This research has aimed to produce a comprehensive and effective conceptual framework which can be applied to urban open space design in Chinese cities, in order to improve the well-being and quality of life of their elderly people. Open space around residential communities contributes to the well-being of elderly people. The benefits of urban open space have been evidenced by many studies, but few of these focus on their psychological benefits. Inadequate understanding of the ways in which they can generate psychological satisfaction can lead to difficulty in making effective improvements in design for the ageing population. This research has four objectives:
1. To develop the nature of physical, and psychological dimensions relevant to the relationship ageing people have with open space and bring this understanding into a conceptual framework.
2. To test the initial conceptual framework and to analyse the way it works in relation to people in Beijing.
3. To reflect on the use of the initial conceptual framework, and revise it in light of the academic literature.
4. To make open space design recommendations focused on the social and perceptual dimensions of open space to promote the quality of life and wellbeing of the elderly.
The first objective has been achieved by producing the initial conceptual framework, addressing the ways in which people, place, behaviour, emotional bonding and wellbeing impact upon psychological issues. This, in turn, determined the approaches and indicators employed in the methods used in this research, for example the mixed-method combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches with a questionnaire, semi-structured interview, observation and mapping which were applied to the investigation of five neighbourhood parks in Beijing. The second objective was achieved in three steps. The first tested the associations in the initial conceptual framework to discover the internal structure and key features of their relationships by using descriptive statistics, Goodman and Kruskal’s gamma correlation test, and comparative analysis based on the data from questionnaires and some indicators from the semi-structured interviews. The second part produced a behaviour map of ageing people based on observation and mapping. The third part uncovered features of usage, desire and thought of the elderly people, based on both observation and semi- structured interviews. The third objective was achieved by integrating the findings on the perceptual, behavioural, social and physical dimensions which emerged from the study carried out in accord with the second objective. The gap between the current state of neighbourhood parks and the desires of the elderly people who use them was identified by comparing observations of their behaviour and their thoughts as revealed in their semi-structured interviews. The final objective was achieved by decisions based on the predictions of the final conceptual framework and the gap identified in third objective.
This research has produced five main contributions to the field of urban neighbourhood park and urban open space design, addressing its social and perceptual dimensions including both theoretical development and practical application. The first illustrates the associations between physical, social, and perceptual dimensions of neighbourhood park and psychological, behavioural, personal dimensions of the elderly which can fill the gap existing within the literature review of people-place relationship in social and perceptual dimension. The second is that it has uncovered the differences in performance in psychological, social, perceptual and behavioural dimensions of ageing people, in terms of both gender and ageing steps, filling the gap in studies of older people using urban space. This can help designers to meet the various different desires of the target group. The third contribution is that it exposes the gap between the desires of elderly people and the current environment of the neighbourhood parks in a way which may help designers and planners to find a more effective direction for ageing friendly design. The fifth contribution is the proposal of a conceptual framework for understanding the qualities of attractiveness in neighbourhood parks and in the group activities offered to elderly people there, helping designers to engage with the elderly, so that they can use neighbourhood parks to improve their quality of life and well-being.
