Experiences of Neighbourhood Walkability Among Older Australians Living in High Density Inner-City Areas

Abstract

Walking as an out-of-home mobility activity is recognised for its contribution to healthy and active ageing. The environment can have a powerful effect on the amount of walking activity undertaken by older people, thereby influencing their capacity to maintain their well-being and independence. This paper reports the findings from research examining the experiences of neighbourhood walking for 12 older people from six different inner-city high density suburbs, through analysis of data derived from travel diaries, individual time/space activity maps (created via global positioning systems (GPS) tracking over a seven-day period and geographic information system (GIS) technology), and in-depth interviews. Reliance on motor vehicles, the competing interests of pedestrians and cyclists on shared pathways and problems associated with transit systems, public transport, and pedestrian infrastructure emerged as key barriers to older people venturing out of home on foot. GPS and GIS technology provide new opportunities for furthering understanding of the out-of-home mobility of older populations.

Older people and outdoor environments: Pedestrian anxieties and barriers in the use of familiar and unfamiliar spaces

“…Functional impairments as well as inactivity levels can be exacerbated by environmental context in which older people live with more walkable neighbourhoods associated with promoting walking and healthier ageing (King et al, 2011;Wang and Lee, 2010). Our knowledge about the relationship between the physical environment and physical activity in older adults is however limited and inconsistent, relying often on standardised measures without an understanding of the behaviours, perceptions and meanings of space and place that link the outdoor environment and health (van Cauwenberg et al, 2011;Day, 2008) or go beyond the micro-environment of home (Vine et al, 2012). To some extent this has been addressed in a limited number of qualitative or mixed method studies combining a psychological and sociological perspective, looking at different environmental dimensions for example cleanliness, social interaction and peacefulness and their impact on health (Day, 2008); mobility and falls in the outdoor environment (IDGO); mobility and well being (Ziegler and Schwanen, 2011) and the impact of problems with traffic and pedes-trian infrastructure on walkability (Vine et al, 2012).…”

Factors Preventing the Use of Alternative Transport Modes to the Car in Later Life

“…Another reported concern was found to be the lack of respect of road rules, not only from drivers, but also from other cyclists and pedestrians, especially younger ones [74,78]. Continuity of cycle lanes and footpaths and problems of mutual space invasion between pedestrians and cyclists, and the speed of other cyclists were also found to be of concern [38,58,74,78,80]. Interestingly, the fear of falling off a bicycle was not found to be a safety issue [66].…”

“…The design of pedestrian/cycling environments was also identified as a barrier for walking and cycling. Poor quality of footpaths, (size, width and presence of steps), broken or uneven pavements, lack of footpath networks and resting places (e.g., benches), toilets in public spaces, cars and scooter parked on, or obstructing, sidewalks and shared walking/cycling environments were found to be the most reported issues [2,38,55,56,58,67,71,73,74,[77][78][79]119]. In this sense, an additional barrier found in studies from Northern countries is the presence of snow or ice along the pathway during the winter season [64].…”

“…Poor vehicular design leading to overcrowding as well as lack of personal space, toilet facilities, room for heavy shopping and amount and position of handrails are frequently mentioned as factors affecting comfort [5,43,51,52,56,58,68,77,84,85,103]. Similarly, lack of or unsuitable bus shelters that do not provide adequate seating and shelter from adverse weather conditions at all times are factors affecting public transport usage [51,52,54,[68][69][70]85].…”

“…Lack or difficulties in getting information can prevent older users from using public transport. Principal issues in this sense include understanding ticketing options, timetables, maps and directions both at stops/station and on-board, in addition to finding bus stops and locations or recognizing approaching buses [5,19,43,[49][50][51]54,57,58,98,104]. Lack of awareness and low familiarity with available transport modes also influence travel activities in later life [23], particularly in suburban [34,58] and rural areas [72] due to the high reliance on the car in such areas.…”