Title: Enhancing Mobility of Older Adults and People with Disabilities

Abstract:

Millions of Americans experience barriers in the built environment and transportation systems that limit outdoor mobility, daily activities, social participation, and civic engagement. These barriers are exponentially worse for individuals with disabilities and older adults who may be more vulnerable to environmental constraints due to functional limitations and reduced confidence. The recent pandemic likely compounded the challenges these populations experience.

This dissertation, formatted into three papers, aimed to explore ways to push forward the study on the mobility of individuals with disabilities and older adults. The first paper examined the existing literature to understand how the relationship between the built environment and walking differs for older adults compared to young and middle-aged adults. The second paper aimed to develop a method to identify individuals’ non-home activity locations using real-life GPS traces of older adults, evaluate the model performance, and compare the differences between objectively and subjectively measured mobility data. The third paper presents the findings from an online survey that examined how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted travel behavior among individuals with disabilities and older adults. The results explore differences in travel behavior by age and disability type, as well as how daily activities amongst these populations were supported by advanced technology during the pandemic.

Several important implications emerge from the findings. First, local government and municipalities should apply innovative strategies such as multi-density zoning to enhance accessibility to destinations, support healthy aging-in-place, and enhance mobility of underserved populations. Second, the application of objectively measured data in transportation planning and health fields should be promoted to better manage and respond to transportation inequities amongst older adults and people with disabilities. Lastly, municipalities, transit agencies, and transportation service providers should utilize technology (e.g., apps, real-time information) to enhance perceptions of safety using different transportation services for individuals with disabilities and older adults and/or provide safe alternative on-demand options.

Dissertation chair/committee

Dissertation chair: Li Yin

Committee: Jordana L. Maisel, Edward Steinfeld, Bumjoon Kang