Independent Living in Age-Friendly Cities: Study on Dyads of Elderly Pedestrians Walking Dynamics

The present thesis has, as one of its main goals, the objective to introduce the phenomenon of Ageing Society, particularly focusing on the theme of elderly population mobility in urban environment. The originality of this thesis comes from the study of elderly dyads walking dynamics in urban settings and senior citizens' perception about the neighbourhood they live in, in terms of safety and walkable conditions. The final purpose is to demonstrate, through the analysis of institutional and scientific literature, with the help of qualitative and quantitative data collection tools, how the quality of life in older years is related to the maintenance of physical and social activities outdoor, and to infrastructure and services supporting walking mobility. After the introduction to the theme Ageing Society (Chapter 1), the first part of the thesis (Chapters 2-3-4) discusses the importance of the concept of Independent Living as a new lifestyle for senior persons, and investigates the meaning of Walkability, the measure of walking condition, and of living conditions in general, in a definite area. These concepts can be associated to the word Age-Friendly City, which not only refers to a city attentive to citizen's needs but to every age, a city that is inclusive and aware of the wellbeing of its inhabitants. Moreover, we cannot ignore the important role that technology plays in elderly assistance and to the improvement of the quality of life. In particular, nowadays technology can make domestic living more comfortable, avoiding institutionalisation. Data collected through the administration of a long questionnaire "The perception of longevity", aiming at investigating the perception of the population regarding themes such as seniority and assistive technology, are presented in this section. Data indicates that older persons are perceived as autonomous in their daily activities and full of resources, confirming the necessity to promote an active and independent lifestyle through an increased social participation and the preservation of interpersonal relationships, also with the use of new technological solutions. The second part of the dissertation introduces the definition of "dyad of pedestrian" and an overview of the literature having as objectives pedestrian characteristics in dynamic contexts, in particular: interpersonal distance during locomotion, patterns of small groups in a crowd, elderly pedestrians exposed to environmental complexity (Chapters 5-6). The third part of the thesis (Chapters 7-8) presents two study cases: in vivo observation in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan for data collection and analysis concerning pedestrian dynamics, and the administration of short questionnaires in Via Padova in Milan, with the aim of acquiring the experience of elderly people living in the neighbourhood and the conditions of walkability and safety. The results highlight important insights related to the walking behaviour of older people in terms of speed, direction, trajectory, cohesion and about dyads of pedestrians in a complex environment such as a non-signalised street crossing. Conclusion, future works and bibliography constitute the closing part of the thesis (Chapters 9-10).