disposition. The domains of memory and identity, services and meeting points and participation, respect and social inclusion were the most recurrent for these regions.

As for the elderly territoriality in middle-income neighborhoods, it is more connected to the surroundings of the house. Microenvironments of socialization are created within the blocks. Mobility is more restricted, compared to the high-income elderly. The most attended outside spaces are green areas of buildings, neighbors’ houses, shops close to home, and there is not much displacing to bigger public spaces. The need for public transportation, or even the costs of private transportation, along with the dependency of support to displace, are also issues that may strengthen permanence in the neighborhood. In these regions, the most present categories were open spaces and social inclusion and safety and social acknowledgement.

Finally, in low-income neighborhoods, in a scenery of precarious urban infrastructure, in different levels in each city, the elderly have captured moments of great delight and acknowledgement at their homes. Such fact is justified by external conditions, but interesting for the highlight of positive inside situations. Denounces regarding urban precarities were superposed by readequations to new active and potent ways of living. The recurrent categories in these regions were habitation and health services, family support and belonging.

As we go back to the initial question (how can the method of photographic diaries contribute to the comprehension of life and daily readequations of the elderly in the contemporary city?), we consider that the effective participation of the elderly, by recording their experiences in the city, neighborhoods and houses, in images and words, has broughtrevelations about cre-active ageing to researchers. Most participants, youngest-old, created adaptations for daily situations that vary according to the sense of place they reckon. Even in the case of low-income neighborhoods, where they face great difficulties of use/appropriation, like accessibility, access to healthcare and leisure, the elderly guided us to a garden in front of the house, to the union and sharing with neighbors, provoking another sense of place, emphasizing concepts of belonging, self-esteem, and memory. A becoming-child-elderly that exists and persists in the capture of each photograph, in the narrative of each activity carried out along their days, in the capacity of walking and using technology to communicate realities and virtualities that surround them. We stress that the becoming, or the to come, is about the process of subjectivation of subjects, that means, different lifestyles and configurations that go beyond sense of place and public space. In a certain way, there is an intense connection with a political character, in the choices and attitudes of the elderly towards the appropriation of public spaces, which are essentially political places. Then, the becoming-child-elderly refers to countless scales of analysis, from an intimate, psychological relationship to a collective relationship of taking position regarding the others, either human or non-human, like the analysis case of the present article.

We have clearly observed that the elderly life quality can be improved if their urban experienced in enhanced with good conditions of access to healthcare, services, transportation, culture, leisure, sports, contact with green areas, safety, among others. However, even unattended in one or some of these factors, we considered they have a will to live that allows this desire to readapt places, either by politically engaging for their rights, or through small changes inside their houses.

Finally, it is necessary to report that the method of the diaries, even providing good results, still needs to be improved. The elderly who volunteered are mostly youngest-old, who have a greater disposition for the research and are more active in their daily lives. This way, the research could not count on the perspective of older elderly, who, due to health reasons, would maybe participate less and bring upother issues. In addition to that, the number of photographs was excessive, which made it harder, for researchers, to manage. In this sense, an intervention for the elderly to list the most important images would be necessary.

NOTES

• 1
  Research carried out through a collaboration of universities in Brazil (Federal University ofPelotas), United Kingdom (Heriot-Watt University) and India (Sri Venkateswara University), funded by the Newton Fund and the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council), aiming to design better urban environments, which support and promote daily social participation and healthier urban life for the elderly. More available at: . In the end of 2019, the book. “Ageing in place. Narratives and Memories in UK and Brazil” was published, presenting more photographs and stories from this research, also including the cases studied in the United Kingdom. Available at:
• 2
  More at:
• 3
  The city of Pelotas is located close to the extreme South of Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande doSul. With a population estimated in 343,651 inhabitants and a density of 203,89 people per square kilometer, Pelotas has 49,784 elderly residents, which corresponds to 15.17% of its population. The city is situated in a flat low altitude area, by the Patos lagoon. More available at: .
• 4
  Belo Horizonte is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais.Its population is 2.51 millioninhabitants, the 6th biggest population of the country (IBGE, 2010). The city has an area of approximately 331square kilometers and diverse geography, composed of hills and lowlands. Belo Horizonte has a density of 7,167 inhabitants per square kilometer and an elderly population of 299,017 people, making up 7.07% of the population, with life expectancy of 70.52 years of age (IBGE, 2010). More available at:.
• 5
  Brasilia is Brazil’s national capital. Located in Planalto Central, in the Midwest of the country,it is a planned city, built between 1956 and 1960, during the government of Juscelino Kubitschek. Brasilia has a population of almost 3 million inhabitants and density of 444.66 per square kilometer. The elderly population is around 198,000 people and represents 7.7 % of the city. More available at: .
• 6
  Data collected from the Census carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography andStatistics (IBGE) in 2010. More available at: .
• 7
  Mapping of the regions in the researchavailable at: .
• 8
  The WHO (World Health Organization) published, in 2008, the “Global Age-Friendly Cities: AGuide”, aiming to provide urban governments with information and orientations to promote age-friendly cities, that means, to allow inclusion and accessibility for this population, stimulating active, healthy, participative, and safe ageing. From participative research in 33 cities around the world, a framework was created, with eight domains of the Age-Friendly Cities: housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; community and healthcare; transportation; and outdoor spaces and buildings.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To the scholarships holders and collaborators who participated on the “Photographic Diaries” stage of the research “Designing places with the elderly: towards ageing-friendly communities in the cities of Pelotas, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia”.

To the Newton Fund to the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council), for funding the research.

REFERÊNCIAS

• AMERIKANER, M., SCHAUBLE, P., & ZILLER, R. C. Images: The use of photographs in personal counseling. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 59, 68-73, 1980.
• CARAMANO, Ana Amélia. Envelhecimento da População Brasileira: Uma Contribuição Demográfica. Brasília: IPEA, 2002. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 06 de junho de 2018.
• CASTELLO, Lineu. A percepção de lugar: repensando o conceito de lugar em Arquitetura-Urbanismo. Porto Alegre: PROPAR - UFRGS, 2007.
• CORAZZA, Sandra & SILVA, Tomaz Tadeu da. Composições. Belo Horizonte: Autêntica, 2003.
• DELEUZE, Gilles. Espinosa e o problema da expressão. São Paulo: Editora 34, 1992.
• DELEUZE, Gilles; GUATTARI, Félix. Mil Platôs: capitalismo e esquizofrenia. Vol. 4. São Paulo: Editora 34, 1997.
• DIMENSTEIN, Marcela; SCOCUGLIA, Jovanka Baracuhy Cavalcanti. O corpo idoso nas ruas e praças do centro de João Pessoa. Experiências urbanas no espaço público requalificado. Arquitextos, São Paulo, ano 16, n.184.05, Vitruvius, set. 2015. . Acesso em 18 de junho de 2018.
• FLORIANO, Petterson de Jesus; DALGALARRONDO, Paulo. Saúde mental, qualidade de vida e religião em idosos de um Programa de Saúde da Família. Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria, Rio de Janeiro, v. 56, n.3, p.162-170, 2007. Disponível em Acessos em 13 jun.2018.
• FUÃO, Fernando Freitas. O sentido do espaço. Em que sentido, em que sentido? - 1ª parte. Arquitextos, São Paulo, ano 04, n. 048.02, Vitruvius, maio 2004. .
• IRIGARAY, Tatiana Quarti e SCHNEIDER, Rodolfo Schneider. O envelhecimento na atualidade:aspectos cronológicos, biológicos, psicológicos e sociais. In: Estudos de Psicologia, Campinas, 25(4), p.585-593, outubro - dezembro, 2008. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 06 de junho de 2018.
• NEIVA-SILVA, Lucas; KOLLER, Sílvia Helena. O uso da fotografia na pesquisa em Psicologia.In: Estud. psicol.(Natal) [online]. 2002, vol.7, n.2, pp.237-250, p. 241.Disponível em: . Acesso em: 30 de abril de 2018.
• NORBERG-SCHULZ, Christian. Genius loci. Towards a phenomenology of architecture. Londres, Academy Editions, 1980.
• PAULA, Marcos Ferreira de. Os idosos do nosso tempo e a impossibilidade da sabedoria no capitalismo atual. Serviço Social & Sociedade, São Paulo, n.126, p.262-280, junho 2016. Disponível em:. Acesso em 16 junho de 2018.
• ROLNIK, Suely. Os mapas movediços de Öyvind Fahlström. In: Öyvind Fahlström. Another Space for Painting. MACBA, Actar, 2000, pp.333-341.
• SIQUEIRA, Renata Lopes de; BOTELHO, Maria Izabel Vieira; COELHO, France Maria Gontijo. A velhice: algumas considerações teóricas e conceituais. Ciência e Saúde Coletiva, Rio de Janeiro, v. 7, n.4, p.899-906, 2002. Disponível em. Acessos em 13 jun. 2018.
• TÓTORA, Silvana. Velhice, uma estética da existência. São Paulo: Educ, 2015.
• TUAN, Yi-Fu. Space and place: humanistic perspective. In: GALE, S. OLSSON, G. (orgs.). Philosophy in Geography. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1979, pp. 387-427. (Publicado originalmente em: Progress in Geography, (6), pp. 211-252, 1974).
• ZILLER, R. C.;RORER, B. A. Shyness-environment interaction: A view from the shy side through auto-photography. Journal of Personality, 53, 626-639, 1985.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  06 Apr 2022
• Date of issue
  2022

History

• Received
  07 June 2021
• Accepted
  18 Sept 2021
• Published
  15 Mar 2022