PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2023, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (1): 89-103.doi: 10.18306/dlkxjz.2023.01.008

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Impact of neighborhood destination built environments on daily activity opportunities of the elderly population: Based on perception and participation

WEI Yue(), YANG Dongfeng*()   

  1. School of Architecture and Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, Liaoning, China
  • Received:2022-06-06 Revised:2022-08-08 Online:2023-01-28 Published:2023-03-28
  • Contact: YANG Dongfeng E-mail:weiyue03@mail.dlut.edu.cn;yangdongfeng@dlut.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(52078095);National Natural Science Foundation of China(51638003)

Abstract:

Daily activities of the elderly population are closely related to their physical and mental health, and are complicatedly affected by the attributes of multiple neighborhood destination built environments. However, current research has paid little attention to the activity opportunity characteristics of the elderly population and scope of the built environment centered on neighborhood destinations. Combined with the theory of homo-urbanicus, this study constructed a research framework on the relationship between neighborhood destinations and daily activity opportunities from the needs of the elderly for survival, contact, and social interaction. Taking the main urban area of Dalian City as an example, data on the perception and participation in daily activities were collected from 1149 older adults in 2017 and 2019. From the three dimensions of accessibility, attractiveness, and friendliness, built environment indicators were measured for the neighborhood destinations that the elderly have potential contact with, including commercial, medical, educational, and leisure facilities. We used the multiple linear regression and the multinomial logistic regression methods to analyze the impact of neighborhood destination built environments on older adults' daily activity opportunities. The main findings of the study are as follows: 1) The daily activity opportunities of the elderly can be divided into three categories: bystander type, target type, and active type. In addition to being severely constrained by individual attributes, these types also show heterogeneity in their spatial distributions. 2) Commercial facilities have a significant impact on activity perception, and leisure facilities have a significant impact on activity participation. Specifically, indicators such as the proportion of residential areas around community activity centers and the distance to shopping mall intersections have a greater impact on activity perception. The road network density around chess and card rooms and the proportion of cars around community activity centers have a greater impact on activity participation. 3) The environmental suitability of hospitals has an effect on the bystander elderly, and the spatial location of shopping malls has an effect on the active elderly. The research results show that in the optimization of the built environment of urban public service facilities, it is necessary not only to meet the needs of the elderly for the use of space, but also to meet their needs for rest and observation. In addition, urban planners should pay attention to the differences in the impact of different types of service facilities on daily activity opportunities of the elderly, and carry out targeted planning and policy interventions. This study provides new ideas for the refined construction of age-friendly cities.

Key words: neighborhood destination, built environment, elderly population, homo-urbanicus, daily activity perception, daily activity participation