How older people as pedestrians perceive the outdoor environment - methodological issues derived from studies in two European countries.

This paper has re-analysed and compared data between three studies conducted in the United Kingdom and in Sweden (the OPUS 'Older People's Use of Unfamiliar Space' study in the United Kingdom and the Swedish studies 'Let's Go for a Walk' and 'Walking in Old Age') to provide a comprehensive account of the issues facing older people in the outdoor environment. All three studies draw on the 'fit' between the person and their environment as a guiding conceptual base - capturing the dynamics of the relationship between older people's personal needs and their wider environmental context. This common conceptual base allowed us to test theory against practice, and to explore the utility of this concept across different geographical contexts. Participatory research was also applied, highlighting the importance of the voice of older people and involving older people in research. The studies also used a mixed-method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative methods. The paper highlights that although not generalisable, you can compare cross-locales and cross-nationally using different methodology; it investigates the challenges of cross-national comparative analysis and draws on findings from the three studies to illustrate the different challenges and solutions and finally looks at lessons that are transferable.

Older pedestrians' perceptions of the outdoor environment in a year-round perspective.

This paper focuses on older peoples' needs as pedestrians by examining their perceptions of the outdoor environment in both bare-ground and snow/ice conditions. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used, including focus group interviews, participant observations, and questionnaires. The results show that older people consider accessibility/usability issues as very important and that the importance depends on such individual background variables as age, sex, occurrence of functional limitations, use of mobility devices, and dependence on walking as transport mode. In bare-ground conditions, physical barriers are more important for the oldest old (80+) and for older people with functional limitations or mobility devices. However, orderliness-related issues (e.g. cyclists in pedestrian areas, lighting, and litter/graffiti) are equally important regardless of the background variables. In snow/ice conditions, ice prevention is considered more important than snow removal. Snow removal on a detailed level (e.g. removal of heaps of snow on pavements and zebra crossings) is emphasised. In conclusion, it is important to study subgroups, not older people as one group, in the analysis of accessibility/usability of outdoor environments. Further, even though those accessibility issues emphasised in current Swedish governmental directives on accessibility are considered as important by older people themselves, especially among the oldest old and among those with functional limitations and mobility devices, the needs will not totally be fulfilled by current directives. For example, winter maintenance, problems with cyclists in pedestrian areas, and the need for benches are neglected.