Abstract
The urban space environment has been proven to be related to the health of the elderly. However, as a high-density city, Macau’s limited urban space must cope with the growing population and the arrival of an aging society. In the existing studies, less attention has been paid to Macau, especially the relationship between Macanese elderly and urban space. This study uses Baidu Street View (BSV) on the Macau Peninsula and conducts field surveys to obtain street view data to evaluate the openness, greenness, interface coverage, and road area ratio of street space and its association with the physical and mental health of the elderly and social health. The results show that the data truly reflect the overall street space conditions on the Macau Peninsula. The street openness, greenery rate, and interface enclosure are all related to the elderly in various evaluations in areas with a higher population dependency index and aging index. Human space perception is related to health gain, and road area ratio is weaker than other indicators. The research results have certain policy implications and have practical significance for city managers and designers.
Highlights
The expansion of cities and the increase in population density have put greater stress on the urban space environment, and these problems will lead to physical and mental illnesses of various types in urban residents
In the three districts (Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, Baixa de Macau, Praia Grande e Penha) in which the dependency index and aging index of the elderly population exceed 100, image data was not obtained in some regions due to road narrowness and other factors, but the data distribution shows the values of 45.72%–60.8%, 80.81%–95.06% which are relatively high
Street view data was acquired through machine learning and field surveys, and a comprehensive assessment of the current state of street view in Macau
Summary
The expansion of cities and the increase in population density have put greater stress on the urban space environment (air pollution, lack of public space and facilities, etc.), and these problems will lead to physical and mental illnesses of various types in urban residents. People’s attention to the urban space environment has led to a series of studies. Congestion in urban space can lead to mental stress [1], brain damage, and Alzheimer’s disease due to air pollution [2]. An experimental study in northern Italy showed that urban space is tightly structured and by a good public transport system. Subjective perception of the objective physical space environment in the city will affect residents’ use of space and trigger a series of health-related behaviors [4]
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