While the role of ageing population is considered crucial for Sustainable Development Goal
at city level, limited attention has been paid to study the walking accessibility level of this
population group to retail activity. Moreover, one missing element is the analysis of the
ageing population willingness to reach retail activity on foot, which is here seen as a key
point to generate friendly, liveable, and decarbonised urban environments. The city of
Granada (Spain) is taken as spatial laboratory for the research. For this city, the planning of
ageing population mobility in the mid-term seems to be challenging. First, a questionnaire
regarding the willingness of ageing population to walk to daily, weekly, and incidental retail
locations was conducted, including the identification of the main barriers to cover those
distances on foot. Data were collected between January 2018 and January 2019. Second, a
detailed description of the main existing problems to access to different types of retail
activities be explored and compared, distilling findings for urban diagnosis. This research
provides a strong basis for policy-making formulation, which can be orientated towards
making cities more inclusive, liveable, and sustainable. Its findings can facilitate the
identification and mapping of locations where ageing population groups can be under risk
of walking accessibility disadvantage.
