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The ageing of the spanish population and the forthcoming social challenges. The great social significance of ageing in Spain is due as much to the rise of elderly people as to their heterogeneous territorial distribution and the socioeconomic consequences of the process. This article looks into the population ageing rate in the last decades, as well as its differential establishment in given geographic spaces according to the demographic evolution and location processes in the country. In order not to upset the balance between generations and the demographic sustainment of the economy, the social analysis must consider multiple aspects, such as the challenges resulting from social and sanitary attention to the elderly, from the sustainment of manpower, from the immigration contribution or from the fertility improvement., L’importance sociale du vieillissement en Espagne est liée tant à l’augmentation du nombre de personnes âgées qu’à leur distribution hétérogène sur le territoire et aux conséquences socioéconomiques du processus. Cet article s’intéresse au rythme de vieillissement de la population au cours des dernières décennies et à son implantation différentielle dans des espaces géographiques déterminés en fonction de l’évolution démographique et des processus de localisation de la population dans le pays. Afin de ne pas mettre en péril l’équilibre entre générations et le soutien démographique de l’économie, l’analyse sociale doit prendre en compte de multiples facettes, tels les défis qui découlent de l’attention sociale et sanitaire aux personnes âgées, du maintien de la main d’oeuvre, des apports de l’immigration ou de l’amélioration de la fécondité., El envejecimiento de la población española y los retos sociales futuros. El envejecimiento tiene una gran trascendencia social en España, por el aumento de personas mayores, su heterogénea distribución en el territorio y las consecuencias socioeconómicas que conlleva. Se analiza, en este artículo, el ritmo de envejecimiento poblacional en las últimas décadas y su implantación diferencial en determinados espacios geográficos, de acuerdo a su evolución demográfica y a los procesos de localización de la población en el país. Para no arriesgar el balance entre generaciones y el sostenimiento demográfico de la economía, el análisis social debe considerar múltiples facetas, como los retos que derivan de la atención social y sanitaria a los mayores, del sostenimiento de la mano de obra, de los aportes de la inmigración o de la mejora de la fecundidad., Gurría Gascón José Luis,Reques Velasco Pedro,Rodriguez Rodriguez Vicente,Neffar López MaríaGurría Gascón José Luis, Reques Velasco Pedro, Rodriguez Rodriguez Vicente, Neffar López María. Le vieillissement de la population espagnole et les défis sociaux futurs. In: Sud-Ouest européen, tome 26, 2008. La population espagnole en ce début de XXIe siècle. pp. 57-69.

In developed societies the population ages as a sign of demographic maturity, with biological time being associated with better living conditions and the population living longer (Sancho, 2005). One of the essential reference points of this ageing process in better conditions is having a home, as a space for physical, emotional, family and social relationships (Rojo et al., 2002), adapted to the needs and desires of the residents (Harrison, 2004; Bratt, 2002) and through which the adult finds the maximum satisfaction value for living (Phillips, 2005). In addition, the home acquires contents for the person by being situated in a larger area (district and local community), with physical and social characteristics that do not belong to their exclusive domain but which are of public or general use and necessary for maintaining the resident’s identity and well-being (Fernández-Mayoralas et al., 2004). In this context, life satisfaction is related to what is obtained from the use and enjoyment of the home and its environment, influenced by elderly people’s life cycle and the degree to which their expectations are fulfilled. This paper aims to assess elderly people’s living conditions in Spain and check whether there are any differences in the quality and satisfaction with the residential environment based on personal, residential and habitat size factors, taking the municipal area as the geographical context.