ANNUAL CONGRESS 2025

Equity-Oriented Optimization of Public Space Supply-Demand in Aging Communities: A Behavioral Perspective on Elderly Residents

Not scheduled

20m

Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul

Oral Track 07 | INCLUSION

Speaker

Dr RUOTONG ZHANG (Tongji University)

Description

With socioeconomic development, China's urbanization has transitioned from incremental expansion to a focus on improving quality and efficiency through stock renewal. As one of the most prevalent forms of urban public space, community public spaces have become a critical component of urban construction in this new era. Due to physiological and psychological decline, the behavioral characteristics and influencing factors of elderly individuals differ significantly from those of children, youth, and middle-aged adults. Moreover, the accelerated aging process, combined with variations in health status, living habits, and socioeconomic conditions, results in greater differences among elderly individuals themselves than between elderly and non-elderly populations. These internal differences are particularly pronounced in aging communities. While differences in the demands of elderly and non-elderly populations have received some attention, variations in the demands of elderly residents across different age groups remain underexplored. Shanghai, the city with the highest aging population in China, is actively promoting the "15-Minute Community Life Circle" initiative to optimize the configuration of community public spaces. This initiative aims to provide essential services and public activity spaces within a walkable radius of residents' homes. However, in some aging communities, optimization efforts have revealed mismatches between the supply of public spaces and the actual demands of elderly residents. For instance, newly developed neighborhood green spaces often experience low utilization, while informal spaces located near facilities such as bike repair stations, locksmith shops, and residential entrances consistently attract frequent gatherings of elderly residents. This discrepancy highlights a misalignment between the supply of public spaces and the actual demands of elderly users, particularly regarding spatial allocation, quantity, and functional accessibility. This study focuses on the supply-demand mismatch of public spaces in aging communities, selecting the Yinhang Community in Shanghai as the research area. Yinhang Community, with an aging population rate of 47.69%, covers an area of approximately 7.98 km² and houses a permanent population of about 194,100. Based on an analysis of 1,016 field survey questionnaires, the study explores behavioral differences among elderly residents of different age groups in their use of public spaces. To further investigate, the study applies an improved two-step floating catchment area model, the MGH3SFCA model, to quantitatively assess how spatiotemporal behavioral differences among elderly residents affect public space accessibility. The results reveal significant differences in spatiotemporal behavior among elderly residents of different age groups. Walking distance is primarily constrained by physiological age, while activity frequency is influenced by the type of public space. Ignoring the differences in maximum walking distance and activity frequency across different times of day can result in an overestimation of public space accessibility for nearly 70% of residential units with elderly residents (). Furthermore, the layout of formal public spaces significantly impacts accessibility for elderly residents, while imbalances in accessibility contribute to the emergence of informal public spaces. Incorporating often-overlooked informal public spaces into the formal public space system can help optimize public space configurations in aging communities, improving equitable accessibility for elderly residents, especially those in advanced age groups.