Abstract
Urbanization and ageing are the two main processes currently shaping the social environment worldwide. In this context, creating senior friendly cities should be an important target, especially in developed countries, which have the highest rates of population over 60 years old. Our study focuses on the use of urban parks and aims to analyze how friendly their planning, design, and use are for elderly people. We used field observation carried out in four case study parks in Bucharest (Romania) to assess the spatial planning and design of urban parks, and to identify the environmental problems. We applied a total of 5752 questionnaires (16% to elderly people) in the majority of Bucharest’s parks in order to analyze the behavior and perception of seniors in contrast with that of the general population. The analysis highlighted the lack of endowments especially planned or designed for seniors and the multiple problems deriving from their interaction with other visitor groups which make them feel disrespected or unsafe. Our study highlights the need for including the needs, demands, and desires of elderly people in decision making processes, with the aim of creating inclusive and senior friendly parks.
Highlights
The role of urban parks changes over time as the cities they are found in evolve
There are no categories of endowments especially created or designed for elderly people, but chess tables are almost exclusively used by them
Fitness areas have generally been newly introduced in the majority of parks, whereas restaurants have increased their surface coverage inside urban parks in recent years
Summary
The role of urban parks changes over time as the cities they are found in evolve. Modern urban parks play a critical role in providing and regulating cultural ecosystem services for the urban population. Urban parks are important elements of city infrastructure, providing numerous and diverse functions and benefits. A not exhaustive list includes positive impacts on health and wellbeing, through recreation, leisure, and sport activities [1]; community development, sense of place, identity, and social cohesion, through cultural activities and providing space and occasion for social interaction and mutual understanding [2]; education, as people can discover plants, animals and natural phenomena or use parks as outdoor classrooms [3]; the economy, as the presence of parks generates investment opportunities, attracts customers, including tourists [4], and increases the price of properties in the vicinity [5,6]; ecosystem functioning, through a range of ecosystem services, from biodiversity conservation to resource production [7], improving air quality (absorbing pollutants, regulating humidity) [8], carbon sequestration, water management (storm water absorption, and run off regulation), and mitigating urban heat islands [9]. By 2050 it is expected that the elderly population (over 60 years old) will represent
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