Beyond Accessibility: Transport Systems as a Societal Structure Supporting Inclusion in Late-Life

Abstract

Mobility is associated with well-being, and an age-inclusive transport system is a prerequisite for satisfactory mobility throughout the life course. Yet a transport system – including the physical characteristics of environments, planning processes, design, and policies – involves more than allowing people and goods to move from one location to another. Rather, it is an arena of everyday life, related not only to direct service accessibility but also to wider social inclusion. If the structures surrounding late life transport mobility can match the changing needs of older adults in a changing society, they have the potential for supporting good ageing and social inclusion. Accessibility problems can be targeted through single-domain interventions, such as online shopping, telemedicine and care at home. However, targeting the loss of social inclusion caused by lack of transportation requires a broader understanding of transport as a social structure. This chapter reviews the scholarship on the links between transport mobility, well-being and social inclusion or exclusion. To demonstrate the mismatch between individual aspirations and surrounding structures, it revisits the concept of “structural lag” from the transport perspective. It also gives an overview of knowledge gaps related to transport and social inclusion or exclusion in late life.