Daily Urban Trip Mobility and Perceptions of Mobility among O ...

Work thumb

Views: 568

  • Title: Daily Urban Trip Mobility and Perceptions of Mobility among Older Adults in the Denver (USA) Region
  • Author(s): Eric Boschmann
  • Publisher: Common Ground Research Networks
  • Collection: Common Ground Research Networks
  • Series: Common Ground Open
  • Journal Title: The Journal of Aging and Social Change
  • Keywords: Older Adults, Mobility, Perceptions of Mobility, Urban Transportation
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue: 2
  • Date: May 20, 2020
  • ISSN: 2576-5310 (Print)
  • ISSN: 2576-5329 (Online)
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/2576-5310/CGP/v10i02/33-52
  • Citation: Boschmann, Eric. 2020. "Daily Urban Trip Mobility and Perceptions of Mobility among Older Adults in the Denver (USA) Region." The Journal of Aging and Social Change 10 (2): 33-52. doi:10.18848/2576-5310/CGP/v10i02/33-52.
  • Extent: 20 pages

Open Access

Copyright © 2020, Common Ground Research Networks, Some Rights Reserved, (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

View License

Abstract

Perceptions of individual mobility for daily in-town trips may reveal more insight to life satisfaction of older adults than traditional measures of mobility, such as frequency of trips. Primary data were collected through three focus groups (n = 29) and survey questionnaires (n = 691) in the Denver (Colorado, USA) metropolitan area, and analyzed with descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses of significant categorical differences, and thematic highlights of qualitative open responses. Despite changes and declines in actual daily out-of-home mobility, individual perceptions and satisfaction with mobility remains quite high. Social networks are a possible source for transportation assistance for older adults, but this is not a desirable option, as there is a strong dislike in feeling dependent upon others. For older adults accustomed to independence in driving, volunteer driver programs appear to be a more attractive alternative.