O olhar do idoso ao caminhar em seu bairro: estudo de caso nas áreas do Centro, Fragata e Navegantes, em Pelotas/RS.

Abstract

The research deals with how the elderly perceive the neighborhood where they live. What are the difficulties he faces to get around daily and where is he going. Through the application of the Caminhada Interview, we sought to identify the places and the reasons that lead the elderly to choose to walk in certain places in their neighborhood, in the face of all the adversities arising from their age or stage of life, pointing out negative points and positive to live in that place, contributing to the improvement of the neighborhood to meet the needs of the elderly population. For this, the walks with the elderly were carried out in the areas of the Centro, Fragata and Navegantes neighborhoods, in different contexts, in the city of Pelotas. In this way, the method gives us, in a single moment of collection, various information to be analyzed in relation to the streets traveled. The method allowed, in a single moment of data collection, several information that allowed analysis in relation to the routes traveled. For the analysis of the results, four categories were created from the authors Jeff Speck, Jan Gehl and the Institute of Transport and Development Policies. It was observed that the preferred routes were related to the presence of commerce and services, and also because they are public transport routes. The attraction exerted by green areas in the studied areas was evidenced. Security concerns were also unanimous, especially at night, showing the importance of lighting in public spaces. Higher-income seniors were proud of their architectural heritage in the area in which they live; the middle class gave preference to walks to commerce and churches, and the lower income moved towards the Health Center and Social Center. This work is part of a research project developed in an international partnership, led by the United Kingdom and researchers in Brazil. The broader research has as main objective to investigate how the sense of place is experienced by elderly people from different social contexts who live in different districts in Brazil and the United Kingdom.