A new philosophy for an ageing population

Almost all restrictions in mobility are actually the result of the design of the transport system rather than a ‘problem’ of older people themselves.

In the video, Charles Musselwhite discusses the resources that need to be addressed to support mobility for ageing population. He refers to four types of ‘mobility capital’.

These mobility capitals can be mapped against three levels of age friendly transport environments.

Older people are most likely to mention barriers and enablers to mobility relating to:

• infrastructure capital including technology, services, roads, pavements, finance and economics
• social capital such as friends, family, neighbourhood and community
• cultural capital including norms, expectations, rules and laws
• individual capital such as skills, abilities, resilience, adaptation and the desire and willingness to change.

These factors significantly contribute to older people’s mobility. Implications for policy and practice suggest that provision for older people must explore capital across all four of the domains.

Your task

Make sure you have an understanding of the four types of mobility capital. Make notes in your word or Google doc as you go.

Further resources

If you would like to explore some of the concepts we have covered in more detail, the following resources are optional.

Developing a model of mobility capital for an ageing population

Developing a new theoretical model of mobility capital