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This paper aims to explore the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on issues facing older people living in urban areas characterised by multiple deprivation.

The paper first reviews the role of place and neighbourhood in later life; second, it examines the relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and the impact of COVID-19; and, third, it outlines the basis for an “age-friendly” recovery strategy.

The paper argues that COVID-19 is having a disproportionate impact on low-income communities, which have already been affected by cuts to public services, the loss of social infrastructure and pressures on the voluntary sector. It highlights the need for community-based interventions to be developed as an essential part of future policies designed to tackle the effects of COVID-19.

The paper contributes to debates about developing COVID-19 recovery strategies in the context of growing inequalities affecting urban neighbourhoods.

The aim of this paper is to respond to a gap in the literature around resilience in later life for older people from minority groups of identity or experience. Specifically, it argues that we need to pay greater attention to how access to different types of social capital may leave some older people more or less able to cope with adverse events and how experiences of social exclusion can limit access to important networks of support during times of crisis.

This paper draws on research conducted to inform the resilience strategy of Greater Manchester in 2019, and specifically looked at how this strategy could better address the needs of the regions’ diverse ageing population. It used a qualitative design including focus groups with older women of Punjabi heritage living in Greater Manchester, interviews with staff from a community and voluntary organisation working with these women, and interviews with staff at an organisation supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Greater Manchester who specifically worked with older adults.

The research found that belonging to a minority group and experiences of social exclusion gave participants in this study both resources and vulnerabilities when it came to dealing with external shocks in later life. Whilst participants in this study had access to strong networks of bonding capital based on shared identity and experience, social exclusion often meant they faced barriers to accessing network of support outside of these communities.

Findings from this study have implications for both future research and policy. In the case of the latter there are implications for those working in resilience planning in terms of how to address the needs of diverse older populations. For researchers, this paper has implications for how we understand the impacts on inequality in later life particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The originality of this paper lies in its consideration of the impact of inequalities and social exclusion on the resilience of older people in times of crisis. It included older people from minority groups of identity and experience addressing an important gap in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to present alternative ways of addressing inequality in age-friendly work by drawing attention to the limitations of place-based approaches in meeting the needs of dispersed communities.

A case study of the age-friendly programme Ambition for Ageing (AfA) is used to explore three examples of working with minority communities.

Place-based age-friendly development risks further marginalising older people belonging to dispersed communities of identity or experience; therefore, we need to adopt adopt an intersectional approach to inequality in later life.

Three ways that age-friendly programmes may become more inclusive of minority groups who are geographically dispersed are identified: bringing community members together; co-production; and supporting visibility in mainstream settings.

This paper brings together insights from the AfA programme, critically assessing place-based approaches in relation to working with dispersed communities of identity. It offers some ways to mitigate limitations through adopting tailored equality approaches.