Exploring mobility equity, equality, and accessibility for older people in the local environment: a systematic literature review

Abstract

People above 65 years of age, are confronted with several issues that limit them from fully participating in society and exercising their rights to accessing the local environment. But older people’s ability to travel independently and freely to participate in society is crucial for their quality of life. The question of how to maintain mobility equity and equality for older people is, however, a complex one. This is because older people, especially those with disabilities, are often faced with mobility exclusion due to physical barriers around the public transportation and built environment. This has been further intensified as existing mobility accessibility initiatives employed by municipalities have not involved vulnerable groups in society such as older people. Therefore, this study adopts a systematic literature review based on data collected from 83 sources indexed in Scopus and Web of Science database. The findings from this article present factors that influence the local environment in achieving mobility equity and equality from the perspectives of older people, living without and with disabilities. Evidence from this study proposes guidelines grounded on a universal design framework to help municipalities foster mobility equity and equality for older people based on recommendations provided to inform urban transport policies on universal accessibility.