Assessing the needs of older people in urban settings: integration of emotive, physiological and built environment data

Abstract

Design of the built environment for navigability and walkability is an increasingly important aspect of urban planning. This focus derives in part from increasing interest in lifestyles and behaviours, including level of physical activity and health outcomes. Geographical information systems and virtual realities are playing a significant role in advancing this agenda: examples exist of integrating qualitative data (words about or visual images of places) and quantitative data (numerical descriptions of places). However, there remain opportunities for exploring alternative ways of linking different types of data (physiological measurements, emotional response, street walkability and urban design quality) to address issues of urban planning and renewal. Using a case study approach this paper explores the application of geographic information science and systems to participatory approaches in built environment planning with the aim of exploring older people's response to an unfamiliar urban environment. It examines different ways of combining temporally and spatial referenced qualitative and quantitative data. The participants in the study were a group of 44 older people (60+) from Swansea, Wales, who viewed a filmed walking route around Colchester, England. While viewing the film they gave an oral commentary and physiological readings were made, which have been integrated with primary data collected on the built environment along the walking route. Proximity and inverse distance weighting approaches for combining these datasets produce complementary results in respect of older people's physiological and emotive response to variation in the walkability and design quality of a walking route through an unfamiliar town centre. The results reveal participants experienced an elevated average heart rate close to Colchester Town railway station and expressed a comparatively negative emotional response to this location. Conversely participants experienced lower average heart rate, indicating reduced stress, in Brook Street where the overall Urban Design Quality score was relatively low.

Socio-demographic and built environment determinants of car use among older adults in Iran

“…Their importance pales in comparison to the socio-economic factors discussed above. By contrast, in the literature (see, for example, Walford et al, 2017) population density and road network design are highlighted as important predictors of car use by older adults.…”

Measuring the Built Environment for Aging in Place: A Review of Neighborhood Audit Tools

“…Several general neighborhood instruments have been used or tested in different geographical contexts such as Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS), MAPS-Global, and the IMI. However, of the neighborhood audit tools for older adults reviewed in this article, only the SWEAT-R, which was developed in the United States, had been used also in Canada and England (Chaudhury et al 2011; Walford et al 2017).…”

Measuring Neighborhood Walkable Environments: A Comparison of Three Approaches

“…Fourth, local residents were only shown maps and had to rely on their personal memories and user habits for their assessments, which are not always reliable. Furthermore, many of the participants were between the ages of 26 and 35; the lack of older or younger participants [ 24 , 25 ], who are also frequent users of urban spaces, may have led to biased results. Future research should include a wider range of users to achieve more credible Google Street View ratings.…”