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The Kindness of Strangers: Exploring Interdependencies and Shared Mobilities of Elderly People in Rural Japan
[journal article]
Abstract 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. M... view more
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.... view less
Keywords
Japan; demographic aging; elderly; rural area; mobility; public transportation; utilization; cultural factors; social network; social norm; exclusion; Far East
Classification
Gerontology
Sociology of Traffic
Free Keywords
cultural attitudes; driving; older people; rural transportation; social exclusion
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 183-195
Journal
Social Inclusion, 5 (2017) 4
Issue topic
Regional and Urban Mobility: Contribution to Social Inclusion
ISSN
2183-2803
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed