Ageing and Welfare in Transition Social, Legal, Economic, and Mobility Perspectives for an Inclusive Society

Population ageing represents a profound structural transformation of con temporary cities, yet it is still predominantly interpreted through economistic and performance-oriented paradigms that reduce later life to dependency and cost. This article challenges such approaches by reframing active ageing as a matter of rights, self-determination, and full urban citizenship. Drawing on the Capability Approach and on critical urban sociology, the paper concep tualizes urban space as a “passively active” social infrastructure that can ei ther enable or constrain autonomy, participation, and quality of life in older age. In this perspective, proximity, walkability, and the right to dwelling are central analytical dimensions for understanding how ageing is socially and spatially produced within cities. The empirical section is focused on the quality of “proximity system” and is based on an ethnographic study conducted in the Apulia region (Italy), involving 83 semi-structured interviews with people aged 65 and over. The analysis focuses on everyday mobility practices and on the use of spaces of proximity, understood as relational and infrastructural systems rather than mere spatial closeness. The findings led to the construction of a four-type ty pology of “dwelling proximity” — Pedestrians by Choice, Selective Pedestri ans, Anchored to Micro-Proximity, and Urban Withdrawn — emerging from the intersection between functional autonomy and the quality of urban prox imity systems. These typologies describe differentiated ways of inhabiting the city, ranging from enabling configurations that support identity, sociality, and agency, to excluding ones that foster withdrawal and vulnerability. Building on this typology, the article proposes evidence-based urban policy and design guidelines aimed at strengthening proximity as a collective capability. These include pedestrian comfort corridors, safe crossing zones, and neighborhood social anchors as key interventions to expand walkability, reduce inequalities, and prevent age-based segregation. The study also con tributed to the development and empirical testing of a proximity system in dex intended to support and guide urban policy design and decision-making. The paper argues that investing in proximity-oriented and rights-based urban policies is essential not only for promoting active ageing, but also for advancing more inclusive, equitable, human-centered and people-friendly cities across the entire life course.