Mike Davis. Dead Cities: A Natural History. New Press, New York, 2002. 288 pp., pbk $16.95 ISBN 1 56584 844 6.

Eric Klinenberg. Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2002. 320 pp., pbk $15.00 ISBN 0 226 44322 1.

Katherine S. Newman. A Different Shade of Gray: Midlife and Beyond in the Inner City. New Press, New York, 2003. 400 pp., hbk $29.95 ISBN 1 56584 615 X.

The environmental context of ageing, and issues relating to place and location in particular, has re-surfaced as a major theme within gerontology (Kendig 2003; Wahl, Schiedt and Windley 2003; Wahl and Weisman 2003). Drawing on classic studies from Rosow (1967), Rowles (1978), Lawton (1980) and others, the mission of environmental gerontology has been viewed as understanding a number of key tasks facing older adults in diverse physical and ecological settings. These include: ‘preserving as-independent-as-possible everyday life in the face of physical and mental impairments by using environmental resources outside the home environment (‘ageing in place’), initiating processes of relocation if desired or necessary, and adapting to new living environment settings (such as nursing homes or other planned housing) after relocation' (Wahl and Lang 2003: 7).