Daily mobility of aging and elderly suburbanites: trips, aspirations and meanings of mobility

The post-War suburbs of North America are problematic for aging in place. Despite their high level of car dependency, elderly suburbanites would rather grow old at home. Rather than move, they make changes to their daily routines. Gaining access to mobility is a major issue for older people, particularly frail seniors, who wish to ensure that their residential experience remains positive. Given that the study of mobility draws on the concept of trip patterns, our understanding of the individual and collective experiences of elderly mobility is incomplete. In this light, this paper explores the practices and meanings of daily mobility for 87 elderly suburbanites aged from 55 to 82 years and currently residing in the greater Quebec City area, Canada. Combining both quantitative and qualitative methods as well as spatial analysis techniques in a single study, a typology of mobility is proposed in order to explore coping strategies developed by seniors in relation to their socio-spatial environment. The results show that, without truly engaging in a decision-making process, elderly suburbanites implicitly choose to age in place by adapting their lifestyle on an ongoing basis. Their housing aspirations are the result of a desire to maintain independence and an attachment to the 'suburban way of life'. The changing mobility is thus likely to influence residential trajectories, giving food for thought to retrofitting suburbia.