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When mobility makes sense: A qualitative and longitudinal study of the daily mobility of the elderly
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Journal of Environmental Psychology 31 (2011) 52e61
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Journal of Environmental Psychology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jep
When mobility makes sense: A qualitative and longitudinal study of the daily mobility of the elderly
Sébastien Lord a,*, Carole Després b,1, Thierry Ramadier c,2
a Centre d'Études de Populations, de Pauvreté et de Politiques Socio-Économiques/International Network for Studies in Technology, Environment, Alternatives, Development (CEPS/INSTEAD), Public Research Center, 44, rue Émile Mark, L-4620 Differdange, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg b School of Architecture, Centre de recherche en aménagement et développement (CRAD), Groupe interdisciplinaire de recherche sur les banlieues (GIRBa), Faculté d'aménagement, d'architecture et des arts visuels, Édifice du Vieux-Séminaire, bureau SEM-3240, Université Laval, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4 c Laboratoire Image, Ville, Environnement, ERL 7230 Université de Strasbourg/CNRS, 3, rue de l'Argonne, 67000 Strasbourg, France
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history: Available online 6 March 2010
Keywords: Aging Residential experience Meaning Daily Mobility Residential mobility Qualitative Longitudinal
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ352 58 58 55 312; f E-mail addresses: [email protected] (Sébasti
ulaval.ca (C. Després), [email protected] 1 Tel.: þ1 418 656 2131x3707; fax: þ1 418 656 278 2 Tel.: þ1 33 3 90 24 09 70; fax: þ1 33 3 90 24 09 3 Auto-mobility in this article refers to a general usa
of transportation.
0272-4944/$ e see front matter � 2010 Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.02.007
a b s t r a c t
A majority of North Americans hopes to grow old in the suburbs. This aspiration depends upon their ability to drive and their access to a car. Because it is essential for everyday travel, car-mobility in the suburbs is becoming a symbolic goal. The meanings of mobility for elderly will evolve over time, notably as a result of changes in autonomy. However, the mobility of older adults is mainly understood in terms of daily trips. Little research has considered the temporal dimension of aging as an evolving process. This study aimed at understanding with a qualitative and longitudinal perspective how older people stay (auto-)mobile in their house and their neighborhood against the need to adapt to reduced autonomy and mobility over time. A group of 22 suburbanites aged from 62 to 89 was interviewed in 1999 and in 2006. The results show that even if older people succeed in increasing their mobility, they are headed for inevitable immobility. Among the environmental adaptation strategies that were observed, the con- structed behaviors, the dependencies demanding additional supports as well as the social life modulate different evolving experiences of the city: the shrinking city, the fragmented city, and the city by proxy. The built environment is at the heart of a complex process in which the adaptation of mobility contributes to the emergence of new residential experiences.
� 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Suburbs are aging, not only physically but also socially. Indeed, if the proportion of older adults in Western societies is increasing, total population numbers attest of their presence everywhere, including in Post-War suburbs erected during the 1950s and the 1960s (Morin & Fortin, 2008; Morin, Fortin, & Després, 2000). Conceived and developed for auto-mobile3 families, these neigh- borhoods are disputed as for their capacity to meet older residents' everyday needs with regard to a limited access to an automobile or ability to drive (Dupuy, 1999; Greenwald, 2004; Lord, 2004; Patterson, 1997) that restricted functional autonomy and reduction
ax: þ352 58 55 60. . en Lord), Carole.Despres@arc. tra.fr (T. Ramadier). 5. 50. ge of the automobile as mode
All rights reserved.
in sensory acuity can lead to (Fozard, 2000). This paper is about the potential problems facing elderly in suburbs.
Research conducted in different parts of the world converges to say that the vast majority of aged suburbanites wish to live as long as possible in their “home” (AARP, 2000; Després & Lord, 2002, 2005; Groves & Wilson, 1993). The difficulties of accessing surrounding areas for their daily activities, as the restrictions of car use, mainly based on number of accidents as well as sensory losses functional limitations, rise to different challenges. Among other complications, access to local amenities, to health services as well as community-care services are as much a concern for older people themselves as they are for their care-givers, government-provided and third-party support home-services. These challenges to one's mobility go beyond traveling in the neighborhood or agglomera- tion. They are related to the capacity of an individual to participate in social life and to develop or maintain his or her social identity.4
4 Problems of access to mobility are also related to other population sub-groups, notably independence-seeking teenagers (Bachiri, 2006).
Sébastien Lord et al. / Journal of Environmental Psychology 31 (2011) 52e61 53
However, little connections are made between subjective and objective dimensions of the evolution of daily mobility in old age. Accordingly, what are the psychosocial impacts for older subur- banites of aging in place? Is their car-dependant mobility infringing on their freedom to go where they want when they want? How do they cope with functional or sensorial limitations? Do their rela- tionships to the dwelling and its urban surroundings transform their meanings and experiences of “home”? This paper attempts to answer these questions.
2. Mobility in the daily lives of the elderly suburbanites
2.1. Aging and automobile uses
The usage of a car is maintained in relatively old age. European and North American studies show that older adults today make as many car trips as the rest of the population (Alsnih & Hensher, 2003; Benlahrech et al., 1998), even more for those aged between 65 and 75 according to statistical reports (Rosenbloom, 2003) and studies such as those by Hildebrand (2003). In fact, research on suburban mobility shows the central place held by automobiles in relatively late life, confirming the structuring impact of urban form on older people's daily mobility5 with the very few walking opportunities, the poor public transportation services, and the high rate of car ownership.
Nevertheless, certain older adults are more mobile than others. If older age is directly linked to the capacity of individuals to maintain their mobility, it does not determine their people action space6. If transition to very old age drastically reduces the number of trips made by elders due to significant limitations in autonomy (Benlarech et al., 1998; Föbker & Grotz, 2006; Mitchell, 2003; Pochet, 1996; Shunway-Cook et al., 2002; Sterns et al., 2003), other variables are also important to consider. Higher income and education are associated with a larger number of daily car trips by older people (Pochet, 1996). The impact of gender on trip frequency is less evident. If certain studies show that women are less mobile within the aging population (Pochet, 1996), the high rate of car ownership within younger age groups might attenuate the male/ female differences for the next generations (Rosenbloom, 2003). Alsnih and Hensher (2003) and Whelan et al. (2006) observe that individual car use, combined with a longer life expectancy and the feminization of aging is extending the problems of mobility (or immobility) to very old age. Indeed, a growing number of persons in later life stages, of which a majority are women, are highly dependent on vehicular transportation (Dupuis et al., 2007). This is especially the case of women who do not drive and do not have their spouse anymore to accompany them on their trips.
2.2. Aging and the meanings of mobility
Qualitative studies show that the possibility of no longer being able to drive is traumatizing for older adults (Whelan et al., 2006), particularly for those living in suburbs (Daris, 2003; Lord, 2004; Lord & Luxembourg, 2006). Coughlin (2001) has observed with focus groups that being no longer able to drive implies, on the one hand, fewer outings, a restriction of activities, a reduction of consumption activities and, on the other, the loss of a privilege, a renunciation of valuable concerns, frustrations and an infringement on the inde- pendence. “The ability to travel freely in the community has not only
5 Daily mobility refers to daily trips taken by an individual in a habitual geographical space (Orfeuil, 2002).
6 Action space refers to the whole places where the activities of an individual take place on the territory (Dijst, 1999).
a practical meaning but also a strongly emotional meaning; pursuit of daily activities, for these [elderly], is vital to their perception of being part of society.” (Coughlin, 2001: 7). Other researches on suburbs, such as Davison et al. (1993) and Lord (2004), come to similar conclusions. Senior citizens demonstrate both a desire to drive and a considerable capacity to adapt their mobility. Ruechel and Mann (2005) add that the desire to remain motorized for as long as possible increases with age. Losing one's auto-mobility is often equated with losing one's independence, control, as well as spatial and temporal autonomy. In the specific context of the suburbs, driving or being the passenger of a vehicle is associated with a life- style that allows for individual choices and freedom of action.
Despite difficulties encountered, travelling by car can be pleasing and enjoyable for elderly, according to studies undertaken specifically in suburbs (Davidson et al., 1993; Fortin & Després, 2008; Lord & Luxembourg, 2006). This being said, remaining an automobile driver requires regular practice from elderly to prevent losing one's driving abilities (Daris, 2003; Fortin et al., 2008). Several strategies for maintaining one's auto-mobility have been observed in two studies about elderly suburbanites conducted in Québec City, Canada, and Aix-en-Provence, France. These strategies can be classified into four categories: 1) modification of habitual driving paths, favoring calmer roads over higher traffic routes; 2) adjustment of driving schedule to avoid traffic and nighttime driving; 3) substitution of more frequent circuits by those offering a greater accessibility; and 4) change in consumption behaviors regarding specific products or services (Lord & Luxembourg, 2006).
Finlayson and Kaufert (2002) have noted a tendency among older adults of United States to also avoid certain extreme temperatures, confrontations with social groups or crowds, waiting times, as well as certain transportation modes. Their relationship to the environ- ment adjusts according to individual and collective experience. These observations correspond with those of Clément et al. (1998) in French urban milieus where senior citizens, rather than taking risks, chose to limit their outings to known places which they perceived as safe. Aware of their own limitations, they seek environments that are experienced at once as less stressful and more accessible.
2.3. Representations of the city and of aging
Adaptation strategies among the older adults cannot be exam- ined exclusively from the point of view of their desire to overcome to different environmental functional obstacles. The daily mobility of older people also evolves in relation with their social representa- tions. Often more significant than behaviors themselves (Abric, 1994), “[.] social representation is both product and process of a mental activity by which the individual or a group constructs the reality, confronts it and gives a specific meaning to it.” (Félonneau, 2003: 149 [Translated from French]). This dialectic process is one by which individuals associate personal meanings to the tangible and intangible reality which they experience (Moser & Weiss, 2003).
Research on Quebec City's suburbs revealed that social repre- sentations of aging influence older people's desire to age in place and remain auto-mobile (Fortin & Després, 2008; Lord, 2004). Not being able to drive anymore makes elderly aware of their self-capabilities and modifies how they are perceived by society (Gardezi et al., 2006; Parker et al., 2001; Whelan et al., 2006). Clément et al. (1999) as well as Lord and Luxembourg (2006), note that the positive relationship to the modes of transportation, especially the automobile, is of particular importance in this process. The shortening or reduction of daily trips, or the resignation or the sale of one's vehicle, attests of a growing incertitude as to the dangers of a daily use.
In this context, this article aims at understanding the trans- formation of older adults' daily mobility, in both its subjective and objective dimensions. More specifically, this study aimed at:
Sébastien Lord et al. / Journal of Environmental Psychology 31 (2011) 52e6154
1) exploring the transformations of the experience and meanings of daily mobility, more specifically auto-mobility and “home” for elderly suburbanites; 2) identifying adaptation strategies of daily mobility with regards to lifestyles.
3. Conceptual framework
3.1. Aging and the concept of Déprise7
Social gerontology attempts to understand and explain the individual and collective consequences of aging (Bengston, Burgess, & Parrott, 1997). Several approaches are structured around the concept of disengagement (Cumming & Henry, 1961), which adverse, universal and inevitable character had been nuanced by the French concept of “déprise” put forward by Clément et al. (1998, 1999) which place the aged person in a proactive and develop- mental perspective. For the authors, “déprise is achieved by a reor- ganization of daily life, consisting of either substituting challenging activities with less troublesome ones or purely and simply giving up activities (with their associated objects) in order to better “hold on” to the components of daily life that are deemed essentials. This reorganization does not necessarily occur as part of a ‘downward spiral’, nor does it exclude the possibility for ‘improvement’” (Clément et al., 1999 [Translated from French]).
In many aspects, the concept of déprise echoes the meta-model of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation (SOC) from Baltes and Baltes (1990). If it does not include details about individual biolog- ical aspects, as the SOC model does, it confronts individuals with their aging limitations in an active manner, in connection with the potentialities and constraints of their own environment. “On the one hand, it is correct that the biological nature of human aging limits more and more the overall range of possibilities in old age. On the other hand, however, that adaptive task of the aging individual is to select and concentrate on those domains that are of high priority and that involve a convergence of environmental demands and individual motivations, skills, and biological capacity” (Baltes & Baltes, 1990: 27).
A same individual can simultaneously experience different kinds of déprise. Aging individuals can abandon specific dimensions of their daily life and choose to integrate others. They can also be brought to relearn certain activities, for instance during a period of rehabilitation; this is called the reprise. The older adult can also see his or her autonomy seriously compromised, which generates a dependency. Finally, transmission is another kind of déprise in which the elderly person passes responsibilities to a descendant. Through these transitions, older people develop their identity at their own pace and according to objects both chosen and imposed within the individual and social context. The déprise can be related to three systems: the community-based (e.g. intergenerational cohabitation), mutual aid (e.g. inter- and intra-generational rela- tions) and autonomist in which individuals have access to services that maintain their autonomy (Clément et al.,1999). The interlacing of different types of déprise with various relational systems creates several ways to adjust to aging, with different impact on social uses and relationships to the city. Finally, the déprise induces behavioral changes at the spatial level. As observed by Clément et al.: “With age, urban space becomes increasingly chosen. When we go out, we now know where we are going: it is less the city in its entirety that is considered than portions of the city that are more and more accurate” (1998: 232 [Translated from French]).
Such a conceptual approach has the benefit of linking both objective and subjective aspects of the elderly-environment rela- tionship. In other words, it allows for the exploration of objective
7 The Clément's neologism of “déprise” has been left in French.
changes, visible with aging, as well as of their social representations and personal meanings. This being said, the concept of déprise lacks theoretical articulation in terms of its link to the spatial dimensions of geographical contexts.
3.2. Mobility and lifestyle as objects of attachment
Since the likelihood of loosing access to his or her car is a constant threat to older adults, it is only appropriate to address this eventuality in a boarder perspective. “Travel by car is central to the way people pattern their lives, where they decide to live, how they develop their social networks, the way they access services, and how they interact with their communities” (Gardezi et al., 2006: 19). From this standpoint, auto-mobility encompasses not only the relation- ship to geographical space and to others, but also the relationship to oneself. Individuals develop a sense of self-attachment, personal identity and social differentiation through the relationships they construct and maintain with daily and ordinary space (Noschis, 1984; Twigger-Ross & Uzzell, 1996). Feldman's (1996, 1997) concept of ‘settlement-identity’ most effectively describes this process. Through ‘settlement-identity’, we understand that indi- viduals seek stability and consistency in their relationship with geographical space, in its functional and affective dimensions.
The continuity sought by elderly suburbanites, particularly in relationship to their personal mobility, can be explained as a larger attachment to their suburban identity. “The desire to maintain the identity that we have created for ourselves over time is the driving force that orients activity selection and substitution” (Clément, 2003: 15 [Translated from French]). Between déprise and reprise strategies, keeping one's “home” by extending driving capacities allows to pursue a desired and chosen lifestyle. If several conceptual frame- works on the evolution of elderly-environment relations in old age have been proposed (Golant, 2003; Kahana, 1982; Lawton, 1998; Rubinstein, 1998), most have been so in the context of elderly housing. This article proposes to transpose those to the urban environment and daily mobility. Such an objective requires appre- hending the spatial dimensions of déprise in order to explore changes in mobility strategies within the complexity of residential experience. Studying mobility in such a way will allow for a contri- bution to current knowledge of the affective meanings of “home” (Fogel, 1992; Gurney & Means, 1993; Oswald et al., 2007; Oswald & Wahl, 2005; Sixsmith & Sixsmith, 1991), which, as Manzo (2005) observes, are too often addressed in their positive dimensions.
4. Methodological framework
4.1. Research context
Following up on interviews conducted with 102 elderly subur- banites in 19998, the researcher contacted the same participants six years later, in 2006, as part of a doctoral study. The first survey (1999) part of the dissertation examines residential aspirations (Lord, in press) of suburbanites and their daily mobility (Lord et al., 2009a); the second survey (2006) investigates the transformation of both daily mobility (Lord et al., 2009b) and urban experience (this article).
4.2. Selection of the participants
Out of the 102 suburbanites owners of single-family detached houses interviewed in 1999 at an age ranging from 52 to 82, over
8 These interviews were performed by the Interdisciplinary Research Group on the Suburbs (GIRBa) as part of the project La Banlieue Revisitée (Fortin et al., 2002).
Sébastien Lord et al. / Journal of Environmental Psychology 31 (2011) 52e61 55
half (57) agreed to participate in the 2006 survey by answering a postal questionnaire (11 could not be traced back). The ques- tionnaire was useful to select participants for the follow-up study, allowing for the updating of information regarding their 1) func- tional autonomy, 2) residential situation, and 3) objective territorial mobility. Respondents who refused to answer the questionnaire were older and their perceived health situation was negative compared to the one reported by those who accepted. They mentioned their major reason for refusing as serious health prob- lems. The elderly group surveyed in this follow-up study is thus composed of individuals in good social and health conditions.
Among the 57 who send back the postal questionnaire, 22 respondents had gone through major changes in terms of functional autonomy, residential situation or territorial mobility. For this reason, they were specifically selected for a detailed longitudinal follow-up on residential experiences evolution (this article). Their level of functional autonomy was evaluated using the PRISMA-7 index (Raîche et al., 2007). Ministry of Health and Social Services of Québec in Canada use this validated questionnaire in order to identify elderly who are most likely to require community-based support and a more detailed psycho-metric evaluation.9 Changes in residential situations considered any modification in the household structure (mortality, cohabitation, etc.) or residential move between 1999 and 2006. As for the evaluation of the transformations of participants' territorial mobility,itwasbasedonatypologyofmobilitydevelopedin1999and updated in 2006, and on the regular use of nine types of stores and services10 in the metropolitan area.11
In relation with the research questions developed in this article, this in-depth follow-up study aimed at investing the subjective and temporal dimensions of the relationship to the house, the neigh- borhood, and the metro area for elderly, in relationship with their health condition, household characteristics, as well as déprise and reprise adaptation strategies. This part of the research required analyzing the discourse of elderly about their daily mobility, their experiences and meanings of “home” as aging suburbanites.12
4.3. Data collection tools and analysis
Two subsequent interviews were performed at the residence of the 22 participants between the months of March and May, 2006. Each interview was based on a sixty item semi-structured ques- tionnaire13 with open-ended questions. Respondents were thus able to speak freely about their daily trips, their outings and
9 The tool proposes seven simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions and can be administered either over telephone or filled out individually. Three ‘yes’ answers are judged as significant. Nearly a third of respondents identified by PRISMA-7 required some support according to the functional autonomy measurement system (SMAF). 10 Grocery, pharmacy, hardware store, medical clinic, gas station, bank, cash machine, shopping center, and church. 11 The typology is structured by crossing two mutually exclusive components calculated using the participants' mobility uses: 1) dissemination of mobility, and 2) dispersion of mobility. The intersection of the two components produces a classi- fication of four types: 1) homebounds, 2) neighbors, 3) peregrinators, and 4) hyper- mobiles. The homebonds possess a small action space containing only a limited number of frequented places. The neighbors also have a restricted action space, but one constituted by a larger number of frequented places. The peregrinators and the hypermobiles possess vaster action spaces, the former concentrating their trips in a couple of places, the latter distributing them in several locations. For a detailed presentation of the typology, see Lord et al. (2009a). 12 If the use of GIS data may have been a facilitator for discussion during inter- views, the cost associated with this technique was too high to be used as support in an integrated investigation strategy. However, a GIS has been developed in the previous parts of the research specifically interested in elders' travel patterns evolution (Lord et al., 2009a, 2009b). 13 The interviews covered several life situations. The participants did not all respond to the same questions (e.g. those having moved as opposed to those having stayed).
socialization habits, their openness to different modes of trans- portation, as well as the meanings of car driving and home ownership. The strategy behind the two interviews was two-fold: reduce the length of each interview in order to attenuate the pressure and cognitive stress on participants, particularly those whose autonomy was limited; establish a feeling of trust in order to ask questions about difficult situations transitions (dead, sickness, etc.). The qualitative analysis software Sémato� was used to assist coding the interview transcriptions, in accordance with Miles and Huberman (1984) qualitative analysis principles.
The qualitative analysis of elderly discourse intended at three objectives: 1) illustrate participants' typical day in order to identify changes since 1999, that is, the strategies of déprise and their impact on daily mobility; 2) reveal the experiences and meanings of “home” in light of changes in daily mobility during the six year interval, and with regards to elders' representations of the city and of aging; 3) shed light on individual reasons behind territorial mobility adaptation strategies and qualify the relationship of elderly to the broader urban environments.
4.4. Profile of participants
From the characteristics of the 22 elderly suburbanites inter- viewed, three residential profiles emerged: 1) the residential continuity profile or those who have remained healthy in their 1999 bungalow (n ¼ 12); 2) the partial residential continuity profile or those suffering from a disease but still living in their 1999 bungalow since 1999 (n ¼ 5); and 3) the residential discontinuity profile of those having moved to a new residential environment, either resulting from health problems (n ¼ 3) or from a voluntary decision not related to health conditions (n ¼ 3). The sample is composed of 14 men (12 living with a spouse and 2 living alone) and 8 women (2 living with a spouse and 6 living alone). Only one woman lost her driver's license since 1999. Two other participants did not own a driver's license as of 1999; one (aged 81) had given it up before 1999, the other (aged 75) had never own one. For one other participant (aged 89), even though she still had her driver's license in 2006, serious limitations in her autonomy meant that she was no longer being behind the wheel.
Sorting participants into three age groups shows that limitations in autonomy are more prevalent among the older group e however such a small group does not allow to generalize or to expect associ- ations with different dimensions (e.g. marital status, gender, etc.). None of the eight seniors aged 61e71 (55e64 years in 1999) reported more than three problems of autonomy, compared to two out of eight among the 78e81 age group (65e74 years in 1999), and five of the six persons aged 81 or more (75 or more in 1999). The socio-economic status of the participants was good and essentially the same as in 1999. Finally, more than half elders had incomes of more than 30 000 CAD$ per year; in the Province of Québec, the average income in 2007 for people over 65 was 22 907 CAD$ (ISQ, 2009).
5. Results14
5.1. The transformations of daily life
5.1.1. Between déprises and new appropriations The daily life of the 22 elderly suburbanites met for this study is
quite stable. Domestic routines as well as outings and leisure
14 The interviews were all performed in French. The translator has attempted to maintain as accurately as possible the dialogue contained in the original tran- scription while avoiding a significant loss in meaning. The syntax containing familiar forms of speech has been adapted for an English-speaking audience.
Sébastien Lord et al. / Journal of Environmental Psychology 31 (2011) 52e6156
activities are for most of the group the same as in 1999. This continuity is particularly noticeable when looking at the six participants who did not experienced major problems in autonomy, health or the death of their spouse. This being said, the rhythm of daily activities changes unconsciously: “Life changes, but it's so gradual. We don't realize it.” (female, 81y, no088). With aging, taking one's time becomes an obligation. From a longitudinal perspective, fatigue came out as key-factor affecting the activities that can be performed. The body is not as mobile as it used to be. The freedom of choice is critical: “[.] I move more slowly [.] I do it when it suits me.” (male, 73y, no110). The déprise in domestic tasks that had already been observed among the oldest participants in 1999 is a reality that catches up with the youngest members as well. Health problems or the loss of a spouse do not necessarily motivate a residential change, which contradicts what several male partici- pants in 1999 anticipated. Indeed, they had envisaged leaving their bungalow, one-storey detached house, following the death of their spouse. This was not the case in 2006.
Oddly enough, fatigue, which requires delegating a number of tasks, frees up time and increases the potential for mobility. This observation, deducted to the longitudinal follow-up, reveals the potential impact of functional limitations on increasing territorial mobility. This new mobility is one of proximity, relaxation, and health-related for some. For others, trips made by car are increas- ingly restricted to the neighborhood shopping center. The territory covered, whether having increased or decreased, provides an opportunity to get out, even for the most fragile participants whose movements are centered on the garden and the street. In any case, the territory is safe, familiar and appreciated. The transformed mobility over time, however limited, contributes in cheering up a daily life that otherwise could be boring and helps avoid difficult situations.
Three participants, a male living with a spouse as well as one male and one female living alone, moved to a place offering services (an apartment or condominium). Their action space is now centered on their new neighborhood. The sale of their bungalow and their move to a more cost effective housing solution provided them with a great amount of free time. “[Maintenance]. There was a time when I enjoyed it. Then as I got older, I liked it less. Gradually, I liked it less and less. [.] Since I'm no longer obligated to do any maintenance, I can play golf, travel more and do things like that.” (male, 76y, no099).
Interestingly, none of these three participants imagined them- selves settling in a central neighborhood. Their new dwelling is either situated within their 1999 action space, where they worked and traveled once, where family members and friends live, or else, in a new neighborhood that recalls their former one. Having moved closer but not in the city center by a river, this woman explains, “[W]here I was born, we lived near the river. We had a cottage on a lake. Maybe that's what makes me feel so at home here” (female, 62y, no009). These three participants express a feeling of detach- ment from their house: “We are not attached sentimentally to the house.” (male, 76, no099). Their dwelling is perceived as a good, interchangeable depending on one's position in life cycle: “It's just stuff. There's a time for each thing in life. I had gotten to that point. I loved it, having lived there for x number of years of my life, but it was time for something else” (male, 63y, no086).
The daily life of four participants now living with heart prob- lems, arthritis or another degenerative disease changed consider- ably since 1999. For two men living with their spouses as well as a widower and a widow having lost their spouse since 1999, daily life continues in their house and neighborhood at the price of continuous adaptation. The longitudinal perspective confirms that aging at “home” in suburbs means accepting a drastic reduction of one's action space, even to the point of confinement. The need for
physical assistance in order to get around is becoming a reality which highly depends on the care-giving relationship the person has with their closest relations (spouse, children and friends). In contrast with the residential aspirations expressed in 1999, these four participants had visited at least one elderly residence in their neighborhood. If they see this option as inevitable in the future, they hope to delay it as long as possible and possibly die in their house: “[.] I'm staying here. They'll find me dead in the yard or in the house” (female, 75y, no006).
Two other participants experienced a critical change in health following the 1999 interview. Their precarious health situation provoked drastic changes in their territorial mobility. Already wid- owed in 1999, the degradation of respective autonomy obliged these two 89 years old women to move out of their house. Having lost their driver's license and no longer able to travel on their own, they were forced to sell their bungalows. Neither of these two women had planned for the eventual loss of their car. Their children played a central role in their move, both pressuring the decision and choosing their new apartment in retirement-homes outside their respective neighborhood. Both women remained there one year, waiting until the lease was over to search on their own for a facility in their previous neighborhood. Thus they made two moves within two years simply to relocate themselves within a couple streets of the family residence in a familiar action space despite the fact that they are no longer independent. Even though they are both severely limited in their functional mobility, ending up immobile is part of the inevitable chain of events leading to full dependency: “[.] my husband, my summer house, my house, my car. Actually, it's practically our life that changes completely” (female, 89y, no057). Basically, the longitudinal follow-up revealed behaviors that cross-sectional data could not have predicted or anticipated.
5.1.2. Towards spatial and family proximities Regular outings decrease as companions drop out: “It was great
when it was the four sisters. We'd spend the afternoon in the stores, rummaging [.] I loved that, I did. But now we've all gotten older. One of them has passed away, another is ill” (female, 77y, no114). Daily life is organized around the immediate family, neighbors as well as colleagues from volunteer organizations, depending on the case. These contacts become the only ones for those over the age of 70 (14/22). The family, more specifically the children, becomes at the center of given and received services. Neighbors are also perceived as security; contact with them remains distant however e “to each his own”. In accordance with the types of neighboring proximity observed by Membrado (2003) during the aging process, neighbors do not replace family caregivers; this being said, their presence can be reassuring for those who are weak and whose children live outside of the city.
Receiving guests, even occasionally, becomes difficult and complicated. Gatherings at the house are reserved for children: “My children come at least every week. Friends maybe once a month or once every two months” (male, 66y, no100). For the majority (16/19, 3 participants not having children), at least one child lives in the residential area. This proximity allows frequent visits, facilitating care-giving, namely driving the parent around. For three elders who live in areas with sufficient variety of services, visits that otherwise would have taken place at “home” had been shifted to restaurants: “[.] now we have visitors less often at meals, because of my wife's abilities. But we'll go to a restaurant and everyone will meet here for a drink beforehand.” (male, 79y, no96). These outings, demanding fewer responsibilities and being less tiring, increased the daily mobility of those involved.
Amidst these transformative processes observed over the time, older adults' desire for independence remains central and influ- ences the strategies used to adapt their daily life and remain
Sébastien Lord et al. / Journal of Environmental Psychology 31 (2011) 52e61 57
“suburbanite”. Similar to adolescents seeking their independence, these elderly learn how “to age”: “You have to learn to move about more slowly. You have to learn how to ask when you need help. Learning how to wait [.] it is not easy. Yes, when you're used to doing everything on your own” (female, 77y, no114). This learning, as one of many relinquishments, is heavily modulated by social insertion. In this sense, social bonds are on the one hand trip generators (for activities and visits) and a source of support for one's mobility (carpooling) on the other.
In the aging process, and despite the evolution of spatial behavior, the automobile continues to be a functional object strongly associated with independence and autonomy, while the use of the public transit remains marginal. As in 1999, the auto- mobile brings spontaneously the following words to mind: “autonomy”, “independence”, “practical”, “useful” and “efficient”, even for the three participants who do not drive in 2006. The group strongly shares representations of different urban territory that are significantly related to North American socio-cultural norms. The suburbs remain “calm” and “quiet”, representations structured by individual meanings narrowly associated with safety and in contrast to those of the downtown. This woman's expression of these representations is illustrative: “The downtown is crushing. Everything is negative in downtown. It's polluted. It's difficult. There's no parking. Then there are all the old buildings. It's old and dangerous.” (female, 68y, no073).
5.2. Aging and the evolving experience of the city
By using longitudinal data, the previous section improved our knowledge of elderly adaptation strategies of their daily mobility. This section takes full advantage of these longitudinal data to examine the residential experience of older suburbanites who saw their objective territorial mobility modified over the six-year interval due to health problems, that is 16 out of the 22 respon- dents, and confront it to those who did not experience that type of change.15 The analysis thus revealed two situations: 1) one based on statu quo which allows elders to postpone the necessity to adapt their residential situation as far in the future as possible (these were the most mobile individuals in 1999); 2) the other based on a gradual diminution of mobility (these were the least mobile individuals in 1999) which called for immediate changes. The longitudinal analysis indicates that choices e unconscious, voluntary or forced e made by individuals about their residential and daily mobility induce urban experiences that are significantly different from one another.
5.2.1. Postponing the adaptation of mobility For the most mobile elderly, driving is pleasurable and the use of
automobile remains as important in their life as it was in 1999, the speed and frequency of trips taken by car express their status as an active and autonomous individual, in contrast with social repre- sentations of aging. None of these six adults brought changes to their mobility patterns beyond avoiding rush hours and nighttime driving.16
15 The six participants whose mobility increased were not analyzed in depth. The re-localization of neighborhood facilities to areas outside the old suburbs and the involvement in social and/or volunteer activities caused changes in mobility behaviors. These new uses reveal social and spatial behaviors that have arrived in spite of aging and the growing limitations in autonomy for two of the six cases. Aging for these participants is continuous and their adaptation to an evolving city contributes to their suburban identity. 16 To this group the two women having moved suddenly to a retirement-home can be added. They had not adapted their mobility uses before the moment of their relocation and were considered among the more mobile in their group.
These six elderly, all men, speak of cars as a “luxury”, an “expensive good” that contributes to their suburban identity, representing much more than their mere territorial independence. For these elders, getting around by car is a given, a pleasure they would lose without their driver's license. They speak of the city as their neighborhood: “For me, Greater Québec is my neighborhood. It's a small city” (male, 67y, no045). Their daily life is such that they know it would be impossible to go by without a car. Regardless of their age, they do not consider themselves as “old people”. The word “aging” suggests a reality that belongs to “someone else”, to those with health problems or to completely immobile individuals.
5.2.2. Choosing to adapt one's lifestyle For the sixteen other elderly met in 2006, daily life and mobility
had to be reorganized. Choosing to adapt called for strategies to reorganize daily trips in relation to more accessible locations, often within shorter distances, as well as relying on others to facilitate travel: “[.] like Sunday, I had an invitation to go play cards. But I no longer drive at night, so they had to come pick me up” (female, 77y, no008). These adaptations were already observed in 1999 (Lord & Luxembourg, 2006). This progressive transition is experienced by respondents who try to compensate their déprise on domestic tasks by leisure activities. They begin to accept the reality of aging. For those, aging means “slowing down” and a “loss of vitality”. These adaptations, although voluntary, are at times resented with sadness and nostalgia for the old years: “[.] taking a walk [.] I really enjoyed that. I was happy doing it but now I'm noticing that I just don't have the strength” (male, 85y, no086). Comparing participants' mobility behaviors and residential situation with their discourse about the changes they had to go through revealed three types of urban experience for aging suburbanites.
5.2.2.1. The shrinking city. For three elders who had to move from their house into an apartment, their action space is now reduced. In comparison with 1999, their daily mobility is more governed by spontaneous activities as well as by encounters with others. Through a reorganization of their consumption activities and leisure habits in their neighborhood, even for the amenities nearby the house at walking distance, these elders remained auto-mobile. The proximity of accessible services comforts them in residential stability, which was not the case at their previous suburban resi- dence in 1999: “[Eventually losing my driver's license] wouldn't be as bad here [as in the suburbs], because I have more things nearby” (female, 62y, no009).
For the 11 older suburbanites that were still living in their bungalow in 2006 despite health changes, aging meant venturing out less often and prioritizing travels within the close area. If driving a car is possible and a strongly preferred way to get around, now it means avoiding situations perceived as unsafe or too complicated to manage. Going out becomes less important: “[W]e still go out, but we feel like getting back earlier. [.] By 10:00, I'm happy to be home.” (female, 81y, no81). As this woman explains, getting out means circumventing but above all accepting compli- cations: “I don't go out anymore at night. Because I have cataracts and glaucoma. So. it's safer for me, and I suffer less. You've got to accept it, [.] I see well during the day. But at night it's a bit more. compli- cated” (female, 77y, no008). The same participant confirmed that getting around in suburb is still possible, but easier when it is close by; running errands elsewhere in the city becomes the exception: “I confine myself to everything nearby in Beauport [her neighborhood]” (female, 77, no008). In other cases the contraction of the time is observable with a decreasing frequency of outings within the same action space. This situation is not perceived negatively since the visited places remain the same. This being said, driving a car remains necessary and contributes to the quality of life. Even if
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seldom used, the automobile is part of the suburban way of life. “[The car] has become an obligation. [.] It's like the telephone and the television today [.] it's hard to get by without it” (male, 63y, no086). In each of these residential and mobility adjustments, driving remains central in daily activities, despite the eventual difficulty that driving entails.
5.2.2.2. The fragmented city. Lack of autonomy and functional mobility cause the fragmentation of urban experience, where only specific areas of the territory are visited compared to 1999. Two geographical patterns can be distinguished. The first consists of linking universally accessible public spaces. Indeed, for two participants, this has become a necessity. For one man, owning a handicapped parking permit allows for remaining active and pursuing desired activities: “It's great. I go to concerts. We go to about 17e18 concerts a year [.] We get out of the car and we enter immediately [.] At the grocery store it's the same thing” (male, 86y, no085). Catering exclusively to the automobile, the handicapped parking permit reduces outings to places offering a sufficient number of handicapped parking spaces. Beyond logic of proximity, the experience of the city becomes defined by universally acces- sible locations as much on foot as by car. Neighborhood small shopping malls, with their numerous parking spaces and reduced number of customers are particularly attractive to older subur- banites: “Every evening, for years, I go walking inside at the shopping mall, with other older gentlemen and even women. [.] We are all 80 or older” (male, 84y, no093).
The fragmented city is defined by the routes joining these universally accessible destinations. These paths are those where road tension and stress is limited for elderly who choose to continue driving their car. Itineraries are selected based on traffic density (basically the streets speed or traffic is reduced), and on familiarity with their urban, architectural and social characteristics. Driving the car on these routes contributes to a feeling of security despite the loss of the sensorial acuity: “[.] once seated in the car, I feel safe” (male, 84y, no093).
With severe functional mobility problems, the car is often seen as the last chance for getting around independently in the city. “I no longer take walks. It's too dangerous. But we'll use the car” (male, 84y, no093). The vehicle also preserves social ties located along acces- sible paths. This fragmented territory might be reduced to the immediate neighborhood, and even only the street or the yard. This 84 years old man having particular difficulty moving around explains: “[.] when I was younger, I went out in the street often for walks or to chat with neighbors. Now I do it less often. I don't go far” (male, 84, no093). Taking a couple steps on one's property, super- vising maintenance work, conversing with neighbors or going out for fresh air and sun are considered valuable micro-mobilities, providing ways to stay in touch with the vitality of the neighbor- hood. These short but regular experiences of public places confirm elders' presence and status in their neighborhood.
Choosing to remain in the suburbs led some elders to a situation of reduced mobility. Visits from relatives, particularly children, are perceived as an opportunity to get out of the house, even though it sometimes occurs only a few times a year. The use of canes or walkers limits the planning of outings. These visits become opportunities not to be refused, as the previous participant explains: “If my daughter offers to take me into town, I'm going to accept. [.] To see the old city, the places of my youth, my teenage years, my time as a student” (male, 84y, no093). This same comment also demonstrates how being self-mobile, even briefly, enables older people the reconnect with an urban area frequented in the past. The trips supported by mobile caregivers operate nevertheless under certain conditions. The physical limitations to one's mobility should not be overly exposed in the interest of one's dignity: “I love
going out with someone, but it's best to go unnoticed” (female, 75y, no006).
Pushed to its extreme limit, the mobility adaptation goes as far as limiting one's action space to places outside the “home” chosen by caregivers whom are themselves limited by their own child raising and professional responsibilities. Combined, limited outings and assisted-mobility result in the gradual loss of spatial references for older suburbanites. If some places regularly frequented remain familiar both spatially and socially, the interstitial spaces is increasingly blurred and disjointed, as several interviews witness. Entire portions of the city are being forgotten or their perception remains associated with a certain period despite of changes, the one period when they were mobile and independent. This can be observed by the use by respondents of street names that have since changed or the mentioning of business establishments having since shut their doors. Such dissonance can destabilize the feeling of being at “home”: “Now everything has changed with the streets [.] I feel less at home than I used to” (female, 81y, no088).
5.2.2.3. The city by proxy. Aging in suburbs for as long as possible, even without a vehicle, requires accepting to be immobilized and a potentially harmful relationship to the “home”. This is the case of five participants, and will be for several others who will choose to adapt their mobility over the next couple of years. No longer able to move in the city reveals one's incapacities, accepting to be home- bound becomes then inevitable: “I'm always in my house and it does not bother me” (female, 75, no006). Despite this situation, a “remote” experience of the city remains, brought in by children and friends visiting and also by the media.
If moving with a walker is a concrete message that the body is aging, being admitted to an elderly residence is the realization that one is old: “It's since I've been in [retirement] homes like that, that I've felt older” (female, 89y, no048). Going to the malls, playing sports, social and cultural activities, and walks are no longer possible: “For me, it's over. It's over. I. I am no longer capable of going for walks on the sidewalk” (female, 89y, no048). As Mallon (2000) and Caouette (1995) observed, moving to a retirement-home breaks the affective relationship to the “home”; our study suggests that reduced mobility is largely responsible for this. The “home”, where mobil- ities and activities once converged, now acts as the territorial limits of daily life.
Moving into a residence within the neighborhood one has inhabited for long or in a similar neighborhood can help accept reduced mobility. Indeed, the views from the window act as remembrance of the daily trips taken during the active life. The example of residents who had moved into a retirement-home nearby the location of their previous house reinforces how famil- iarity with the immediate surroundings is reassuring and contrib- utes to the feeling of still being “at home”: “You know, I moved next to the same street that I went down I don't know how many times [.] it's my neighborhood [.] I lived there, the Tenth Avenue is nearby [.] I often dream about my neighborhood. . I visit it in thoughts. I know almost everyone” (female, 89y, no048).
If the residential experience in a retirement-home is a radical break with that of the “home”, it offers new possibilities for people who have important functional limitations. As opposed to aging at “home”, social relationships are not limited to family members. They can be enriched by the presence of other residents. In addition to outings with children for a meal or a visit to the shopping center, services are offered within the facility. Regaining old or developing new activities is possible, which was no more possible in the former house. Going to the library, the cinema, the church or a restaurant can now occur within the housing complex. A new form of urban experience is possible: visiting, meeting and receiving friends and family is possible again, particularly with a restaurant in the facility.
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Nevertheless, even if many activities become possible again, the individuals might not want to take advantage of those; moreover, they feel labeled as elderly people because of their new housing facilities.
6. Discussion
The longitudinal study of the daily mobility of 22 elderly suburbanites shows that the urban and residential experience of elderly suburbanites is in general positive, even when indepen- dence is threatened. Between 1999 and 2006, the elderly inter- viewed adapted their outing behaviors, the places regularly visited, as well as the routes taken to get there. Similarly, their social relations were modified in order to obtain assistance in specific daily tasks and trips. Networks of family and friends are central in this aspect, more than available public and community services.
Older residents' urban experience is transformed because of a combination of loss of autonomy, collective representations of risk, of the city and of aging, and personal meanings and experi- ences. If some activities are abandoned, others are taken on. The concept of déprise (Clément, 2003; Clément et al., 1999) helps distinguish the different types of urban experiences for these aging suburbanites. These changes led some respondents to more terri- torial mobility in the city, some to a larger number of trips nearby the house and others, unless driven by relatives, to “home” confinement. Seventeen of the 22 elderly people were successful at using the available environmental and social resources in order to age in their house. For the five others, adapting meant moving out. When desired, this option led to residential satisfaction, despite major changes that sometimes complicated daily routines.
Aging at “home” in the suburbs illustrates the complexity of the residential experience. The importance of considering the meanings of “home” and the suburban experiences for the development of residential options for seniors is a key-issue outlined by the results of this research. The spatio-temporal dimensions of urban experience constitute a fundamental dimension of “home” and society.
In order to understand the meanings and experiences of “home” for senior citizens we must overcome synchronous portraits that accounts for the behaviors of the moment and endorse spatio- temporal and longitudinal approaches. Indeed, it is through evolving physiological, psychological, social and material tensions that older adults adapt and situate themselves. If living in the suburbs implies real functional difficulties, namely in relationship with the dependency on driving, older adults find ways to over- come these difficulties. The déprise over certain activities is observed, as well as new forms of environmental appropriation.
The logic underlying the adaptation strategies used by older suburbanites, including the one leading to a relative immobility, suggests that it is not the likelihood of losing a vehicle, a house or a neighborhood that older persons fear over the years, but the risk of seeing their action space shrink. It is that very specific spatio- temporal experience that helps to define who they are in society. If elderly delay for as long as possible giving up their auto-mobility, it is not only because theycould be obligated to leave their “home”, it is an attempt to delay their entry into what means ‘aging’, both individu- ally and collectively. In other words, it is not only giving up their house that is difficult but their freedom to move around in the city, a specific type of relationship to space (Feldman,1990,1996) that they are attached to. In an increasingly mobile society with a growing dependency on cars, these are acting at once as a crutch for limited body mobility, and a symbol of independence and autonomy.
The relative residential satisfaction observed among older adults, even those confined to their house, can be explained by a fundamental strategy for elders to maintain their social identity
and spatial references. By aging at “home”, seniors allow them- selves to remain in a familiar environment to which are attached positive social representations and personal meanings, even though they have to rearrange their social and spatial activities. This adaptation process is coherent with a desire to maintain the identity and affirm their self, whether a couple steps from the front door or further away. The processes by which identity is defined are therefore important, especially with regard to daily mobility (Ramadier, 2006) and residential mobility (Feldman, 1990, 1996). The case of two participants returning to their original neighbor- hood following a stay in a retirement-home is indicative in this aspect. No longer having the possibility to live in an individual dwelling, they returned to the familiar space of their previous neighborhood e an action space corresponding to their spatial identity as much in terms of mobility as of housing. These resi- dential trajectories reinforce the relevance of longitudinal follow- ups for understanding housing strategies in the later years.
Despite transformations in one's daily mobility, the affective relationship to “home” observed by Després and Lord (2005) among the same group of older adults in 1999 remained intact, even strengthened. Aging in the suburbs allows maintaining a meaningful relationship with the “home”. Adapting one's mobility in a familiar and meaningful place is ultimately easier than moving into a neighborhood where amenities are plentiful. Seniors who age at “home” maintain the social-spatial references that have contributed to defining their identity. This being said, the longitu- dinal study shows that the adaptation process is also related to lifestyles, it evolves according to age and autonomy. Indeed, older persons who shared social-spatial representations and uses in 1999 were found to adapt in similar ways. Also, the less mobile elders in 1999, for instance, found it easier and more natural to adapt than those who were more mobile.
These results convincingly show that it is possible for elders to age in the suburbs in a detached house, even with a significant loss of autonomy. It occurs through a spatial déprise which leads to the contraction or fragmentation of people's action space. Under the effect of a limited and dependent territorial mobility, the city however might lose its imagibility for elderly. Ultimately, aging in the suburbs may lead to immobility due to an increasing fragility, leading inevitably to the experience of the “city by proxy”. This type of urban experience could force elderly to depend entirely on others not only for their care but in order to keep social and spatial ties with broader society.
7. Conclusion
This study traced up the evolution of the relationship to “home” and the city for 22 older adults living in Post-War suburbs with an emphasis on daily mobility. It revealed few insurmountable diffi- culties, even if considerable transformations of typical suburban social and spatial uses are a sine qua non condition to age at “home”. This article shows clearly the advances in knowledge about the experience of mobility in old age, and in a boarder perspective on elderly-environment relationship. The relevance of exploring seniors' experience of mobility through time contributes to knowledge on elders' travel behaviors put forward by trip patterns analysis.
If the experience of these elderly persons cannot be generalized for all elderly suburbanites, the evolution of their mobility and its impact on the residential experiences nevertheless provides several avenues for discussing the physical and functional adaptation of the suburbs. More pragmatically, empirical strategy using the indi- vidual point of view also points out concrete tracks for interven- tions on living environments.
Experiences where the “city is shrinking” provide good indicators of seniors' preferences in terms of proximity and accessibility.
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The portions of the city still used by the older adults whose autonomy is decreasing are those that contribute most to limiting stress. This shows that certain suburban sectors serve better than others the needs and expectations of older citizens whom, for the most part, are still driving.The specificsof choosingand selecting “pieces of the city” observed through time deserves more detailed analyses in terms of morphological, functional and social characteristics, and foster considerations on the universal accessibility at the urban planning level (Nasar & Evans-Cowley, 2007).
Inversely, the experience of the “city by proxy” indicates the suburban model failure to adapt at the same rhythm as its residents aging (Hare, 1992). First, these results bear witness to the sufficient economic and social resources upon which seniors can depend, in addition to maintaining regular interpersonal contacts. Second, questions must be raised about those for whom these two resources are nonexistent. Here, the residential experience offered by retirement-homes proves to be a model functionally adapted for the elderly person whose autonomy is in decline. This being said, these facilities are far from what people consider a meaningful “home”. The followed up residential experiences clearly show that locating serviced-housing within single-family houses districts would allow elderly to maintain socio-spatial familiarity with the neighborhood. Finally, such longitudinal framework strongly demonstrates the relevance of extending the analysis of the meanings and experiences of “home” to individual mobility terri- tory in order to understand the dynamic relationships between aging individuals and there living environment.
Acknowledgement
This article was made possible by financial supports to the first author from the Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture (FQRSC) (Doctoral Fellowship, 2003e2006), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada, the Research Chair on Territorial Decision-Support, the Interdisciplinary Research Network on Health and Aging (FORMSAV) from the Cana- dian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (Fellowship, 2004e2005), as well as the Canadian Association of Gerontology/Association Can- adienne de Gérontologie (Donald-Menzie award, 2005e2006). A special thank is also given to Michael Doyle, candidate to master degree in architecture, for the article translation from French to English and to the Indisciplinary Research Group on the Suburbs (GIRBa) who financed his work.
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