Abstract
The world’s population is aging and becoming more urbanized. Public space in urban areas is vital for improving the health of the elderly by stimulating social interaction. Many urban design projects are advertised as age-friendly but ignore the real needs of the elderly, especially elderly women, for social interaction in urban public spaces. Insufficient attention is paid to the physical and psychological characteristics of elderly women when shaping public space. This analysis addresses the question: What are the qualities of urban spaces which facilitate health-improving social interaction for elderly women? Methods include a case study in Beijing, field investigation, mapping, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. The survey was carried out in April 2021, and concerned 240 women aged 55–75 years. Results indicate that the social interactions of older women relate to both their physical and psychological situations. Public spaces can positively impact the psychological well-being and social participation of elderly women. Conclusions include insights regarding the relationship between social interaction and well-being among elderly women, as well as proposing a series of principles for shaping public spaces for an age-friendly urban environment.
Highlights
Well-being among elderly citizens is a significant contemporary theme
The research question asks: What are the qualities of urban spaces which facilitate health-improving social interaction for elderly women? the potentiality of public space as contributing to the age-friendly urban environment is analyzed, assessing benefits of social elderly women? the potentiality of public space the as contributing to theinterageaction for the well-being of elderly women
This research highlights that public space should address elderly women’s special social interaction behaviors, needs and experiments
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), population aging and urbanization are two global trends that, together, are major forces shaping the twenty-first century [1]. Urban growth and an aging population form the crux of the current global demographic [2]. The world’s elderly citizenry continues to become more urbanized [3]. Urban research is paying attention to the health of elderly people. Public space is an important sphere in which people can maintain a sense of connectivity and social engagement in their later years. It can provide psychological comfort and motivate social behavior. Former research indicates that an age-friendly city offers a supportive environment that enables residents to grow older actively within their families, neighborhoods, and civil society and offers extensive opportunities for their participation in the community [6,7]
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