RT Article
T1 The Kindness of Strangers: Exploring Interdependencies and Shared Mobilities of Elderly People in Rural Japan
JF Social Inclusion
VO 5
IS 4
SP 183
OP 195
A1 Yamamoto, Fuyo  (Jenny)
A1 Zhang, Junyi 1966-
A2 Zhang, Junyi 1966-
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1787934772
AB For over forty years, most residents in rural areas of Japan have relied on private vehicles to meet their mobility needs. Today, however, the rapid ageing of the population, coupled with low birth rates and migration of young people to urban areas, is posing a variety of new transport challenges. Most notably, the proportion of drivers to non-drivers is getting smaller. This means that non-drivers who relied on family and neighbours for trips in the past, as well as elderly residents who give up their licenses, have fewer people to drive them. Current policy debates tend to focus on technological "solutions", and underestimate the complex social, cultural and inter-personal relationships which underlie transport dependencies in these environments. Using a qualitative semi-structured survey, the current study explores the current mobilities of older people living in a small rural district in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The resulting analysis reveals how cultural attitudes and social norms affect the ways in which older people manage their mobilities.
K1 Japan
K1 Ageing
K1 cultural attitudes
K1 driving
K1 Elderly
K1 Mobility
K1 Older people
K1 rural transportation
K1 Social exclusion
K1 Transport
DO 10.17645/si.v5i4.1125