The Social Sciences
Aging, Travel Behaviour and Quality of Life in Planned and Unplanned Communities of Lagos Metropolis
Authors : Wale Alade, Mobolaji Olaseni and Waheed Kadiri
Abstract: This study provides a comparative study of travel behaviour
of the elderly in planned and unplanned communities of Lagos metropolis using
Festac Town and Ketu communities as case study. The study argues that the quality
of neighbourhood affects the travel pattern and quality of life of old people.
A total of 155 old people were randomly selected and interviewed with the aid
of questionnaire in the two contrasting neighbourhoods, 80 from Festac Town
and 75 from Ketu. The elderly constitutes 1.5% of the population in the two
neighbourhoods. Data collected covered socio-economic characteristics, travel
behaviour and mobility challenge of respondents. Both descriptive and inferential
statistics were used for data analysis. The difference in the socio-economic
status and travel pattern of respondents between the neighbourhoods was established
with Chi-square test at 0.05 levels of significance. The findings showed that
51.0% of respondents were males, 62.0% were in their 60s, 84.0% had formal education
and the mean of years of education was 13.3, 56.8% did not earn >
25,000
(156 USD, exchange rate of 160-1
USD) per month, 55.2% were self-employed, 41.6% had at least one car in their
household and 66.5% had no personal means of mobility. The relationship between
respondents’ quality of neighbourhood and socio-economic characteristics
was statistically significant in terms of number of years of formal education;
income per month and household car ownership. The results also showed that 98.0%
made at least one trip per day with a mean trip of 1.8; dominant mode was car
(32.5%) and 74.8% travelled during the off-peak period. The study concludes
that no conscious planning exists for the mobility of the elderly and that significant
relationship exists between neighbourhood quality, travel behaviour and quality
of life of the elderly in the study area. The study recommends better neighbourhood
planning which places emphasis on elderly mobility.
How to cite this article:
Wale Alade, Mobolaji Olaseni and Waheed Kadiri, 2013. Aging, Travel Behaviour and Quality of Life in Planned and Unplanned Communities of Lagos Metropolis. The Social Sciences, 8: 306-314.