URBAN MOBILITY AND THE ELDERLY

Abstract

The aging of Brazilian population has triggered improvement trends in public requirements such as transport and health. Mobility is one of the main factors in the improvement of elderly people´s life quality since it warrants the maintenance of their daily activity and autonomy. Urban mobility is experienced in the use of public transport which is actually one of the services in dire need of improvement to attend the elderly. Current research describes the relationship between urban mobility and its influence on the elderly people´s health promotion. Research was performed between February and May 2013 through a bibliographical survey at several online databases (Scielo, Bireme, Capes, Science Direct), with the keywords of current research. All materials were described in such a way that they showed the importance of current research and the importance of public quality policies in collective transport. They describe the health aspects that may be developed preventively and for health promotion through a collective transport system which is efficient and of quality. Throughout the years, people become more vulnerable to risk situations, such as falls. Owing to the increase in the elderly population and the need of urban mobility with quality and safety, public buses and the public transport system should show improvements to better attend to the users´ demands.