Abstract

This article explores whether potential statistically significant differences in terms of respondents’ demographic characteristics (i.e., age) can point to intergenerational differences in perceptions of the living environment. A quantitative methodology was used. Older respondents reported higher satisfaction, a stronger feeling of socioeconomic homogeneity of the neighbourhood, better neighbourly relations, and more positive opinions on the maintenance of the built environment than did younger respondents. In turn, younger respondents expressed a higher level of agreement about vandalism and physical and verbal attacks in the neighbourhood. These results were unexpected because previous studies showed significantly lower levels of agreement regarding satisfaction with the built environment and significantly higher levels of agreement about crime among older respondents than younger ones. They can be explained by the findings of many researchers, who established that the elderly generally still prefer to grow old at home – that is, in the environment they are familiar with, because they are often afraid that moving to an eldercare facility would inevitably cause them to lose their independence. Therefore, they tend to accept the environment where they live the way it is. On the other hand, the article shows that a series of statistically significant differences established indicates that the living environment, which has a strong impact on people’s satisfaction and well being, nonetheless does not offer the same quality of the built social infrastructure to all users (i.e., users with different demographic characteristics).

Highlights

  • E article explores whether there are any statistically signi cant di erences among respondents that might indicate signi cant intergenerational di erences in perceptions of the built environment or, more broadly, perceptions of the built social infrastructure they live in

  • Based on a strong correlation between age and employment status (Pearson’s correlation coe cient r = 0.57), the data were rst analysed by age and employment using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA; see Table 1). is made it possible to examine whether such analysis showed di erent statistically

  • Signi cant di erences (p < 0.01) by age and general features of the built environment were shown in relation to the importance of infrastructure development connected with the presence of the police and re stations, security services, and so on, home satisfaction, the neighbourhood’s socioeconomic homogeneity, neighbourly relations, the development of the built environment, and its maintenance. e results showed an uneven distribution of statistically signi cant differences between the two factors observed: four within the rst factor and only two within the second one

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Summary

Introduction

E article explores whether there are any statistically signi cant di erences among respondents that might indicate signi cant intergenerational di erences in perceptions of the built environment or, more broadly, perceptions of the built social infrastructure they live in. Popov’s study opens a wide area for further detailed research, and it encouraged the author of this article to conduct a detailed analysis of individual factors within a community (in the sense of users’ perceptions) and the built environment by basic demographic characteristics of the respondents. According to Meško (2001), spatial design should provide a structure that discourages crime – that is, the external features of the environment should be based on properties that show that the environment is under control, and as such it should create a sense of safety in people Such a neighbourhood stimulates greater concern for the environment, more contact with neighbours (good neighbourly relations), and more help among neighbours, and its residents are more satis ed with their homes (Grum, 2017). The elderly still prefer to grow old at home (Harper & Bayer, 2000; Greenwald et al, 2003; Secker et al, 2003; Wylde, 2008), o en because they are afraid that moving to an eldercare facility would inevitably cause them to lose their independence (Parry et al, 2004; Imamoglu, 2007)

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