IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i15p6658-d1706733.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing Older Adults’ Walkability in the Surroundings of Primary Care Centers: A Three-Case Study from Barcelona

Author

Listed:
  • Enrico Porfido

    (Sealine Research Centre, Department of Architecture, Ferrara University, 44121 Ferrara, Italy)

  • Cynthia Pérez

    (Instituto Hábitat Turismo Territorio, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Pablo Martínez

    (300.000 Km/s, 08005 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Beatriz Puértolas-Gracia

    (Health Services Research Group, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
    CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain)

  • Aida Ribera

    (CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
    Research on Aging, Frailty and Care Transitions in Barcelona (REFiT-BCN), Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili and Vall d’Hebron Institute (VHIR), 08023 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Laura Mónica Pérez

    (Research on Aging, Frailty and Care Transitions in Barcelona (REFiT-BCN), Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili and Vall d’Hebron Institute (VHIR), 08023 Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

This study aims to explore the walkability of three small areas (basic healthcare areas) of Barcelona city (Catalonia, Spain) for frail older adults. A mixed methods study design was conducted with 132 frail older adults in three primary care centers of Barcelona: Larrard, Barceloneta, and Vila Olímpica. A literature review was conducted to identify urban design indicators related to walkability and the aging population. These were then reflected in the surveys administered to the program participants, capturing information on their preferred routes, usual destinations, and walkability perceptions. Findings reveal significant mobility challenges for older adults, particularly the ones related to safety issues, the adequacy of sidewalk widths, greenery and urban furniture maintenance, and the presence/absence of commercial activities. This research underscores the importance of age-sensitive urban design in healthcare environments and provides a framework for enhancing walkability and accessibility for populations at greater risk of mobility-related health problems, such as frail older adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Enrico Porfido & Cynthia Pérez & Pablo Martínez & Beatriz Puértolas-Gracia & Aida Ribera & Laura Mónica Pérez, 2025. "Assessing Older Adults’ Walkability in the Surroundings of Primary Care Centers: A Three-Case Study from Barcelona," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-20, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:15:p:6658-:d:1706733
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/15/6658/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/15/6658/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:15:p:6658-:d:1706733. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.