Inclusive Urban Neighborhood Streets: Safety and Accessibility for Pedestrian Mobility of Elderly Citizens and Related Gender Issues

Elderly comprise an important and integral part of our society and empowering them to access and navigate our public spaces becomes an imperative necessity of designing such spaces. Gender issues also take forefront. Women's lack of claim to public space is a cause of concern when we boast about achieving a gender- forward community and ideology. Urban public spaces mainly streets are a cumulative gendered and sexualized arena. The elderly encounter numerous significant odds because of inhospitable environments on the streets and on account of being fragile and unconfident; sometimes being solitary they fear to tread onto streets and tend to confine themselves to their homes. Curbing the right of access to necessary amenities, public spaces or entertainment indicates a failed urban design and social rights. An inclusive approach towards pedestrianization of our streets to encompass the elderly citizens is needed to ensure an uncontested claim to the space that one inhabits.

The paper will look into urban design aspects that influence the experience of the elderly in general and women in particular (60 years and above) as pedestrians treading upon urban streets in their neighborhoods for various reasons.