‘Dementia-friendly communities’ herald a shift toward the neighbourhood as a locus for the care and support of people with dementia, sparking growing interest in the geographies of dementia care and raising questions over the shifting spatial and social experience of the condition. Existing research claims that many people with dementia experience a ‘shrinking world’ whereby the boundaries to their social and physical worlds gradually constrict over time, leading to a loss of control and independence. This paper reports a five-year, international study that investigated the neighbourhood experience of people with dementia and those who care for and support them. We interrogate the notion of a shrinking world and in so doing highlight an absence of attention paid to the agency and actions of people with dementia themselves. The paper draws together a socio-relational and embodied-material approach to question the adequacy of the shrinking world concept as an explanatory framework and to challenge reliance within policy and practice upon notions of place as fixed or stable. We argue instead for the importance of foregrounding ‘lived place’ and attending to social practices and the networks in which such practices evolve. Our findings have implications for policy and practice, emphasising the need to bolster the agency of people living with dementia as a route to fostering accessible and inclusive neighbourhoods.

“对痴呆症友善的社区”预示着向痴呆症患者提供关怀和支持的场所向邻里转移，这引发了人们对痴呆症治疗地理学的浓厚兴趣，并引发了对该疾病不断变化的空间和社会体验的质疑。现有研究声称，许多痴呆症患者会经历一个“萎缩的世界”，随着时间的流逝，他们的社会和自然世界的界限逐渐缩小，导致失去控制和独立性。本文报告了一项为期五年的国际研究，该研究调查了痴呆症患者以及关心和支持他们的人的邻里经历。我们质疑世界萎缩的概念，这样做突出了人们对痴呆症患者本身的行为和行为缺乏关注的情况。本文提出了一种社会关系和体现物质的方法，以质疑日益缩小的世界概念作为解释框架的适当性，并挑战政策和实践中对固定或稳定场所概念的依赖。相反，我们认为必须强调“居住地”并关注社会习俗以及这种习俗发展的网络的重要性。我们的研究结果对政策和实践具有重要意义，强调有必要加强痴呆症患者的服务，以此作为培养可及性和包容性社区的途径。相反，我们认为必须强调“居住地”并关注社会习俗以及这种习俗发展的网络的重要性。我们的发现对政策和实践具有重要意义，强调有必要加强痴呆症患者的服务，以此作为培养可及性和包容性社区的途径。相反，我们认为必须强调“居住地”并关注社会习俗以及这种习俗发展的网络的重要性。我们的发现对政策和实践具有重要意义，强调有必要加强痴呆症患者的服务，以此作为培养可及性和包容性社区的途径。