Preference and relative importance for environmental attributes of neighbourhood open space in older people

Abstract

Having a neighbourhood open space that is attractive and easy to visit can benefit older people's well-being. However, to date little research has explored the comparative importance of different attributes of local open space for older adults. This study drew on a sample of people from across Britain, aged from 60 to 97 years, to address this gap. It used choice-based conjoint analysis of environmental attributes relevant to older people's park preferences to demonstrate the comparative importance of nuisances such as signs of vandalism or dog fouling, and deterrents such as heavy traffic en route to an open space, as well as the importance of attractors such as cafes and toilets, trees and plants, things to watch, and good maintenance. The results published here provide the basis for scenario modelling to predict the effects of changes to any attribute in terms of overall preference. Key subgroups in the sample were identified, their responses differing significantly according to whether or not they lived alone or had any mobility impairment. The value of the research lies in demonstrating the effectiveness of the methods: scenario modelling can take these different subgroups' preferences into account and such analysis can be of considerable practical value to open-space planners and designers.

Public Open Space Development for Elderly People by Using the DANP-V Model to Establish Continuous Improvement Strategies towards a Sustainable and Healthy Aging Society

“…Nevertheless, this method can only address activities that people either perform or plan to perform, and it cannot elicit activities that people have decided not to perform [19]. Logistic regression has the advantage of solving the category attribute data [12,31], whereas conjoint analysis is helpful for understanding the relative importance of factors [13,49]. However, this statistical analysis method is based on the assumption that the factors are independent.…”

“…Thus, POS is necessary to enhance the mobility of elderly people and reduce the probability of falling (Figure 1). For the mobility dimension, six evaluation attributes have been identified from the POS design literature, as follows: legibility [8,34,35], interior to exterior connection [8,23,34], barrier-free sidewalks [13,25,35], route patterns [8,13,34], sufficient lighting [8,23,34], and traffic calming [9,22,34].…”

“…According to the aforementioned discussion, POS is assumed to improve elderly people's health by providing natural elements with a pleasing appearance and organized surroundings for relaxation [8,22] (Figure 1). Therefore, an aesthetically pleasing appearance is a primary consideration in the dimension of contact with nature, which includes the crucial criteria of high-density vegetation [13,34,41], high-quality vegetation [11,23,34,42,43], water features [13,42,43], waste management [8,11,13,23,34,35,43], natural art design [22,34,44], and microclimate [11,23,42].…”

“…According to Zeisel and Griffin (1975), elderly people prefer to sit close to active places, such as sidewalks, to observe their environment. Thus, it is crucial to properly arrange seating with right-angled, appropriate canopies [11], and seats on pathways [13] for this purpose. The availability of accessible community resources also affects elderly people's health [25].…”

Effects of Urban Green Space on Environmental Health, Equity and Resilience

“…Providing attractive and accessible urban environments may encourage people to spend more time outdoors and facilitate physical activity (Bedimo-Rung et al 2005). The quality of the urban green space and presence of specific amenities are important factors facilitating physical activity in older adults (Aspinall et al 2010;Sugiyama and Ward Thompson 2008). For urban residents with mental health problems, physical activity in green space may be particularly therapeutic (Roe and Aspinall 2011).…”