Aging in Activity Space: Results From Smartphone-Based GPS-Tracking of Urban Seniors

Erin York Cornwell and Kathleen A Cagney

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2017, vol. 72, issue 5, 864-875

Abstract: ObjectivesPrior research emphasizes the importance of the residential neighborhood context during later life but little attention has been afforded to other areas that older adults encounter as they move beyond their residential environments for daily activities and social interactions. This study examines the predominance of the residential context within older adults’ everyday lives.MethodWe provided 60 older adults in four New York City neighborhoods with iPhones, which captured Global Positioning Systems (GPS) locations at 5-min intervals over 1 week (n = 55,561) and 17 ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) over 4 days (n = 757) to assess real-time activities.ResultsOlder adults in our sample spent nearly 40% of their time outside of their residential tracts and they visited 28 other tracts, on average. Exercising, shopping, socializing, and social activities were especially likely to take place outside of residential tracts. Differences in residential and nonresidential poverty exposure vary across gender, race/ethnicity, education, car ownership, and residential areas.DiscussionMeasuring activity space, rather than relying on residential tracts, allows examination of the social environments that are relevant for older adults’ everyday lives. Variation in characteristics of activity spaces may be an underexplored source of differences in health and well-being during later life.

Keywords: Methods; Neighborhood; Social environment; Urban sociology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

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