Joe Coughlin Presents on Navigating The New Transportation Demands Of An Aging Society for MIT's Mobility Initiative
by Adam Felts
AgeLab Director Joseph Coughlin gave a presentation for MIT's Mobility Initiative on the need for user-centered mobility models to address the transportation needs of older adults. As Dr. Coughlin writes in the presentation abstract, the fastest growing population cohort in North America and around the world are adults over the age of 50. By 2047, the United Nations forecasts that there will be more people over 60 years old than younger adults worldwide. However, the disruptive demographics of aging is about far more than numbers alone - it is about a new generation of older adults who are more active, affluent, better-educated, and tech savvy than previous generations, and who fully expect to not just live longer, but to live longer, better. Transportation will be key to ensuring quality of life in old age.
Dr. Coughlin's presentation was based on an article published with AgeLab Research Specialist Samantha Brady titled "Planning, Designing, and Engineering Tomorrow’s User-Centered, Age-Ready Transportation System," which was published in the Spring 2019 edition of the National Academy Engineering's The Bridge.
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