Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking: Inequalities in Neighbourhood Safety, Pedestrian Infrastructure and Aesthetics

Abstract

Older adults living in high-deprivation areas walk less than those living in low-deprivation areas. Previous research has shown that older adults’ outdoor walking levels are related to the neighbourhood built environment. This study examines inequalities in perceived built environment attributes (i.e., safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics) and their possible influences on disparities in older adults’ outdoor walking levels in low- and high-deprivation areas of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It applied a mixed-method approach, included 173 participants (65 years and over), used GPS technology to measure outdoor walking levels, used questionnaires (for all participants) and conducted walking interviews (with a sub-sample) to collect data on perceived neighbourhood built environment attributes. The results show inequalities in perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics in high- versus low-deprivation areas and demonstrate that they may influence disparities in participants’ outdoor walking levels. Improvements of perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetic in high-deprivation areas are encouraged.

The Associations Between Area Deprivation and Objectively Measured Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking Levels

“…We screened participants for their ethnicity. To reach maximum similarity to ethnical heterogeneity in the total population of the selected wards, we applied quota sampling and mirrored proportions of diverse ethnicities found in census 2001-the latest available census (Zandieh et al, 2016). Two hundred sixteen participants received GPS tracking units.…”

“…Participants agreed to wear a tracking unit on their wrists when they went out of their homes. Depending on participants' willingness and availability, participants used the tracking units for a period of 3 to 8 days (average = 4.95 days, SD = 1.61 days; Zandieh et al, 2016).…”

“…By using data on date, we identified daily trips for each participant. Then, we applied criteria on identifying walking trips using GPS data (Cho et al, 2011) and identified daily outdoor walking trips (Zandieh et al, 2016). For measurement, we considered all outdoor walking trips, including (a) walking started from home and ended in a destination (or in home Source.…”

How Does Walkability Change Behavior? A Comparison between Different Age Groups in the Netherlands

“…For instance, positive relations have been reported between neighborhood walkability and older adults' transport-related walking while no clear relations between neighborhood walkability and children's walking activities were found in Belgium [19]. Furthermore, several studies have also considered the relationship between some social characteristics and out-of-home activities, and the role of neighborhood walkability [36,37]. People with low socioeconomic status are more likely to have less outdoor activities than their higher status counterparts [37].…”

“…Furthermore, several studies have also considered the relationship between some social characteristics and out-of-home activities, and the role of neighborhood walkability [36,37]. People with low socioeconomic status are more likely to have less outdoor activities than their higher status counterparts [37].…”