Technological progress, as well as demographic/cultural changes, are having an unforeseen effect on human lifestyle and behavior patterns, opening new worlds of experience and accelerating the speed of societal change. The changed habits, needs, and modes of behavior among the elderly and the way in which society deals with them have been the subject of much research, which has yielded somewhat contradictory results. Studies investigating day-to-day traffic encounters and use of modern communication among the elderly are of special interest, indicating that the elderly will claim more political influence in the medium- to long-term, a higher social profile, and more social recognition. The increased desire of today's elderly for staying mobile as long as possible is associated with, among other factors, a wider range of opportunities for mental stimulation and cultural activity. In light of the struggle for ever scarcer resources for all generations, it is not clear where the aging societies of highly developed Western countries will set social and political limits or how they will accept these limits in the face of economic and ecological constraints. This chapter discusses the task of finding socially harmonized strategies for integration of the elderly with their particular individual mobility requirements, an issue of increasing political significance.
Samenvatting