Waterfronts in the neighborhood can help older people who experience walking difficulties perform regular physical activities.

‘Environmental features can attract and motivate older adults to overcome their walking difficulties with physical activity.’

The study will be part of her doctoral dissertation on associations between environmental features and outdoor mobility of older people.




The study results show that older people experiencing walking difficulties are more likely to be physically active when water areas are present and land use is more diverse in their neighborhood environment, compared to peers living in neighborhoods without such features.
Older people without walking difficulties are more likely to be physically active when the habitat in natural areas is more versatile. Thus with declining walking capacity, environmental features that attract to outdoor mobility may change.
"Overall, regardless of walking difficulties, participants living in a neighborhood with water areas and diverse terrain mostly perceive nature as a facilitator for outdoor mobility. Based on these results, it would be beneficial to take into consideration the outdoor mobility possibilities of elderlies when planning the environment.", says Keskinen.
For this study 848 community-dwelling older people aged 75-90 years, who were living in the municipalities of Jyväskylä and Muurame in Central Finland, were interviewed.
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