1199 | 820 | Importance of soft mobility and the proximity context in the daily life of the Portuguese olders in pandemic times | Ana Louro, Nuno Marques da Costa, Eduarda Marques da Costa,
The phenomenon of population aging is on the rise, particularly in Portugal, which is currently in the Top 5 of most aging countries, along with Japan, Italy, Greece and Finland. Given the great diversity of characteristics of the olderly population (over 65 years), namely in terms of their mobility, from their great dependence to total autonomy, the GRAMCITY project aimed to understand the daily mobility of the Portuguese olderly, their capacity to access resources and opportunities, and how these aspects affect their quality of life and well-being. This communication present the final results of the project, from the survey of 406 elderly people in 6 areas of study (Lisbon city, Lisbon Metropolitan Area North and South, Aveiro, Coimbra and Faro), and aims to: i) understand the importance of soft modes and the proximity area to home in the daily life of the olderly; ii) identify changes in the mobility of the olderly between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. It was thus observed that the main modal options vary according to the purpose of travel, but the proximity area is the main destination, favoring the possibility of using soft modes. On the other hand, it becomes very evident that the pandemic has had a strong impact on the lives of the olderly, reflected in the reduction in the frequency or nullifying the demand for various services and spaces, such as visits to the doctor or visits to family members, increasing their immobility. Sociodemographic factors, such as age and gender, but especially the age, and the urban typology of the study area (more or less populational dense), proved to be distinctive in the results. These observations are essential to aware the politicians, decision makers and planners about the societal aging and to adapt the different sectoral and territorial policies to the real and diverse needs of the olderly, now and in the future.
Ana Louro, Nuno Marques da Costa, Eduarda Marques da Costa,
Centre of Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, Associated Laboratory TERRA, University of Lisbon
ID Abstract: 820