The urban question and population aging: brief connections between the right to the city and the elderly in the labor market

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the urban question and its relation to population aging. We show, in a summarized way, the effect of financial capital, in the 20th and 21st centuries, on urban space, labor and social security. We argue that the loss of the right to the city is the last stage of the dismantling of the Welfare State. With the advance of the real estate capital, the segregation of residents increases, and the poorest ones settle in precarious conditions in the cities, where 84% of Brazilian elders live. Thus, this process contributes to the construction of a paradoxical discourse about old age, especially with regard to the right to work and the postponement of retirement due to increased longevity. We have produced a hypothesis to be explored in further research regarding the role of the built environment in the decision about retirement.