Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Household diversity and migration in mid-life: Understanding residential mobility among 45-64 year olds in Melbourne, Australia

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Anthony Champion

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

This paper focuses on the residential mobility of middle-aged persons, not yet retired, an understudied cohort in mobility research. From the 1950s to the 1980s, mobility studies pointed to mid-life as a settled stage in terms of family, work and housing. Recent demographic and social changes, however, have led to these years being typified by a wide gamut of living arrangements that have complicated decisions about, and patterns of, residential mobility. Using the life-course perspective, this paper suggests that the transition to 'empty nester' status will heighten mobility among this group of middle-aged persons relative to their counterparts in other living arrangements. The analysis uses a customised migration matrix from the Australian 2006 Census and identifies segments of 45-64 year olds most likely to have changed address since the previous group, empty nest status conferred a 13 percentage point 'mobility premium' compared with couples that still had children at home. The results contribute to a better understanding of housing consumption among mid-life households and broader debates on access to affordable housing and processes of urban growth. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Wulff M, Champion A, Lobo M

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Population, Space and Place

Year: 2010

Volume: 16

Issue: 4

Pages: 307-321

ISSN (print): 1544-8444

ISSN (electronic): 1544-8452

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/psp.553

DOI: 10.1002/psp.553


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share