ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a comprehensive review of the mobility needs of older persons and the risks to safety they encounter when using the surface transportation system in the United States. Carp stresses that personal control and mastery are important elements of success in meeting life maintenance and higher order needs; thus independent capacity to meet mobility needs is central to well being. Mobility is essential for the quality of life in modern society. Several studies have shown the importance of housing and environmental quality to the well being of older persons, but as Carp has pointed out, “the quality of later life depends on the quality of housing and environment, made dynamic by transportation.” Older persons without adequate mobility may suffer lower self esteem, feel useless, unhappy, or depressed. American society is undergoing a demographic transformation that will continue at an accelerated rate into the century.
