Invited editor's introduction

This special issue, dedicated to the study of ageing and environment relationships, presents research conducted both in North America and Europe examining the role of urban and rural places on older people's health and psychological wellbeing. The articles in this special issue reveal how urban and rural environments in different cultural contexts either restrict or promote older people's quality of life and wellbeing. The articles include the examination of an everyday life model for conceptualising person-environment relationships, the vulnerability to climate change in coastal areas, the community support among urban and rural residents, presence of a disability type (e.g. mobility, vision) or an enduring emotional problem (e.g. depression) and its relation to engagement in activities, and lastly psycho-social and environmental attitudes of the elderly in relation to environmental relocation. © 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.