Good places for ageing in place: development of objective built environment measures for investigating links with older people's wellbeing

Table 1 Characteristics of older people in the sample

Variable	Category	% of participants
Gender	Women	59.0
	Men	41.0
Age group	65-74	43.5
	75-84	43.0
	80+	13.5
Socio-economic classification	I Professional	15.5
	II Managerial	40.0
	IIIN Skilled - non manual	16.5
	IIIM Skilled - manual	14.5
	IV Partly skilled	11.0
	V Unskilled	2.5
Self-rated health	Excellent	12.0
	Very good	34.0
	Good	24.5
	Fair	19.5
	Poor	10.0
Specific health problems	None	16.5
	Visual impairments	26.0
	Hearing impairments	35.5
	Memory problems	24.0
	Mobility problems	59.5
	Other	6.0
Activities limited by health problems	Yes	51.5
	No	48.5
Activities limited the most by:	Visual impairments	3.5
	Hearing impairments	2.0
	Memory problems	1.0
	Mobility problems	44.5
	Other (heart and breathing problems)	0.5
Use of mobility aids when out	None	64.5
	Walking aid	28.0
	Wheelchair	2.5
	Help from another person	1.5
	Mobility scooter	8.0
Forms of transport used the most often	Walk	85.0
	Bicycle	3.0
	Bus	56.0
	Drives own car	51.0
	Driven by someone else	19.5
	Train	10.0
	Taxi	16.5
	Dial-a-ride	4.5
	Mobility scooter	7.0
Living arrangements	Alone	54.5
	With partner	41.5
	With others	4.0
Length of time living in neighbourhood	< 1 year	3.5
	1-10 years	38.5
	> 10 years	58.0
Tenure	Owner-occupier	62.5
	Renting from Housing Association	37.5

ISSN: 1471-2458