IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i3p1808-d742621.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing and Qualifying Neighborhood Walkability for Older Adults: Construction and Initial Testing of a Multivariate Spatial Accessibility Model

Author

Listed:
  • Valkiria Amaya

    (AGEIS (Autonomie, Gérontologie, E-santé, Imagerie et Société), Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
    PACTE (Laboratoire de Sciences Sociales), Sciences Po Grenoble, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, 38000 Grenoble, France)

  • Thibauld Moulaert

    (PACTE (Laboratoire de Sciences Sociales), Sciences Po Grenoble, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, 38000 Grenoble, France)

  • Luc Gwiazdzinski

    (LRA (Laboratoire de Recherche en Architecture), École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Toulouse, Université Fédérale de Toulouse, 31106 Toulouse, France)

  • Nicolas Vuillerme

    (AGEIS (Autonomie, Gérontologie, E-santé, Imagerie et Société), Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
    Institut Universitaire de France, 75005 Paris, France)

Abstract

Population aging and urban development pose major challenges for societies today. Joining the literature assessing urban accessibility, the present exploratory research developed a multivariate accessibility model based on four independent variables—related to formal and structural urban space—that influence walkability for older adults (pedestrian network; facilities and shops; public benches; and slopes and gradients). The model used ArcGIS software. For the accessibility calculations, we selected two suburban neighborhoods in the conurbation of Grenoble (France) and selected three types of older adults’ profiles to reflect the variety of aging: an older adult in good health, an older adult with a chronic disease, and an older adult with reduced mobility. The results suggest that the accessibility of a neighborhood depends not only on its physical and urban characteristics, but it is also influenced by the physical and health characteristics of its inhabitants. The originality of the model lies mainly in its ability to estimate the spatial accessibility of a territory by taking into account, firstly, objective data such as the physical characteristics and the built environment of the neighborhood through objectification variables that consider such original variables as the presence of benches or the slopes and gradients and, secondly, specific data such as the physical and/or health characteristics of the study population. The measurement of geospatial accessibility could be of great value for public health in urban contexts, which is why relevant tools and methodologies are needed to objectively examine and intervene in public spaces in order to make them age-friendly.

Suggested Citation

  • Valkiria Amaya & Thibauld Moulaert & Luc Gwiazdzinski & Nicolas Vuillerme, 2022. "Assessing and Qualifying Neighborhood Walkability for Older Adults: Construction and Initial Testing of a Multivariate Spatial Accessibility Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1808-:d:742621
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1808/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1808/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chaudhury, Habib & Campo, Michael & Michael, Yvonne & Mahmood, Atiya, 2016. "Neighbourhood environment and physical activity in older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 104-113.
    2. Engels, Benno & Liu, Gang-Jun, 2011. "Social exclusion, location and transport disadvantage amongst non-driving seniors in a Melbourne municipality, Australia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 984-996.
    3. Katherine Brookfield & Catharine Ward Thompson & Iain Scott, 2017. "The Uncommon Impact of Common Environmental Details on Walking in Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-10, February.
    4. Guglielmo Bonaccorsi & Federico Manzi & Marco Del Riccio & Nicoletta Setola & Eletta Naldi & Chiara Milani & Duccio Giorgetti & Claudia Dellisanti & Chiara Lorini, 2020. "Impact of the Built Environment and the Neighborhood in Promoting the Physical Activity and the Healthy Aging in Older People: An Umbrella Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-27, August.
    5. David Chapman & Kristina L. Nilsson & Agatino Rizzo & Agneta Larsson, 2019. "Winter City Urbanism: Enabling All Year Connectivity for Soft Mobility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-12, May.
    6. Victor O. Akande & Robert A.C. Ruiter & Stef P.J. Kremers, 2019. "Environmental and Motivational Determinants of Physical Activity among Canadian Inuit in the Arctic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-14, July.
    7. Paul J. Villeneuve & Renate L. Ysseldyk & Ariel Root & Sarah Ambrose & Jason DiMuzio & Neerija Kumar & Monica Shehata & Min Xi & Evan Seed & Xiaojiang Li & Mahdi Shooshtari & Daniel Rainham, 2018. "Comparing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index with the Google Street View Measure of Vegetation to Assess Associations between Greenness, Walkability, Recreational Physical Activity, and Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-16, August.
    8. Zhou, Peiling & Grady, Sue C. & Chen, Guo, 2017. "How the built environment affects change in older people's physical activity: A mixed- methods approach using longitudinal health survey data in urban China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 74-84.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiemeng Yang & Chen He & Zhongjun Mo & Junchao Guo & Run Ji & Yu Wang & Chunjing Tao & Yubo Fan, 2022. "The Effects of Pedestrian Environment on Ambulation with a Walking Frame in Elderly Individuals: A Survey and Experimental Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Valkiria Amaya & Matthias Chardon & Helen Klein & Thibauld Moulaert & Nicolas Vuillerme, 2022. "What Do We Know about the Use of the Walk-along Method to Identify the Perceived Neighborhood Environment Correlates of Walking Activity in Healthy Older Adults: Methodological Considerations Related ," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-37, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Valkiria Amaya & Matthias Chardon & Helen Klein & Thibauld Moulaert & Nicolas Vuillerme, 2022. "What Do We Know about the Use of the Walk-along Method to Identify the Perceived Neighborhood Environment Correlates of Walking Activity in Healthy Older Adults: Methodological Considerations Related ," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-37, September.
    2. Marica Cassarino & Eleanor Bantry-White & Annalisa Setti, 2019. "Cognitive and Sensory Dimensions of Older People’s Preferences of Outdoor Spaces for Walking: A Survey Study in Ireland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-12, April.
    3. Ziwen Sun & Ka Yan Lai & Simon Bell & Iain Scott & Xiaomeng Zhang, 2019. "Exploring the Associations of Walking Behavior with Neighborhood Environments by Different Life Stages: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Smaller Chinese City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Kimihiro Hino & Hiroyuki Usui & Masamichi Hanazato, 2020. "Three-Year Longitudinal Association Between Built Environmental Factors and Decline in Older Adults’ Step Count: Gaining insights for Age-Friendly Urban Planning and Design," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-11, June.
    5. Sadiq R. Younes & Bruno Marques & Jacqueline McIntosh, 2024. "Public Spaces for Older People: A Review of the Relationship between Public Space to Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Jean Ryan, 2020. "Examining the Process of Modal Choice for Everyday Travel Among Older People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-19, January.
    7. Rui Xiao & Guofeng Wang & Meng Wang, 2018. "Transportation Disadvantage and Neighborhood Sociodemographics: A Composite Indicator Approach to Examining Social Inequalities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 29-43, May.
    8. Duvarci, Yavuz & Yigitcanlar, Tan & Mizokami, Shoshi, 2015. "Transportation disadvantage impedance indexing: A methodological approach to reduce policy shortcomings," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 61-75.
    9. Guillem Artigues & Sara Mateo & Maria Ramos & Elena Cabeza, 2020. "Validation of the Urban Walkability Perception Questionnaire (UWPQ) in the Balearic Islands," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-16, September.
    10. Luz, Gregório & Barboza, Matheus H.C. & Portugal, Licinio & Giannotti, Mariana & van Wee, Bert, 2022. "Does better accessibility help to reduce social exclusion? Evidence from the city of São Paulo, Brazil," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 186-217.
    11. Ling Zhang & Kebin Shao & Wenfeng Tang & Stephen Siu Yu Lau & Hongzhan Lai & Yiqi Tao, 2023. "Outdoor Space Elements in Urban Residential Areas in Shenzhen, China: Optimization Based on Health-Promoting Behaviours of Older People," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-23, May.
    12. Finlay, Jessica & Esposito, Michael & Langa, Kenneth M. & Judd, Suzanne & Clarke, Philippa, 2022. "Cognability: An Ecological Theory of neighborhoods and cognitive aging," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    13. Luz, Gregorio & Barboza, Matheus Henrique Cunha & da Silva Portugal, Licinio & Giannotti, Mariana & van Wee, Bert, 2022. "Does better accessibility help to reduce social exclusion? Evidence from the City of São Paulo, Brazil," SocArXiv 2p896, Center for Open Science.
    14. Seonhye Lee & Eunmi Oh & Gwi-Ryung Son Hong, 2018. "Comparison of Factors Associated with Fear of Falling between Older Adults with and without a Fall History," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-12, May.
    15. Zhenjun Zhu & Zhigang Li & Hongsheng Chen & Ye Liu & Jun Zeng, 2019. "Subjective well-being in China: how much does commuting matter?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1505-1524, August.
    16. Jiabin Yu & Chen Yang & Shen Zhang & Diankai Zhai & Aiwen Wang & Jianshe Li, 2021. "The Effect of the Built Environment on Older Men′s and Women′s Leisure-Time Physical Activity in the Mid-Scale City of Jinhua, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    17. Qinglin Jia & Tao Zhang & Long Cheng & Gang Cheng & Minjie Jin, 2022. "The Impact of the Neighborhood Built Environment on the Walking Activity of Older Adults: A Multi-Scale Spatial Heterogeneity Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, October.
    18. Wyatt A. Jensen & Barbara B. Brown & Ken R. Smith & Simon C. Brewer & Jonathan W. Amburgey & Brett McIff, 2017. "Active Transportation on a Complete Street: Perceived and Audited Walkability Correlates," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, September.
    19. Alessia Macchi & Daniele Busciantella-Ricci & Elisa Caruso & Nicoletta Setola, 2024. "Healthy Neighbourhoods Hub (HNH) Framework: A Practical Guide for Fostering Healthy and Inclusive Living in Florence’s Urban Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-34, May.
    20. Faber, Koen & van Lierop, Dea, 2020. "How will older adults use automated vehicles? Assessing the role of AVs in overcoming perceived mobility barriers," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 353-363.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1808-:d:742621. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.