Abstract

DE ALBA GONZALEZ, Martha. Social representations and experiences of everyday life of the elderly in Mexico City. Estud. demogr. urbanos [online]. 2017, vol.32, n.1, pp.9-36. ISSN 2448-6515.

This article is part of the ecological perspective on aging, which considers that this process not only depends on psychosocial aspects but also on the relationship people have with their living environment (physical, social, historical and cultural). The text seeks to analyze the subjective aspect of the quality of life through the study of the social representations of the city and the neighborhood, constructed by a sample of residents of four neighborhoods in Mexico City with different socio-economic status. It is a qualitative study, based on in-depth interviews and field observations. The results show that positive social representations of the city, associated with attachment to it and to spaces that encourage active aging, help provide quality of life in the city. On the contrary, negative social representations of the city, linked to urban, political and social problems, create a sense of fragility in urban areas that reduces the quality of life.

Keywords : social representations; quality of life; old age; aging; Mexico City..