What about the people? Developing measures of perceived accessibility from case studies in Germany and the UK

Perceived Accessibility, Satisfaction with Daily Travel, and Life Satisfaction among the Elderly

“…Looking at the main effects of gender and perceived accessibility, it can be seen that women perceive their accessibility as higher than men do. This is in line with previous research on gender differences in perceived accessibility [37,38]. However, the moderation analysis shows that, for the oldest, women actually perceive their accessibility as lower than men do.…”

“…This may indicate that, while there are differences in how these groups travel, e.g., frequency and mode use, they generally seem to be able to travel using modes that offer them acceptable levels of travel satisfaction and accessibility. However, this finding should be set in relation to previous studies which have come to the conclusion that levels of perceived accessibility decline with age [37,47] and that subjective factors (e.g., attitudes) are better predictors of levels of perceived accessibility than sociodemographic factors are [37]. Moreover, individuals with mobility impairments caused by aging have been found to experience significantly lower levels of accessibility than other impairment groups [48].…”

“…Perceived accessibility, in the study referred to, was found to be influenced by frequency of travel, quality, and feeling safe. A study by van der Vlugt, Curl, and Wittowsky [37], of perceived accessibility in Nottingham, UK, found that perceptions of accessibility decreased with age. In the study, participants rated different aspects of their daily accessibility (ease of getting to places, range of local facilities, and accessibility to necessary activities).…”

“…In contrast to age, which was negatively associated with accessibility, a positive attitude toward public transport was found to be associated with higher perceived accessibility. Moreover, when investigating perceptions of walking accessibility of the elderly and families, in another case in Germany, van der Vlugt et al [37] found that sociodemographic factors had less explanatory value regarding perceived accessibility than did attitudes. Of the sociodemographic factors, only income and disability had any effect (i.e., not age, gender, migration, car use, or education), while atmosphere, satisfaction with the availability of destinations, and different barriers were all linked to perceived accessibility.…”

Residential housing prices: impact of housing characteristics, accessibility and neighbouring apartments – a case study of Dortmund, Germany

“…Accessibility therefore links a dwelling to the surrounding or city-/region-wide landuses, the transport systems and the locations for different activities. Thus, giving individuals the opportunity to participate in activities in different locations (Geurs & van Wee, 2004;van der Vlugt, Curl, & Wittowsky, 2019;Weibull, 1980). In this research we focus on the accessibility of the dwellings as a location, as these are the most important starting points for most of the everyday trips.…”