Community Connections and Independence in Later Life

Living in a hypermobile world, where people are travelling more than ever before, people want to stay connected to evermore dispersed communities as they age. Staying connected to communities and social networks enables older people to contribute to society and is associated with positive mental and physical health, facilitating independence and physical activity while reducing social isolation. This chapter takes an ecological perspective to examine transport mobility in later life that identifies person-activity-environment fit and recognises the complex and nested relationships between biological, behavioural, social, cultural, and environmental factors that occur over the life course of individuals, families, neighbourhoods, and communities is critical. Mobility in later life is more than a means of getting to destinations and includes more affective or emotive associations and mobility without driving needs to embrace this. This chapter explores the potential for successful connected and independent lives for older people without the need to drive a car.