Mobility and Accessibility of the Ageing Society. Defining Profiles of the Elderly Population and Neighbourhood

A large body of literature already explores how mobility is associate with the well-being and quality of life of the elderly population. However, many studies so far have been widely discipline specific. This paper, thus, aims to critically review relevant mobility- and accessibility-related studies that, from varied disciplines, focus on the well-being of the older adults. To do so, the Capabilities Approach is assumed as a theoretical perspective able to convey how individual well-being is differently shaped and experienced by each person. More specifically, this study intends to consider how to define profiles of ageing mobilities, discussing a methodology for detecting different elderly populations and neighbourhoods. The relationship between urban mobility and quality of life in fact differs according to the examined populations and settings, involving features that are peculiar of the elderly. The possibility to define profiles contributes to develop different “narratives of ageing” that, according to the subjects and their territorial context, allows a more precise understanding of how varied forms of mobility contribute to a differently defined well-being and quality of life. The expected outcomes of this study are twofold: (i) to provide a theoretical framework with the complexity of factors in mobility, in order to be applied in future empirical research studies, in other words as the basis for further analyses with quantitative and qualitative methods.; (ii) a methodology for defining profiles of aging mobilities, considering elements that may be differently inflected according to the setting taken into exam.