“Let’s go for a walk!”: identification and prioritisation of accessibility and safety measures involving elderly people in a residential area

Abstract

By emphasising the involvement of elderly people in a project applying a mixed-method approach, the overriding objective of this study was to identify and prioritise concrete measures aimed at increasing accessibility and safety in the outdoor pedestrian environment within a residential area of a Swedish town. Measures generally given priority were: the separation of pedestrians/cyclists, lower speed limits, better maintenance and specific measures in pedestrian walkways such as wider sidewalks, curb levels and form and more even surfaces on pavements. Definition of these priorities offered knowledge to the highway department concerning the importance of small details in relation to the larger infrastructure. The elderly people in the study district found new ways to communicate with and influence those within the community who are responsible for these matters

A five-year follow-up among older people after an outdoor environment intervention

“…This study constitutes one facet of a larger intervention project (Ståhl et al, 2008) initiated by the Swedish Transport Administration in order to improve knowledge about what measures taken in the outdoor environment, in order to live up to Swedish policy and legislation (Prop.1999(Prop. /2000, mean to an ageing population.…”

“…The intervention project included several sub-studies applying different methodologies, and involved older inhabitants in a defined geographic area as well as public actors and stakeholders engaged in the physical planning of outdoor environments (Ståhl et al, 2008). The current study is based on data collected with a pre and post mailed questionnaire, following a sample of older inhabitants over five years (from 2002 (T1) to 2007 (T2)).…”

“…The town has a population of approximately 30,000 inhabitants. The local authorities had demonstrated commitment to invest money for concrete outdoor environment improvements, based on the results generated during the problem identification phases of the project (Ståhl et al, 2008). The proportion of people aged 65+ in the 8 population represented the current average for Northern Europe.…”

“…The international and national requirements on public outdoor environments to be accessible for all citizens impose new challenges on society at large as well as on the actors involved in trial implementation. The present study was based on a 5-year Swedish intervention project targeting accessibility/usability and safety/security in outdoor environments for older people (Ståhl et al, 2008).…”

“…Most important, use of mobility devices is frequent in old age, and the physical environment is often perceived as hindering outdoor mobility (Iwarsson et al, 2012;Leslie et al, 2005;Löfqvist et al, 2005;Brandt et al, 2003). Previous studies on outdoor environments report barriers due to poor design and maintenance, and their implication on older people's possibilities for outdoor activities (Wennberg et al, 2010(Wennberg et al, , 2009bStåhl et al, 2008;Lavery et al, 1996). Such barriers include narrow pavements, poor crossing facilities, high curbs, uneven or slippery surfaces, stairs without handrails, lack of benches, poor lighting, etc.…”