Older residents' ability to move safely and independently throughout the year is critical to maintaining quality of life and function and postponing disability. There are few studies of environmental determinants of outdoor mobility for older people in rural areas, and even fewer cover the Nordic Arctic areas and its winter season.

Our project investigates how people aged 70 or older perceive their lived urban and rural mobility space and the impact of environmental conditions commonly found in Nordic Arctic settlements in wintertime. The methodology is an exploratory mixed-method design, where we use a tailored questionnaire followed by focus group interviews to collect more specific data. Three regions of Finland (Lapland, Kainuu, Northern Ostrobothnia), two regions of Sweden (Norrbotten, Vasterbotten), and the whole of Iceland are covered.

In this presentation, we will share our experiences and development of the methodology for the data collection. The questions must be expressed and understood similarly by respondents across Sweden, Finland and Iceland, and also across diverse residence typologies, for example, urban or rural. Hence, the wordings, definitions, contexts, and typologies of places are currently discussed within the research group and will also be an essential issue addressed during focus group interviews later in the project. Expected outcomes, such as tailored questionnaires and new knowledge, can be used to create safer outdoor environments and public spaces for older people living in the Nordic Arctic.