Paper short abstract:

Adaptation to space requires creativity to imagine the self as continuous when located in different places. At an intergenerational center in Spain, elderly narrate their feelings about this experience by fusing interpersonal relationships made in the new location with social memories of the past.

Paper long abstract:

Focusing on the formation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships, this paper will attempt to describe the cultural significances of the self and emotive states, including the structures of feeling, amongst retirees of an intergenerational residential complex. Located in the city of Oviedo, the capital of the principality of Asturias in the kingdom of Spain, current demographic figures and assessments point out that 22% of the region's population is over the age of 65. This figure is expected to rise significantly in the near future, and has been at the forefront of national legislature, such as La Ley de Dependencia [The Law of Dependency], designed to mitigate resource depletion incurred on families having to cope with the cost of taking care of elderly. One adaptation to this law has been the creation of an intergenerational residential center, the only one of its kind in the country. This newly formed multi-functional building caters to elderly, as well as younger students, and was built to encourage the sharing of common areas for relationships to be forged across and amongst generations. Therefore, my analysis will attempt to meld a psychology of place with any cultural norms required for the continuation of the self, which in this context is framed by a local Asturian regional identity. Since the construction of feeling is vital to the process of a self-identity in the modern era, the way older residents discuss their feelings about themselves and younger residents in this new space will be a central theme throughout.