The place of urban ageing
El lugar del envejecimiento urbano

El lugar del envejecimiento urbano:

Aproximación Multiescalar

Activity Space

It is the set of places where people carry out their daily activities.

Ageing in place

Ability to age while being part of the community, staying in one’s place of residence, and maintaining an independent life.

Urban Ageing

In Chile and Latin America, the majority of the population lives in cities. It is necessary to adapt urban environments for today’s and tomorrow’s older adults.

Santiago de Chile

In a context of spatial and social segregation, the possibility for older people to move easily, in safe spaces, and access the opportunities they need is unequal.

Main objective:

Examine to what extent the different scales of the city define the activity space of older adults based on the accessibility they provide to urban opportunities.

Specific objectives:

Assess at which scale (neighborhood, district, city) older adults have access to meaningful opportunities.

Evaluate at what scale (neighborhood, municipality, city) older adults have access to significant opportunities.

Assess at what scale (neighborhood, municipality, city) older adults have access to meaningful opportunities.

Space Analysis

The team of researchers analyzed access to basic opportunities (healthcare, commerce, services, parks) and the possibility of using public transportation.

Walking Interviews

In selected neighborhoods, walking interviews were conducted with older adults to examine their experiences, followed by measuring their mobility and physical activity using GPS and accelerometers.

Public Policy Analysis

The public policies at both the national and municipal levels that work towards improving the accessibility of cities and spaces for older adults were analyzed.

The potential activity space of older individuals:
accessibility to local and urban opportunities.

We explore the potential for spatial activity among older individuals, quantitatively analyzing accessibility to opportunities available at the local and urban scales.

This involves:

  • Collection of georeferenced information focused on the socialization of older individuals (neighborhood associations and senior citizen clubs).
  • Evaluation of pedestrian accessibility to local opportunities.
  • Evaluation of competitive accessibility to healthcare centers at the urban scale.
  • Definition of profiles for areas with a high presence of older adults.

The actual activity space of older individuals:
mobility and access to opportunities

Examine the effective spatial activity of older individuals, taking into account how they move and access relevant opportunities at the local and urban scale. It focuses on specific areas in Santiago that represent different typologies of neighborhoods for older adults.

The zones are defined by the combination of three attributes:

  • Socioeconomic conditions of the population.
  • Accessibility to local-scale opportunities.
  • Accessibility to urban-scale opportunities.


The following methods are included:

  • Analysis of mobility experience through surveys and walking interviews.
  • Measurement of physical movement of older individuals using GPS and accelerometers.
  • Comparison between potential accessibility and effective mobility.

The spatial dimension of aging policies.

Explores how the findings can be adapted to public policies through two tasks:

  • A review of existing public policies related to aging and urban space,
  • Providing suggestions for urban aging through the development of recommendations that could be significant in the case of Santiago.
Financiado por
Colobora