Leisure mobility and mobility problems of elderly people in urban, suburban and rural environment: preliminary results from the research project FRAME

Ageing is a lifelong process. But currently the attitudes about ageing and the opportunities for older people are changing. The foreseeable demographic development in the next 30 years provides a challenge to analyse and develop for the expected social and spatial effects of an ageing population. Formerly, the image of ageing included homogeneous portraits of immobile, lonely and frail older people and their activity spaces were mainly concentrated on the neighbourhood environment. In the future, more older people will be healthier, they will live longer, they will be more mobile having their own car, and more time will be available for leisure activities in additional and more distant areas. For urban and regional planning this development contains the following challenges: - The increasing variation within the age groups ranging from very active and mobile lifestyles to uninvolved and immobile lifestyles creates concurrent requirements for urban and regional structures. - The contradiction of restricting the negative impact of car-related environmental effects and supporting a self-reliant mobility of older people - especially in rural areas - cannot be solved with conventional planning methods. - The decentralized accessibility of service and leisure infrastructure is decreasing because of a general tendency of concentration and the 'ageing of the suburbs' meaning the percentage of older people in suburbs is growing. Serving this (sub)urban development is as critical as limiting it. Besides these changes, services and urban infrastructure do not only provide functional but also social qualities (e.g. meeting a neighbour on the way to the grocery). For older people who don't drive a car (any more), mobility is definitely restricted when the possibilities of activity become less accessible. First empirical results from the research project "FRAME - Leisure Mobility of Older People", a cooperation of geographers, psychologists and transportation planners from the Universities of Bonn and Dortmund, supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research will be presented. The aim of the project is a concept of a mobility design for leisure activities of older people in consideration of environmental, social and ecological constraints. In the Region of Bonn and the Eifel an analysis will be led focussing on urban, suburban and rural areas. The different spatial frame conditions will be analysed in relation to leisure mobility of older people. So far, the relationship between residential satisfaction, access to a car, transportation behaviour etc. cannot easily be connected to the spatial structure because of the simultaneous impact of social and spatial effects. Causalities are difficult to state: The average use of a car is not only determined by the built environment, but the choice of the housing location was made with the expectation of the constant availability of a car. For the conceptual part it is important to state, that community structures are not only determined by the built environment, but by social, organizational and operative structures as well. Existing social networks are a basis for mobility, because for older people, the question often is whether an accompanying person or a travel companion is available. An adequate design might be an organizational concept to support older people moving to a new home early enough within a short distance. The aim would be for example to maintain the social network and to decrease the distance to infrastructure or public transportation. Urban and regional structures in general are crucial for self-reliant mobility of older people. The structure needs to follow the aim to secure an inspiring environment and to facilitate the daily business getting done even without a car. To ensure quality of life, motivations and reasons for mobility need to be known.

Daily Mobility in Berlin

The article deals with the process of integration of East and West Berlin by means of the population's everyday mobility. Analysing activity spaces in four small-scale study areas on both sides of the former Berlin wall, there is evidence for significant differences between adjacent areas on both sides of the former wall as well as between different groups within an area. The interviewees' place of origin plays an important role. The question is, how – on the one hand – groups of persons might be characterised who tend to integrate the respective other half of the city more strongly into their everyday life ('border crossers') or – on the other hand – people still tend to concentrate on their respective half of the city a decade after the fall of the wall ('half-urbanites'). On the basis of spatial behaviour and the attitude towards the city's other half, four groups are differentiated. They are examined by a discriminant analysis as well as on the basis of semi-structured interviews with regard to dominating patterns of interpreting the German unification and their own personal identity. These patterns provide a considerable contribution for a better understanding of group-specific differences in the choice of mobility behaviour. From these results, consequences are drawn for the explanation of travel behaviour and for the theory and methodology of travel behaviour research. The hypothesis is developed that spatial action may not fully be explained by restrictive factors (infrastructure, distribution of opportunities, socio-demographic factors etc.). Additional factors which are empirically much more difficult to handle, such as attitudes, lifestyles, biographical experiences and long-term spatial orientations, are playing a role. The modelling of travel behaviour is theoretically incomplete by neglecting individual reasons of action. Any prediction of the future transport development might at least partly suffer from this weakness

Does the car make elderly people happy and mobile? Settlement structures, car availability and leisure mobility of the elderly

According to gerontological mobility research, appropriate settlement structures at the neighbourhood level and car availability are both playing a prominent role in the maintenance of mobility of elderly people. However, car availability is strongly connected to other individual attributes like age, health and gender. The paper presents empirical results from Germany, which support the thesis that car availability is not a cause for mobility, but rather a result of a specific life situation and way of life of elderly people, which is associated with a specific type of mobility. What is more, there is no evidence for a significant influence of settlement structures on mobility. The contribution is based on multiple regression analyses of leisure mobility of elderly people living in three different spatial contexts

Leaving, staying in and returning to the hometown: Couple's residential location choices at the time of family formation

Wohnstandortentscheidungen von Paaren basieren auf einer Vielzahl von Faktoren. Dazu gehören ihre individuellen Wohnstandortpräferenzen, sozialen (insbesondere familiären) Bindungen, wohnbiografischen Erfahrungen und Sozialisation und die räumlichen Rahmenbedingungen. Dieser Beitrag geht der Frage nach, in welchem Maße Menschen den Ort der Kindheit und Jugend verlassen, an diesem Ort bleiben oder zu ihm zurückkehren. Zudem wird untersucht, wovon dieser Migrationstyp abhängt. Im Fokus stehen dabei Einflussgrößen, die Elemente der Wohnbiographie, der familiären Bindungen und der familiären Sozialisation beider Partner erfassen. Dies wird zum Zeitpunkt der Familiengründung betrachtet. Es wird ein Familiendatensatz, der hauptsächlich im Ruhrgebiet wohnende erwachsenen Kinder (geboren um 1957) und ihre Eltern (geboren um 1931) umfasst, mithilfe von Kreuztabellen sowie multinomialen Regressionsmodellen ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Migrationstyp signifikant von dem Ort der Kindheit und Jugend und dem Wohnort der Eltern beider Partner, der Anzahl vorheriger Umzüge, der Bildung und der Bevölkerungsgröße des Ortes der Kindheit und Jugend abhängt. Es lässt sich schlussfolgern, dass Erfahrungen aus dem Lebensverlauf, Sozialisation und Geschlechterunterschiede komplex zusammenwirken. Für die Planungspraxis, die sich mit Abwanderung und der Aktivierung von Rückwanderung beschäftigt, liefert der Beitrag wertvolle Hinweise.Couples' residential decisions are based on a large variety of factors including housing preferences, family and other social ties, socialisation and residential biography (e.g. earlier experience in the life course) and environmental factors (e.g. housing market, labour market). This study examines, firstly, to what extent people stay in, return to or leave their hometown (referred to as 'migration type'). We refer to the hometown as the place where most of childhood and adolescence is spent. Secondly, we study which conditions shape a person's migration type. We mainly focus on variables capturing elements of the residential biography and both partners' family ties and family socialisation. We focus on the residential choices made at the time of family formation, i.e. when the first child is born. We employ multinomial regression modelling and cross-tabulations, based on two generations in a sample of families who mostly live in the wider Ruhr area, born around 1931 (parents) and 1957 (adult children). We find that migration type is significantly affected by a combination of both partners' place of origin, both partners' parents' places of residence, the number of previous moves, level of education and hometown population size. We conclude that complex patterns of experience made over the life course, socialisation and gendered patterns are at work. These mechanisms should be kept in mind when policymakers develop strategies to attract (return) migrants

Mobilität: Wechselwirkungen mit Multilokalität

Räumliche Mobilität ist mit multilokaler Lebensführung (ML) unauflöslich und wechselseitig verknüpft. Einerseits ist räumliche Mobilität eine notwendige Bedingung für ML. Andererseits lässt sich auch argumentieren, dass ML räumliche Mobilität zur Folge hat. Der spezifische Charakter der Mobilität in der ML wird hier verdeutlicht (1) durch die spezifische bi- bzw. multipolare Struktur der Aktionsräume, (2) am hybriden, zwischen Verkehrsmobilität und Wohnstandortwechsel oszillierenden Charakter der Mobilität, (3) an der großen Bedeutung der virtuellen Mobilität und (4) an den engen Wechselbeziehungen zwischen räumlicher und sozialer Mobilität in der ML. Die wenigen empirischen Studien zeigen, dass verschiedene Formen von ML jeweils mit hoher Mobilität, insbesondere langen, zurückgelegten Distanzen verbunden sind. Auffallend ist auch eine starke Pkw-Nutzung.Spatial mobility is inextricably and mutually intertwined with multilocality (ML). On the one hand, spatial mobility is a necessary condition for ML. On the other hand, one may argue that spatial mobility is an effect of ML. The specific character of mobility in ML is outlined here in four points: (1) in the specific bi- or multipolar structure of activity spaces, (2) in the hybrid character of mobility that oscillates between transport mobility and residential change, (3) in the importance of virtual mobility, and (4) in the close connections between spatial and social mobility in ML. The few existent empirical studies suggest that various forms of ML are associated with high mobility, more specifically long travel distances. What is more, they suggest strong car use

Verkehr: Bedeutung von Verkehrsangeboten für Multilokalität

Die Möglichkeit zur multilokalen Lebensführung (ML) hängt von der Erreichbarkeit der Wohnstandorte relativ zueinander ab. Diese wiederum ergibt sich aus der zu überwindenden Distanz und den Verkehrsangeboten (Infrastrukturen und Services). Die spezifischen Ansprüche multilokal lebender Personen sind von ihrem Mobilitätsverhalten bestimmt, das wiederum teilweise von den miteinander verbundenen Orten abhängt (z.B. Stadt/Stadt oder Stadt/Land). Zu unterscheiden ist weiterhin zwischen lokalen und regionalen Verkehrsangeboten an den Wohnorten und Reisen zwischen den Wohnorten. Auch der öffentliche Charakter der meisten Verkehrsangebote macht die Anforderungen multilokal Lebender an Verkehrsplanung und politik schwer bestimmbar. Sie können spezifisch werden, wenn Verkehrsangebote etwa mit Wohnangeboten für Multilokale verbunden werden, sich an bestimmte Gruppen multilokaler Personen richten oder besondere lokale Bedingungen vorliegen (z.B. Tourismusregionen).The chance to live a multilocal life (ML) depends on access between the residences. Access in turn depends on distance and transport infrastructure and services. The needs of multilocal persons are a reflection of their travel behaviour, which in turn depends on the places being connected with each other (e.g. city/city or city/rural area). One needs to distinguish between local and regional transport supply on the one hand, and (long distance) trips between the residences on the other. The public character of most transport infrastructures and services also contributes to the difficulty of determining the needs of multilocal persons in terms of transport planning and policy. These needs may become more specific once transport services are linked to housing for multilocals or focus on special multilocal groups, or if particular local conditions exist (e.g. tourism regions)

Mobilität von Kindern: Stand der Forschung und planerische Konzepte

Die Mobilität von Kindern hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren zu einem kaum noch überschaubaren Forschungsfeld entwickelt, in dem Deutschland jedoch bemerkenswert still bleibt. Die Motivationen für die Forschungen liegen vor allem in der Zunahme des Mitfahrens im Pkw auf Kosten der nichtmotorisierten und/oder selbstständigen Mobilität der Kinder. Dies hat negative Folgen für die Gesundheit und Entwicklung der Kinder und ist unter anderem mit Problemen der Verkehrssicherheit und des Umweltschutzes verbunden. Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über das Forschungsfeld. Er diskutiert Schwerpunkte der Forschung, Methoden und Einflussfaktoren der Mobilität von Kindern. Darüber hinaus diskutiert er die - eher spärliche - praxisorientierte Literatur und zeigt Wege auf, wie die nichtmotorisierte und selbstständige Mobilität von Kindern gefördert werden kann.Children's travel behaviour has emerged as a research field in the past years that can hardly be overseen anymore, yet Germany has remained remarkably silent in this field. The motivations for this research are primarily in the increase in being driven at the expense of non-motorised and/or independent mobility of children. This trend has negative implications for the development and health of the children, and it raises problems in traffic safety, the environment and more. The paper gives an overview of the research field. It discusses research foci, methods, and factors that affect children's mobility. What is more, it discusses the - rather scarce - practical literature and shows ways how to support non-motorised and/or independent mobility of children

Residential self-selection in travel behavior: Towards an integration into mobility biographies

JTLU vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 15-29 (2014)The debate on residential self-selection (RSS) in the travel field seeks to answer the question of whether and to what extent spatial differences in traveling may be explained in spatial terms or to what extent, rather, they are explained by the unequal spatial distribution of people’s social and personal characteristics, particularly their neighborhood and travel preferences. Arguing primarily from a European—specifically, German— perspective, this paper makes a case for integrating the RSS-travel link into the mobility biographies approach that has emerged over the past decade. This approach addresses travel behavior as being embedded in other “spheres” of an individual’s life course, most notably the household and family biographies, the employment biography, and the residential biography. This paper argues that stability and change in travel behavior must be considered not only in concert with residential location choice, but also in the wider context of life course, in which residential choices themselves are embedded. Some unresolved issues in the RSS-travel debate that seem to be of key importance for the current debate are discussed, including various aspects of residential location choice, the role of preferences, and implications for spatial planning and transport planning. The benefits of taking a biographical perspective are also pointed out

Telekommunikation: Bedeutung von Virtualisierung und Digitalisierung für die Multilokalität

Telekommunikation ist für multilokal lebende Personen von besonderer Bedeutung. Die Gründe liegen zum einen in den temporären Abwesenheiten von einem (Haupt)wohnsitz, zum anderen in den mit der Multilokalität häufig verbundenen langen Wegen. Telekommunikation dient dabei verschiedenen Funktionen: (1) der Pflege privater Kontakte, (2) der wirtschaftlichen, im weiteren Sinne auch der kulturellen und politischen Teilhabe, (3) der Nutzung der Zeit unterwegs und (4) der Organisation des Reisens selbst. Insgesamt bestehen zwischen Multilokalität und Telekommunikation enge Wechselbeziehungen. Einerseits wird Multilokalität durch Telekommunikation erleichtert oder (teils) erst möglich. Andererseits trägt Multilokalität zu einer weiteren Durchdringung der sozialen und ökonomischen Sphären mit Telekommunikation bei.Telecommunication is of particular importance to multilocal people. This is related to, firstly, their temporary absence from a (main) residence and, secondly, the long trips that are often associated with multilocality. Telecommunication serves various functions in this context: (1) the maintenance of private contacts, (2) economic and, in a wider sense, cultural and political participation, (3) the use of on-trip time, and (4) the organisation of travelling. Taken overall, multilocality and telecommunication are closely connected with one another. On the one hand, multilocality is facilitated or (sometimes) even made possible by telecommunication. On the other hand, multilocality contributes to the further diffusion of telecommunication into social and economic spheres