Current Barriers to access in the environment
Findings from the physical audit of 200 residential environments identified many barriers prominent within a typical street environment, from narrow poorly maintained paving to very limited seating. A survey of designers revealed that they have limited knowledge of how to consider the needs of older people in the design of streets and neighbourhoods. Guidance is needed particularly for the detailed design of residential areas as well as for town and city centres. Improving the quality of the outdoor environment can contribute to a better quality of life for many groups in society, not just older people.
Evidence for age discrimination in the planning and design of the outdoor built environment
1. Having a pleasant and accessible outdoor space at home is important for people’s quality of life – their general wellbeing – but provisions specifically for older people often disregard this need or place it at a low priority.
a) Our research shows that older people living in sheltered accommodation in general have less access to adjacent, enjoyable outdoor spaces (e.g. a garden or courtyard, a pleasant place to sit outside, opportunity to grow things), compared with older people living in their own home.
b) Our research shows that access to adjacent outdoor spaces is significantly correlated with older people’s general satisfaction with life.
c) The implication of urban renaissance policy is that older people can be accommodated in small dwellings but our research so far shows that most older people would not choose to live in smaller flats in urban locations.
2. Older people are discriminated against if they cannot easily get to an attractive local open space (i.e. within about 10 minutes' walk) via a good quality route, yet many neighbourhood environments do not offer this kind of supportive outdoor environment.
a) Our research shows that older people living in a supportive outdoor environment tend to be more active, healthier and happier than those living in an unsupportive environment.
b) Our research shows that a supportive neighbourhood offers a good quality pedestrian route to an attractive and well–maintained park, but many older people do not live in such a neighbourhood.
3. Older people are discriminated against when the benches they need to use are designed so that it is difficult for them to get up without fear of falling, yet such design details are frequently found in practice.
a) Our research shows that many older people need benches at frequent intervals along their routes, if they are to be able to use the outdoor environment.
b) Our research shows that paving details around benches often use setts or small unit paving that create a less even surface than conventional paving slabs or asphalt paths. However, many people with impaired mobility find getting up from a sitting position the time when they are most unsteady. Having less even paving under benches places such people in an even more vulnerable position, a position where they are most likely to fall.
c) Older people often limit their activity outdoors because of fear of falling. Falling has potentially more severe consequences for older people than for other age groups because their bones are more vulnerable to fracture, due to osteoporosis, and take longer to heal.
