Impact of Green Space on Older Adults’ Quality of Life Based on Spatial and Non-Spatial Analyses

Abstract

Outdoor green space is an important public resource supporting older adults’ active lifestyle and improving their quality of life (QoL). However, the impact of green space on older adults’ QoL has seldom been comprehensibly investigated in Asia. Therefore, this study aimed to predict the impact of green space on older adults’ QoL in China by conducting both spatial analysis and questionnaire surveys. A two-step floating catchment area method was applied to measure the spatial accessibility of green space to older adults at the subdistrict level. To investigate older adults’ actual opinions and verify spatial analysis results, a large-scale questionnaire survey was also conducted. Both ANOVA and logistic regression were adopted to analyze questionnaire survey data. The results indicated that (1) green space was not equally distributed; (2) the possibility of a good QoL for older adults was significantly influenced by accessibility, size, and facilities of green space; (3) the possibility of older adults’ satisfactory QoL would decrease with the increase in walking distances to green space and increase with their good self-care ability. These findings could provide insights for future planning to enhance the spatial distribution of green space and improve QoL for older adults.