Silver Ways
Improving the pedestrian friendliness of cities to better cater to the needs of older adults
The Silver Ways project develops an empirically informed and validated routing system for older people. The age-friendly Silver Ways are used to create a 15-Minute Neighborhood Index, emphasizing neighborhoods where critical amenities are accessible within a short walk specifically along routes that are safe, comfortable, and convenient for older individuals.
Silver Ways progresses through three consecutive work packages
Route choice study
Mapping routes taken by older adults using travel diaries; Analyzing the determinants of route choices using econometric models.
Routing system development and validation
Implementing a routing system with weights informed by econometric models; validating through field tests with older adults in an Urban Living Lab.
15-minute index development
Developing an index based on accessibility to key amenities, calculated using the silver routes rather than the shortest paths.
Silver Ways focuses on diverse urban settings across three countries: Mannheim in Germany, Uppsala in Sweden, and Kayseri in Turkey. Findings from each city are synthesized to develop broader insights and solutions that enhance walkability and accessibility for older adults across varied European contexts.