%A Coen Houthooft
%L theses_frw4052
%D 2022
%X The mobility of an individual is influenced a wide array of factors. Maintaining a high level of
mobility is essential for the well-being of all age groups. However, especially older adults face are
more at risk of a decline in mobility. The province of Groningen faces an aging population resulting in
an increasingly bigger population of older adults. This provides local policymakers in Groningen with
new challenges to ensure older adults have sufficient mobility. Therefore, it is especially important to
understand which factors influence the mobility of this population group at risk. Hence, this thesis
aims to answer which factors influence the self-perceived mobility of older adults in Groningen.
Extensive literature research points out that these factors can be categorized into people-based and
place-based factors and operate within the context of Groningen. People-based factors are personal
characteristics such as age, gender and health. Place-based factors are characteristics specific to a
place such as facilities. This thesis will employ ordered logistic models, using data from Sociaal
Planbureau Groningen and Statistics Netherlands to study the relation between these factors and selfassessed perceived mobility of older adults within the context of Groningen. The results generally
support the hypothesis that both people-based and place-based factors influence the perceived mobility
of older adults in Groningen. However, for some factors, no evidence was found that they impact the
perceived mobility of older adults in Groningen. Besides this, the research shows how the local
context can influence the perceived mobility of older adults. Policymakers can use these results to
identify groups and areas that are at risk of having lower perceived mobility and adjust transport
policy to ensure a sufficient level of mobility for older adults.
%T The self-preceived mobility of older adults in Groningen