mobility, mood and place – making the environment easy, enjoyable and meaningful for older people

Mobility, Mood and Place is funded by Lifelong Health and Wellbeing, a cross-council initiative addressing the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population.


‘Most people who have sensory impairments in the UK are older people who have developed hearing and sight loss in later life. The older someone is, the more likely they are to have both a visual and a hearing impairment.’- SENSE charity


• What does this mean for someone’s use and enjoyment of their local neighbourhood?

• What can planners, developers and designers do to make sure that all older people are enabled and inspired to get outside?


‘Public knowledge about what it means to be ‘age friendly’ is limited and focuses mainly on the physical needs of older people. However, there is growing recognition of the cognitive and social needs of this group of people.’- Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology


Mobility, Mood and Place (MMP) brings together 20 researchers from four UK universities - together with 20 external partners - to unpack the complex linkages between the environment, health and wellbeing over the lifecourse.


Building on evidence that how we experience environments influences our mood and willingness to be active, we’re trying to drive design beyond physical access and understand what features support positive emotions and behaviours.


People’s relationship with place is transactional. The environment affords people the opportunity to do things based on what it offers relative to their personal circumstances, needs, preferences and abilities.


We’ve been working with architecture and landscape architecture students on co-designing with older people. This involves the creative input of ‘end users’ from the very outset of the design process.


Informal walking interviews appear to be a particularly popular co-design technique among older people. They are good for capturing someone’s immediate response to place, as well as the memories they associate with particular spaces.


Image courtesy of Stephanie Sharpe, Roseanne Knight and Jonathon Phillips


Another aspect of our work involves a mobile neuroimaging study of 98 older people using a EEG headset which records their brain activity patterns as they walk in a mixture of urban ‘green’ and ‘busy’ areas.


‘If older people live within 10 minutes’ walk of a park, they are more likely to be physically active and satisfied with life and twice as likely to achieve recommended levels of healthy walking.’- Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors (I’DGO)


‘Lesser-quality environments are often considered to pose an increased falls risk, especially by older people with vision, mobility or other impairments. They can heighten fears about going out.’- Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors (I’DGO)


Máire [email protected]

Mobility, Mood and Place (MMP)www.mobilitymoodplace.ac.uk

Inclusive Design for Getting Outdoors (I’DGO)

www.idgo.ac.uk