Mitra Raktim, Siva Herthana, Kehler Mark
School of Urban and Regional Planning, Ryerson University, 105 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1Y3, Canada.
School of Urban and Regional Planning, Ryerson University, 105 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1Y3, Canada.
J Aging Stud. 2015 Dec;35:10-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2015.07.002. Epub 2015 Jul 18.
The neighbourhood environment may enable active aging by allowing the integration of walking into an older adult's daily routine. This study explores the relationship between the neighbourhood built environment and walking among a small group of older adults in a large suburban municipality in Canada. In-depth interviews using a photo-voice approach revealed that the participants walked largely to accumulated physical activity. Older adults who lived in either conventional residential or condominium neighbourhoods discussed poor traffic conditions and lack of benches/trees/places as barriers, and proximity to parks and access to shops as enablers to walking. Poor sidewalk quality, absence of street lights and personal safety concerns were major barriers to walking only for those living in suburban residential neighbourhoods. Our results indicate that high quality- and safe walking infrastructure may facilitate walking for physical activity among older adults living in the suburban communities.
邻里环境可以通过让步行融入老年人的日常生活来促进积极老龄化。本研究探讨了加拿大一个大型郊区自治市一小群老年人的邻里建成环境与步行之间的关系。采用照片发声法进行的深入访谈显示，参与者步行主要是为了积累身体活动。居住在传统住宅或公寓社区的老年人讨论了交通状况不佳以及缺乏长椅、树木和场所等障碍，以及靠近公园和商店便于步行等因素。人行道质量差、没有路灯以及个人安全担忧只是居住在郊区住宅社区的老年人步行的主要障碍。我们的结果表明，高质量和安全的步行基础设施可能有助于居住在郊区社区的老年人为了身体活动而步行。
