How can transport provision and associated built environment infrastructure be enhanced and developed to support the mobility needs of individuals as they age?

Abstract

First paragraph: Mobility touches every aspect of most of our lives. Restrictions on our mobility are perceived as a loss of freedom, and we seek wherever possible to regain that mobility, or replace it with other forms of mobility. While we immediately think of physical mobility, virtual mobility is increasingly becoming another world that we inhabit and move around in. Older people, however, are the most likely to experience mobility deprivation. The need to be mobile and to travel is related to psychological well-being in older age, and a reduction in mobility can lead to an increase in isolation, loneliness and depression and overall a poorer quality of life. Mobility is important to older people. There are also benefits to society as a whole in increasing travel for older people, including the economic benefits of older people spending more in shops, of them looking after grandchildren, undertaking voluntary work, and carrying out other caring responsibilities. In order to develop a framework of the mobility of people as they age, we formulated a set of guiding principles that underpin this Evidence Review. These principles are drawn from current thinking in applied gerontology in the many differing fields that cover mobility issues and represent a shift from individual discipline-based silo thinking to person-centred thinking that attempts to cross traditional disciplinary boundaries.