The Relation between Objective and Perceived Physical Characteristics of a Neighborhood Environment for Older People

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the relation between objective and perceived neighbourhood walkability and its influence on the physical activity level of older adults. The relationships were used to measure older people's neighbourhood liveability, whereas physical activity relates to older people's quality of life in Johor Bahru neighbourhoods, Malaysia. The study outcomes show residents in a highly dense area with higher accessibility to facilities perceived higher walkability but showed a lower physical activity level. Residents in high intersection density areas who recognised high walkability demonstrated higher physical activity level, whereas residents in a highly dense area with higher accessibility show lower physical activity level.Keywords: Active ageing; physical neighbourhood environment; neighbourhood liveability; quality of lifeeISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i11.1732

Pathway Network Design as Natural Surveillance Strategy of Safe Green Roof Environment for Public

“…The nature of the diagonal layout satisfies the critical aspects that garner high traffic concentration, namely short distance, more intersecting points, and closeness of nodes that increase the chances of public engagement. This supports the statement by Nordin and Nakamura (2019), thus validates the soundness of Space Syntax as a recommended tool in assessing human traffic behaviour in spatial analysis. Space Syntax as a methodology in determining human interaction within a space helps to simplify the overall computed analysis thus, it suits the nature of this study to assess the pathway design layout that has comparative high crowd engagement.…”

“…This is where the design pathway plays an important role to allow more public engagement. Public engagement depends on the connectivity of the path, where a path with more intersections creates more traffic concentration (Nordin and Nakamura, 2019). A high concentration of traffic establishes active natural surveillance.…”

Application of Pathway Network Design as Natural Surveillance in Malaysian Public Green Roof

“…The nature of the diagonal layout satisfies the critical aspects that garner high traffic concentration, namely short distance, more intersecting points, and closeness of nodes that increase the chances of public engagement. This supports the statement by Nordin and Nakamura (2019), thus validates the soundness of Space Syntax as a recommended tool in assessing human traffic behaviour in spatial analysis. Space Syntax as a methodology in determining human interaction within a space helps to simplify the overall computed analysis.…”

“…This is where the design pathway plays a vital role in allowing more public engagement. Public engagement depends on the connectivity of the path, where a path with more intersections creates more traffic concentration (Nordin and Nakamura, 2019). With relation to the green roof as a public space, some human traffic engaging strategies of public space can be applied onto green roof such as overlapping pathways, clear view and focused circulation around a purposed facility.…”

Systematic Review of Built Environment Attributes of Walkability: Cases of Malaysia

“…In response to this, the concept of walkability has recently gained prominence in Malaysia, offering contextual insights that are policy-relevant and can be integrated into urban planning and design. Various methods and data sources have been employed to examine the association between walking behaviour and different built environment factors (e.g., Azari et al, 2022;Azmi & Ahmad, 2015;Cheah et al, 2012;Elsawahli et al, 2017;Nordin & Nakamura, 2019;Qureshi et al, 2018;). Recognizing the context-specific nature of walkability, where measures deemed important in one context may not hold the same significance in another, a focused examination within the Malaysian context can significantly contribute to the global body of knowledge, providing valuable insights for researchers operating in similar contexts.…”