Caminando por el barrio: Comprendiendo las experiencias de las personas mayores en un Santiago adverso, en tiempos de pandemia

Abstract

This article aims at investigating the conditions older people face when walking through their neighborhoods. It seeks to identify the ways in which the built environment, the socio-spatial features of the neighborhoods, and the COVID-19 pandemic affect their walks. To that end, the article reports the findings of a set of interviews and focus groups where older people who reside in four neighborhoods located in the Commune of Santiago, Chile, were invited to talk about their walks and the obstacles they face when taking them. The findings show that older people consider walking a highly beneficial activity whereby they remain active, connected, and visible. They state that the processes of change that have affected their neighborhoods have transformed their landscape and social architecture, increasing fear of the public space and the feeling of loneliness. The analysis of the data also showed that older people face many obstacles when walking, including sidewalks in disrepair, hostile pedestrian crossings, and unpleasant landscapes. Those obstacles were multiplied by the arrival of the new coronavirus, which added restrictions and concerns that make walking even more difficult. The data gathered emphasizes the relevance of walking for older people, making the creation of walkable neighborhoods and their promotion in the public policies as a practice of self-care, crucial.

Memory and Identity: Citizen Perception in the Processes of Heritage Enhancement and Regeneration in Obsolete Neighborhoods—The Case of Polígono de San Pablo, Seville

“…The participation of older adults and their considerations revolve around urban facilities that allow them to maintain a good quality of life according to their age. Cities that grew along with the industry of the mid-20th century show problems associated with climate change, urbanization, and population [46,47]. This urban and housing fabric demands changes at the social, economic and political levels and, above all, a transformation of urban equipment, in correlation with the local population aging process [48,49].…”

El apego al recorrido en el centro de Santiago de Chile

“…En el contexto latinoamericano, sobre todo en los últimos años, varios estudios se han enfocado en el caminar para plantearlo como herramienta metodológica o como el objeto de la investigación, poniendo sobre la mesa problemas cotidianos urbanos (Martin Tironi y Mora, 2018). Para el caso de Chile, entre los autores que han aportado a la temática podemos mencionar a Herrmann Lunecke, 2016;Herrmann-Lunecke et al, 2022;Jirón y Figueroa, 2017;Jirón y Mansilla, 2013;Figueroa Martínez y Forray Claps, 2015;Pavez Reyes, 2011;Ureta, 2008;Tironi y Mora, 2018. En especial se ha estudiado el caminar en relación con las desigualdades urbanas que surgen del fenómeno de la movilidad y, recientemente, el caminar asociado a la experiencia de pandemia por la COVID 19.…”

“…Son recientes y de enfoque variado los estudios que han profundizado sobre este proceso de apego en un marco de lo fijo y lo móvil en relación con la movilidad peatonal (Arnberger et al, 2022;Chan et al, 2020;Chaparro, 2020;Chen et al, 2020;Córdova Ramírez, 2022;Fontes, 2018;Herrmann-Lunecke et al, 2022;Lager et al, 2021;Maciejewska et al, 2020;Smith y Aranha, 2022;Wilkinson y Badwan, 2021), lo cual demuestra que el caminar puede detonar maneras y niveles de apego más profundos que los que se pudiese crear con otras formas de trasladarse. Caminando se forja la práctica de la noción de territorio (Chaparro, 2020) y por ello, las micro movilidades deben ser estudiadas para entender aspectos de pertenencia y apego a los lugares.…”

The Disabling City: Older Persons Walking in Central Neighbourhoods of Santiago de Chile

“…Several works have highlighted the hostile environments that older persons and other groups (children, women and deprived communities) face when walking through Chilean cities [56][57][58][59]. Inadequate pedestrian infrastructure (e.g., damaged, neglected and narrow sidewalks), absence of services (e.g., public toilets) and street furniture (e.g., benches) in the public space and lack of facilities in territories that are highly unequal have been described as common obstacles that older persons encounter in Chilean cities [60][61][62][63][64]. Likewise, it has also been suggested that the norms and devices (e.g., traffic lights) that regulate traffic have tended to be detrimental to pedestrians and have created a number of issues (e.g., short pedestrian crossing times) that can hinder older persons' trips [65][66][67].…”

“…The first walking interviews were carried out during the first weeks of August of 2021, after the COVID-19 surge that hit the country during autumn and winter (March-July 2021) receded and when the most severe measures to control the spread of the disease (e.g., lockdowns) were in the process of being lifted. Some older persons, especially those who exercised outside and kept a certain level of physical activity during the periods with more restrictions (older persons were allowed to exercise outside one hour per day, three times per week from May of 2020 onwards [63]), were walking in public spaces with relative normality when they were invited to collaborate with this research. Other participants, however, were just returning to walk regularly in open spaces after months of being isolated in their houses, facing a changed landscape (e.g., fewer persons present in the public space in certain hours), experiencing the consequences on the body of long periods of inactivity (e.g., weight gain, loss of endurance/strength) and confronting new fears (e.g., fear of being infected) that joined the many dreads that already surrounded any travel they completed on foot.…”