A Systematic Review of the Factors Affecting Elderly Mobility in Urban Spaces

The aging of the population in developed and developing countries calls for special attention to improve the quality of life for older people. Meanwhile, one of the key factors influencing the quality of life of older people is their mobility. Most of the previous studies have considered the mobility of younger people while considering the aging of the population, the mobility of older people needs special attention. This research aims to investigate the factors affecting older adults’ mobility in urban spaces. Thus, we examined Sage, Science Direct, Wiley, Taylor and Francis databases. Initially, 300 papers were gathered. In the following steps, after a more detailed review of the content of the papers and the removal of the unrelated ones, 28 papers remained which had the most relevance to the subject, and content analysis was done. The content analysis results show that the factors affecting elderly mobility are personal factors, lifestyle and attitudinal factors, and built environment factors. Finally, the model of the factors affecting elderly mobility is proposed. According to this model, the three factors proposed can affect the mobility of older adults directly and indirectly. Our findings add to the growing research on investigating older adults’ mobility factors. If urban planners get familiar with the factors affecting the mobility of older people in urban spaces, they can lead people to more sustainable modes of mobility and decrease car orientation in urban areas. Therefore, in future policies, the role of all the factors in the mobility of older people should be considered because the restriction of mobility can prevent the active participation of individuals in social activities and ultimately create feelings of depression and social isolation.