Towards meaningful mobility:a research agenda for movement within and between places in later life

Mobility or physical movement contributes to health and wellbeing in later life. Most studies have focused on the contribution of outdoor mobility to active ageing, but physical and cognitive impairments restrict the mobility of many older adults. This article aims to explore the gaps in the current literature on mobility in later life, and identify required innovations in the field through laying out key areas for future research. It discusses two, largely separate, areas of research, namely on mobility patterns and mobility experiences. The first focuses on quantitative and spatial research on outdoor mobility patterns in terms of routes, timing and transport modes. The second mainly concerns qualitative research on how older adults perceive mobility in their everyday lives. This article identifies three areas for future research on mobility in later life: (a) beyond outdoor movement; (b) diversity in mobility; and (c) the role of time in mobility. To conclude, addressing these areas jointly will contribute to further unpacking the concept of mobility as meaningful practice and to integrating quantitative and qualitative methods when studying mobility in later life. This will result in policy inputs on the mobility and wellbeing of our ageing population

Places that Matter: Place Attachment and Wellbeing of Older Antillean Migrants in the Netherlands

It has been argued that attachment to place increases wellbeing in old age (Wiles et al., 2009). Feeling ‘in place’ can increase an older person's wellbeing. For older migrants it can be a challenge to live in-between cultures. The objective of the article is to explore how older Antillean migrants derive a sense of wellbeing from attachment to their everyday places. We do so by drawing on in-depth interviews and a photography project with Antilleans who live in a senior cohousing community in a city in the Northern Netherlands. Based on the study, we conclude that the cohousing community acted as a central setting of experience from which the participants explored their wider surroundings and developed new attachments in the neighbourhood

Hopeful adaptation after acquired brain injury:The case of late referrals in the Netherlands

A substantial number of people with 'mild' acquired brain injury (ABI) suffer from cognitive impairments that are not immediately acknowledged as such. Some are eventually referred to multidisciplinary rehabilitation care after months or years of suffering, which is why we have labelled them 'late referrals'. The aim of this paper is to add to the discussion on hopeful adaptation by focussing on the diverse adaptive strategies of late referrals. Hope is typically discussed as a positive emotion that can contribute to transformative processes, but that is also mirrored by despair. We conducted in-depth interviews with ten late referrals in the Netherlands. Our findings demonstrate that the trajectories of late referrals are characterised by wandering and navigating. Wandering is predominantly associated with feeling lost, and not knowing where one is going. While navigating is more purposeful, we found that our participants sometimes navigated in directions that turned out to be dead-end streets. We conclude that hopeful adaptation encompasses a circuitous way of trying and adapting and trying again. As a key recommendation for practice, we suggest that people with cognitive problems due to mild ABI should be supported in reducing the complexities of their everyday lives by taking up challenges one place at a time

Mundane mobilities in later life - Exploring experiences of everyday trip-making by older adults in a Dutch urban neighbourhood

Mobility in later life is key to ageing actively and well. Mobility is not merely about moving around, but is related to aspects such as perceived reasons for trip-making, feelings of (in)security and (lack of) confidence, and social and spatial knowledge. Through adopting a relational and contextual perspective, the complexities and nuances of everyday mobility can be uncovered. In this context, the aim of this paper is to examine how older adults experience their everyday trip-making in the interplay between increasing losses and deficits in the process of ageing, and characteristics of the environment in which they perform daily activities. We draw on an exploratory study with older adults living in a suburban post-war neighbourhood in the Northern Netherlands. Methods used include in-depth interviews and neighbourhood walks. We found that mundane and everyday routines and practices at the level of the body and neighbourhood are pertinent to the everyday mobility and quality of life of older adults. In conclusion, we emphasise the relationality of experienced mobility based on how older adults assessed their daily perception of fitness and the various aspects that comprised the trip to be made, i.e. social, physical and affective. To facilitate mundane mobilities in later life, it is important that accessible, clearly structured and predictable urban environments are provided, as these allow older adults to make daily use of their neighbourhood on their own terms

Ruimte voor gezondheid: het belang van de leefomgeving en mobiliteit voor het welbevinden van ouderen

Hoe ziet een goede verbinding tussen mens en leefomgeving eruit? Hoe kunnen we met deze inzichten de dagelijkse leefomgeving zo goed mogelijk inrichten? Dit zijn vragen waar het om draait in de gezondheidsgeografie. Ouderen vormen een groeiende groep mensen, die vaak te maken krijgt met gezondheidsproblemen. Daardoor veranderen de behoeften die zij hebben ten aanzien van hun huis, buurt en dorp. Mijn oratie gaat over de rol van de dagelijkse leefomgeving en mobiliteit in het welbevinden van oudere mensen. Daarbij komen drie dimensies van de dagelijkse leefomgeving aan de orde: de persoonlijke, tastbare en menselijke ruimte.De persoonlijke ruimte heeft te maken met onze identiteit. Oudere mensen geven vorm aan hun persoonlijke leefomgeving door inrichting, dagelijkse routines en activiteiten, en de mensen met wie ze omgaan. Bij gezondheidsveranderingen, zoals niet-aangeboren hersenletsel, verandert deze vormgeving noodgedwongen. Hoewel dit vaak moeilijk is, zijn mensen ook heel creatief en veerkrachtig, en ontwikkelen ze nieuwe relaties met plekken.De tastbare ruimte vormt de fysieke dimensie van onze leefomgeving: bijvoorbeeld planten, meubels, winkels en stoepen. We weten nog weinig over de mobiliteit, fysieke activiteit en welbevinden van ouderen met gezondheidsbeperkingen in de fysieke leefomgeving. Ik wil graag achterhalen hoe het werkt: voelen ouderen zich goed doordat ze meer bewegen, of bewegen ze meer als ze zich goed voelen? Mensen zijn de sociale ruimte van onze leefomgeving. Daarbij gaat het bijvoorbeeld om familie, vrienden, buren en dorpsgenoten. Een prettige sociale omgeving is niet vanzelfsprekend voor oudere mensen. Dit thema omvat de stip op de horizon waar ik in mijn onderzoek naartoe werk: een gezonde en inclusieve leefomgeving voor iedereen en ouderen in het bijzonder.Ik sluit mijn oratie af met mijn visie op het hoogleraarschap, waarbij ik inga op het belang van ’slow science’. <br/