skip to main content

Accessibility of Elderly Citizens to Basic Facilities In Akure Metropolis in Nigeria

Federal University Lokoja, Nigeria

Open Access Copyright 2020 Journal of Architectural Design and Urbanism under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

Citation Format:
Abstract

This study examined the accessibility of elderly citizens to some basic services in Akure metropolis. This was carried out with a view to determine the patterns of distribution and accessibility of these services in the city. Primary and secondary data were employed for this study. Geographical Positioning System was used to capture the coordinates of important locations and of some basic facilities such as Public Tertiary Hospital, Primary Health care centre and banks in the city. Nearest Neighbour Analysis was used to calculate the mean distance travel to some basic services from 13 major localities in Akure metropolis. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyse the data. Finding reveals that some basic facilities are not evenly distributed across different localities in Akure. The mean distance travel to Public Tertiary Hospital is 3.36kms. The pattern of distribution of Public Tertiary Hospital is dispersed rather than random. More than 60% of the elderly rely on public transport services for their trip to access some basic facilities in the city. Traffic delay was ranked highest (66%) among the problems militating against the effective utilisation of urban facilities in Akure metropolis. The study recommends that more basic facilities should be provided in localities where such services are lacking. This would reduce long distance trip to these facilities in the city. The study concludes that better transport services should be made available at reasonable transport fares in order to promote accessibility of the elderly and other segments of the population to urban facilities in Akure and similar other cities in Nigeria.     

Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: Senior Citizens, Urban Services, Transport, Accessibility, Planning.
Funding: NOT APPLICABLE

Article Metrics:

  1. Adesanya, A., Adeniji, K. Daramola, A.Y. (2002). Transport Perspective of Poverty in Nigeria in Poverty In Nigeria. A Multi- Dimensional Perspectives edited by D. Olu Ajakaiye and Ade S. Olomola
  2. Collia, D.V., Sharp, J., Gresbrecht, L. (2003). The 2001 National Household Travel Survey: A Look into the Travel Patterns of Older Americans. Journal of Safety Research 34, 461-470
  3. Cui, M., Levinson, D. (2018). Full cost accessibility. The Journal of Transport and Land Use, 11 (1): 661-679
  4. Duvarci, Y., Yigitcanlar, Y., Alver, Y and Mizokami, S. (2010). Variant Concept of Transportation-Disadvantage: Evidence from Aydin, Turkey, and Yamaga, Japan. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 137(1), 82-90
  5. Emenike, G.C., Ogunjobi, O.S. (2018). Commuting Pattern and Transportation Challenges in Akure Metropolis, Ondo State. New York Science Journal, Volume 11(1): 3541
  6. Fitzpatric, A., Powe, N. R., Cooper, L.S., Ives, and Robbins, J. A.(2004). Barrier to Health Care Access among the Elderly and who Perceives Them. American Journal of Public Health. V. 94 (10), October, 2014. Available online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448535/. Accessed on 13/11/2018
  7. Geurs, K.T., Wee, B. Van. (2004). Accessibility Evaluation of Land Use and Transport Strategies: Review and Research Directions. Journal of Transport Geography, 1 2(2004) 127-140
  8. Giuliano, G. (2005). Low Income, Public Transit and Mobility. Transport Research Record: Journal of Transportation Research Board, 1927, 63-70
  9. Mackett, R. (2015). Improving Accessibility for Older People - Investing in a Valuable Asset Journal of Transport & Health. (2015) 5-13
  10. Mercado, R., Newbold, K. B.( 2009). Car Driving and Public Transit Use in Canadian metropolitan Areas: Focus on Elderly and Role of Health and Social Network Factors. SEDAP Research Paper No.243
  11. Mifsud, D., Attard, M., Ison, S . (2017). To Drive Or To Use The Bus? An Exploratory Study of Older People in Malta. Journal of Transport Geography 64(2017)23-32
  12. Musselwhite, C., Haddad, H. (2010). Mobility, Accessibility and Quality of Life. Quality Ageing Adult 11(1), 25-37
  13. National Population Commission (NPC, 2006). National Population Census of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox- ,accessed 10.04.2017
  14. Ogunbodede, E.F., Ogundare, B.A.( 2014). Intra-Urban Parking Capacities and Parking Demands in Akure, Ondo State. European Environmental Sciences and Ecological Journal, Volume 1(1)1-10
  15. Olawole, M. O., Aloba, O. (2014). Mobility Characteristics of the Elderly and Their Associated Level of Satisfaction with Transport Services in Osogbo, South-western Nigeria. Transport Policy 35(2014) 105-116
  16. Owen, A., Lewinson, D.( 2014). Access across America: University of Minnesota Ranks Accessibility to Jobs by Transit. Available at: https://mntransportationresearch.org/2014/10/07/access-across-america-university- of-minnesota-ranks-accessibility-to-jobs-by-transit-in-top-u-s-cities/. Accessed on 10/11/2018
  17. Paez, A., Mercado, R.G., Farber, S., Morency, C., Roorda, M. (2010). Accessibility to Health Care Facilities in Montreal Island: An Application of Relative Accessibility Indicators from the Perspective of Senior and Non-Senior Residents. International Journal of Health Geographics, 2010, 1-15
  18. Srichuae, S., Nitivattananon, V.,Perera, R. (2016). Aging Society in Bangkok and The Factors Affecting Mobility of Elderly in Urban Public Spaces And Transportation Facilities. Elsevier Limited on behalf of International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences. 40 (2016) 26-34
  19. Shergold, I., Parkhurst, G.(2012). Transport-Related Social Exclusion amongst Older People in Rural Southwest England and Wale. Journal of Rural Studies. 28 (4), 412-421. Special Issue on Growing Old in Rural Places
  20. World Bank (2014): World Bank on poverty in Nigeria. Poverty and Transportation: A way forward
  21. Yang Ya-ting., Iqbal Usman., Ko Hua-Lin., Wu Chia-Rong,. Chiu Hsien - Tsai Chiu., Lin Yi- Chieh., Lin Wender and Hsu Yi-Hsin Elsa Hsu.(2015). The Relationship between Accessibility of Healthcare Facilities and Medical Care Utilisation among the Middle –Aged and Elderly Population in Taiwan. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 2015, 27(3)222-231
  22. Yi Zhang, Wei Wu, Qian He, and Chaoyang Li. (2018). Public Transport Use Among the Urban And Rural Elderly in China: Effects of Personal, Attitudinal, Household, Social –Environment And Built –Environment. The Journal of Transport and Land Use, 11 (1): 701-719

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.