Editorial Preface: Elderly Mobility (original) (raw)

The elderly and urban mobility: cost sensitivity of elderly people in the “oldest” Italian city

European Spatial Research and Policy

The world is facing a series of changes that will modify the way we envisage transport planning in our cities. Demographic ageing as a consequence of higher life expectancy and lower fertility rates is a world-wide phenomenon. While ageing is indeed a triumph of scientific progress and increasing longevity is perceived as one of humanity’s greatest achievements, the transition in society needs to be managed. In the urban context, any increase in age, health, and economic conditions determines one’s ability to enjoy the urban milieu and the so-called economies of urbanisation (advantages gained from an urban location, e.g., proximity to a market, labour supply, good communications, and financial and commercial services) longer. As there are more and more elderly people in cities, urban mobility becomes crucial in making the urban environment more inclusive. In order to provide suitable policy guidelines, it is, therefore, necessary to investigate and understand senior traveller behav...

Is Milan a City for Elderly? Mobility for Aging in Place

2018

Italy is among the ‘eldest’ countries in the world, with increasing numbers of elderly becoming older and participating in society. In order to ensure that these and future elderly are able to age in place, the possibilities to get around in one’s own neighborhood should be available and safe in use. In order to gain insight in the mobility issues of elderly in Italy we investigated 11 Milanese neighborhoods through in depth interviews to see how elderly perceive their neighborhood in terms of mobility. We find that that the respondent move at least twice a day outside and have a preference for local public transport and walking, followed by the use of the private car. Most of them prefer to age in place and feel happy in their current environment. However, more research needs to be done to give proper policy handles for local municipalities before we can agree what is necessary for age friendly neighborhoods.

Is Local Public Transport unsuitable for elderly? Exploring the cases of two Italian cities

Research in Transportation Business & Management, 2021

The issue of developing environments responsive to the ambitions and needs of older people has become a major concern for social and public policy. According to the activity theory, psychological well-being in old age is based upon the level of activity and social contacts which are kept (Havighurst, 1968). Several researchers (e.g.,

Seniors’ Mobility and Perceptions in Different Urban Neighbourhoods: A Non-Aggregative Approach

Sustainability

In order to highlight the subjective criticality of each neighbourhood to inspire future policy actions, we propose an analysis comparing the perceptions of over-65s residents in the neighbourhoods that make up the Municipality of Genoa. We suggest a new approach based on a quantitative non-aggregative method, Partially Ordered Set (Poset), to measure the levels of satisfaction related to local public transport (LPT), pedestrian mobility, and quality of life in the 25 districts of Genoa. Final data of the analysis come from 401 questionnaires, distributed to residents over 65 years old in the Municipality of Genoa. This approach allows to address the multidimensionality of the phenomenon, as well as its different conceptual spheres. The findings highlight a great variance in local public transport needs perception between different neighbourhoods. In particular, the analysis shows that the types of intervention requested by respondents differ from district to district, so that a com...

Urban Transport in Ageing societies: an assessment of the state of the art

It is a fact that Europe will be challenged with considerable demographic shifts in the upcoming years. According to the United Nations the current growth rate of the older population (1.9 per cent) is significantly higher than that of the total population (1.2 per cent). In the near future, the difference between the two rates is expected to become even larger as the baby boom generation starts reaching older age in several parts of the world. Taking into consideration the statistic data contained in Eurostat’s and other institutional databases, the population of 65 and more years of age is expected to almost double by 2050 in Europe. This demographic change will certainly change the urban mobility scenario, its structure and consequently the user’s needs . If we consider that mobility may be regarded as the ability to travel (Giuliano, Hu, & Lee, 2003), its meaning could be much broader since mobility includes not only the travelling activity, but also and maybe more importantly, ...

How Are Local Policies Promoting Older People's Mobility? A Case Study

Aging populations pose a challenge to many policy areas. Although the importance of the built environment on citizens' mobility and quality of life has been widely acknowledged in the literature, research focusing on elderly people is relatively recent and still scarce namely in Portugal. This article aims at understanding how local stakeholders perceive the built environment and occupational activities targeted to the elderly. The article focuses on the municipality of Viseu, a medium-sized city located in the NUTSII Centro Region of Portugal, considered twice to be the best city to live in in Portugal. Document analysis and face-to-face semi-structured interviews of local stakeholders were conducted. Findings show that there is still a need to take further policy steps to allow older adults to be more active and to promote the neighbourhood's walkability.