[The perception of the young and long-lived elderly 'Gauchos' (from the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) about the public spaces they live in Resumo].

By 2050, the number of Brazilians living in urban areas will be over 200 million and 29% of the population will be elderly. The long-lived elderly are 80 or more years old and the young elderly are between 60 and 79 years of age. The scope of this article was to verify the difference in perception between the young elderly and the long-lived elderly from Rio Grande do Sul (RS) about the urban environment they live in.