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This population, with some restrictions in terms of personal mobility, do not always have easy access to urban spaces and to the components of the transport system. If up to now the quantitative of this population could be considered balanced with that of the younger population, it is now expanding throughout Europe, with the number of people over 65 years old exceeding the number of people under 18 in many countries. The demographic pyramid in Europe shows the distribution of the 503 million men and women in the European Union (based on the EU27 countries in 2012) as a “constrictive pyramid”, which is typical of societies with low fertility and mortality rates and with relatively older populations.

The urban centers concentrate a large part of the population aged in the cities, which also inhabit the older buildings. By definition and in most of these cities, these areas are also areas where historical monuments and other factors of tourist attraction are located. Senior tourism is also a consequence of the general aging of the population and has been increasing. This scenario makes the urban centers, especially the historic centers, where more of the elderly are concentrated compared to other parts of the city, residents and visitors. It was observed that neither the urban public space nor the transport system are adequate, with optimal conditions, to the mobility needs of these groups. In this way, this exploratory project concentrates:

• First of all, in the literature review on the adequacy of the urban space at the level of design and urban infrastructures, with regard to the routes and the pedestrian and bicycle accesses, both to the buildings and access points of the system of transport;
• On the other hand, the literature on mobility and accessibility of the elderly in the transportation system will also be revised.

Using some information from this review, two case studies (selected areas of urban rehabilitation zones – historical centers) will be studied:

• One in Coimbra;
• One in Porto.

These two case studies will be studied in relation to:

• The characteristics of the resident elderly population;
• The areas of residence;
• Characteristics of public space including tourist attractions;

These studies aim to identify needs and failures. These processes go beyond documentary work and will also aim to create social innovation by holding participatory and dynamic sessions of collaboration with this population, assessing more precisely what their needs and aspirations are. A methodology for the diagnosis and classification of central historical spaces, particularly those that are the target of urban rehabilitation operations, will be elaborated from the bibliographic review and the evaluation work of the case studies, as to their suitability in terms of mobility within the areas. considered and between these zones and other areas of the city, for the older population, whether resident or visitor. This methodology should inform the future development of interactive information platforms, aimed at end users of the space and not only for visitors, but also for residents, which will allow them to find solutions to their travel needs with easily.