The sense of community revisited in Hankow, China: Combining the impacts of perceptual factors and built environment attributes

Abstract Previous research that studies the impact of built environment on health often attribute the enabling effects of environment on physical activity participation and opportunities for social interaction. Few studies have explored how the role of subjective feeling, such as the feeling of connectedness with the community, affects the association between built environment and physical and mental health. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 2,247 residents aged 50 years or above in five districts in Hong Kong. We tested the mediation effect of sense of community in the relationship between physical environment and health using the path analysis. We administered a questionnaire to assess the residents’ perceived age-friendliness of outdoor spaces and buildings in the district. We used the Brief Sense of Community Scale and the 12-item Short-form Health Survey to measure sense of community and physical and mental health. We found that age-friendliness of outdoor spaces was modestly correlated with mental health (r = 0.10, P < 0.001) but not with physical health (r = 0.02, P = 0.4), whereas age-friendliness of buildings correlated with both (r = 0.05, P = 0.01; r = 0.06, P = 0.004). Sense of community mediated 25.9% of the total effect between outdoor space and physical health, 20.4% between outdoor space and mental health, and 42.5% between service and building on physical health. To conclude, sense of community was a partial mediator of the environment-health relationship. Future design of built environment should take into consideration its potential influence on sense of community and health.

Download Full-text

The Contribution of Sense of Community to the Association Between Age-Friendly Built Environment and Health in a High-Density City: A Cross-Sectional Study of Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Hong Kong

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/0733464821991298 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 073346482199129

Author(s):

Jennifer Y. M. Tang ◽

Cheryl H. K. Chui ◽

Vivian W. Q. Lou ◽

Rebecca L. H. Chiu ◽

Robin Kwok ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Built Environment ◽

Sense Of Community ◽

Total Effect ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Environment And Health ◽

Outdoor Spaces

Sense of community may be shaped by the quality of the physical environment and has potential health implications. Based on a survey of 2,247 community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults living in Hong Kong, we tested the mediation effect of sense of community on the relationship between the quality of the built environment and physical and mental health using path analysis. The quality of the built environment was indicated by the age-friendliness of outdoor spaces and buildings. No direct association was found between the built environment and health outcomes, although age-friendly outdoor spaces were associated with better mental health. Sense of community mediated 14% of the total effect between outdoor spaces and mental health and 44.8% of the total effect between buildings and physical health, underscoring the importance of accommodating the social needs of middle-aged and older people in urban development in high-density cities.

Download Full-text

Sense of Community in New Urbanism Neighbourhoods: A Review

Open House International ◽

10.1108/ohi-04-2015-b0005 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 25-29

Author(s):

Nastaran Pour Ebrahim

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Urban Design ◽

Sense Of Community ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Social Life ◽

New Urbanism ◽

Social Goal ◽

Research Attention ◽

Academic Fields ◽

The Social

The concept of community where people can meet their needs, interact, and feel a sense of belonging and togetherness has been an interesting topic for a majority of professionals in different academic fields such as urban planning and urban design. Different theories in these disciplines assert the correlation between the built environment and sense of community. Among these theories, New Urbanism is one of the most important schools of thought which have thrown light on this correlation. New Urbanism claims that the built environment can create a sense of community among its users. As the theory of New Urbanism develops more and more among professionals across the world, it is critical that we give the topic more research attention. This study intends to begin moving us in this direction by reviewing some studies which tried to achieve the social goal of new urbanism in recent years. Therefore the results of the empirical assessment of Sense of community in different neighbourhoods are reviewed and the influence of physical design on different domains of sense of community are discussed to find out whether the claims of new urbanism in creating sense of community could be trusted in the future development. While new urbanism movement continues to become more popular, finding enough evidence for its social claims might encourage more planners to use its principles as a way to improve the residents' social life

Download Full-text

Influences of Built Environment with Hilly Terrain on Physical Activity in Dalian, China: An Analysis of Mediation by Perceptions and Moderation by Social Environment

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16244900 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (24) ◽

pp. 4900

Author(s):

Peijin Sun ◽

Wei Lu ◽

Yan Song ◽

Zongchao Gu

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

Built Environment ◽

Social Environment ◽

Body Mass ◽

Sense Of Community ◽

Self Reported Health Status ◽

Neighborhood Built Environment ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Neighborhood built environment may influence residents’ physical activity, but evidence of non-major Chinese cities is lacking. We investigated the impact of five socio-demographic characteristics, 10 objectively assessed environment characteristics, eight perceived neighborhood attributes, and social environment on physical activity and health outcomes (sense of community, body mass index, as well as self-reported health status). We also examined (1) five conceptually comparable perceived neighborhood attributes as mediators of the relationship between objective environment attributes and physical activity; (2) other perceived indicators and social environment as moderators of those relationships, using the mediation analysis in regression. Objectively assessed residential density, land use mix, street connectivity, and accessibility were curvilinearly and/or linearly related to physical activity. The slope of terrain was inversely associated with body mass index (BMI). None of the perceived attributes were found as mediators probably due to the weak associations between subjective and objective environments. High density facilitated physical activity but hindered the sense of community. Further, the perceived aesthetic and safety were associated with physical activity. Additionally, social environment moderated the positive associations of all perceived environments (except for slope) and sense of community. The present study demonstrated that both physical and social environment attributes significantly correlated with physical activity in Dalian.

Download Full-text

Sense of Community and Its Association With the Neighborhood Built Environment

Environment and Behavior ◽

10.1177/0013916512469098 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 46 (6) ◽

pp. 677-697 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Sarah French ◽

Lisa Wood ◽

Sarah Alexandra Foster ◽

Billie Giles-Corti ◽

Lawrence Frank ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Sense Of Community ◽

Neighborhood Built Environment

Download Full-text

A Framework for Exploring the Sense of Community and Social Life in Residential Environments

International Journal of Architectural Research Archnet-IJAR ◽

10.26687/archnet-ijar.v8i3.412 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 223 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Leila Mahmoudi Farahani ◽

Mirjana Lozanovska

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Sense Of Community ◽

Social Life ◽

Future Research ◽

Community Studies ◽

Residential Environments ◽

The Social ◽

The Subject ◽

City Centres

Sense of community and social life are two key concepts related to social cohesion, which have been the subject of extensive studies in several disciplines including sociology, psychology and built environment. Social life studies have been mostly conducted in the built environment discipline focusing on city centres; while sense of community studies were mostly the target of sociologists and psychologists focusing on neighbourhoods. As a result, the role of the built environment on the sense of community and social life of neighbourhoods is considered as a missing gap in the literature. This paper, through defining the concepts of social life and sense of community, aims to develop a conceptual framework for further implementation in future research. Accurate implication and interpretation of the concepts show that neighbourhoods can include the sense of community in the residential environment and the social life in the commercial environment. This is because residential environments are where residents’ requirements can be met through their commitment to the community and commercial environments are the fulcrum of interaction and communication.

Download Full-text

The Effect of Symbol Background Color on the Speed of Locating Targets by Adults Without Disabilities: Implications for Augmentative and Alternative Communication Display Design

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2019_persp-19-00017 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 1482-1488

Author(s):

Jennifer J. Thistle

Keyword(s):

Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽

Reaction Times ◽

The Other ◽

Background Color ◽

Alternative Communication ◽

Display Design ◽

Line Drawings ◽

Research With Children ◽

Study Participants ◽

Perceptual Factors

Purpose Previous research with children with and without disabilities has demonstrated that visual–perceptual factors can influence the speech of locating a target on an array. Adults without disabilities often facilitate the learning and use of a child's augmentative and alternative communication system. The current research examined how the presence of symbol background color influenced the speed with which adults without disabilities located target line drawings in 2 studies. Method Both studies used a between-subjects design. In the 1st study, 30 adults (ages 18–29 years) located targets in a 16-symbol array. In the 2nd study, 30 adults (ages 18–34 years) located targets in a 60-symbol array. There were 3 conditions in each study: symbol background color, symbol background white with a black border, and symbol background white with a color border. Results In the 1st study, reaction times across groups were not significantly different. In the 2nd study, participants in the symbol background color condition were significantly faster than participants in the other conditions, and participants in the symbol background white with black border were significantly slower than participants in the other conditions. Conclusion Communication partners may benefit from the presence of background color, especially when supporting children using displays with many symbols.

Download Full-text