Safety perceptions of older adults on an urban greenway: Interplay of the social and built environment

This study examined whether features of the built environment and residents’ perceptions of neighborhood walkability, safety, and social cohesion were associated with self-reported physical activity (PA) and community-based activity among a sample of 190 older adults (mean age 74) residing in 8 Denver neighborhoods. Neighborhood walking audits were conducted to assess walkability and social capital. In multilevel analyses, a few walkability variables including curb cuts, crosswalks, and density of retail predicted greater frequency of walking for errands (p < .05), but mean frequency of walking for errands for this sample was low (<1/wk). Contrary to expectations, total PA and community-based activity were highest in neighborhoods with fewer walkability variables but higher respondent perceptions of safety and social cohesion (p < .01). For seniors, the importance of characteristics of the built environment in promoting PA and general activity engagement might be secondary to attributes of the social environment that promote safety and social cohesion.

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Measurement Indicators of Age-Friendly Communities: Findings From the AARP Age-Friendly Community Survey

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.166 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 51-51

Author(s):

Kyeongmo Kim ◽

Tommy Buckley ◽

Denise Burnette ◽

Sunghwan Cho

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Built Environment ◽

Public Space ◽

Social Environment ◽

Factor Structure ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Well Being ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

The Social ◽

Three Factor

Abstract Cities and counties worldwide have adopted the concept of “age-friendly communities” to promote the well-being of older adults. An age-friendly community is a place that provides a safe and affordable built environment and a social environment that encourages older adults’ participation. A major limitation in this field is the lack of valid and reliable measures of age-friendly communities. This study used data from the AARP 2016 Age-Friendly Community Surveys (N=3,652 adults ages 65 and older). This study included 57 indicators of age-friendliness (e.g., housing, transportation, public space, civic engagement, volunteering, community, and health services); socio-demographic characteristics; and health-related characteristics. We randomly split the sample into two subsamples for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n=1,682) and structural equation modeling (SEM) (n=1,682). The CFA resulted in a three-factor structure to measure age-friendly communities: built environment, transportation, and social environment. Model fit indices were acceptable (χ²(44)=14204.09; p<.001; RMSEA=.067; CFI=.912; TLI=.909; SRMR=.05). Internal reliability of the three-factor structure was excellent ranging from .93 to .96. The SEM model showed that older adults living in a community with a greater built environment (β=.119; p=.001) and the social environment (β=.199; p<.001) had higher levels of physical health, after adjusting for all other variables. The findings highlight that the measures of age-friendly communities are reliable and valid. Practitioners and policymakers should work on improving both the built and the social environment to promote the well-being of older adults. The findings also suggested that researchers can use the measures as an evaluation tool for an age-friendly community initiative.

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HERITAGE IN THE LIVED ENVIRONMENT OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND THE GULF REGION

International Journal of Architectural Research Archnet-IJAR ◽

10.26687/archnet-ijar.v11i2.1240 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 55 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joseph John Hobbs

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Architectural Design ◽

Social Sustainability ◽

Gulf Region ◽

Planning And Design ◽

Spatial Features ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

The Social ◽

Islamic Values

This paper examines how the architectural, social, and cultural heritage of the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries may contribute to better development of this region’s lived environment. Modern urbanism has largely neglected heritage in architectural design and in social and private spaces, creating inauthentic places that foster a hunger for belongingness in the UAE’s built environment. The paper reviews recent urban developments in the UAE and the Gulf Region, and identifies elements of local heritage that can be incorporated into contemporary planning and design. It proposes that adapting vernacular architectural heritage to the modern built environment should not be the principal goal for heritage-informed design. Instead we may examine the social processes underlying the traditional lived environment, and aim for social sustainability based on the lifeways and preferences of local peoples, especially in kinship and Islamic values. Among the most promising precedents for modern social sustainability are social and spatial features at the scale of the neighborhood in traditional Islamic settlements. Interviews with local Emiratis will also recommend elements of traditional knowledge to modern settings.

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Perceived barriers and contributors to sense of purpose in life in retirement community residents

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x20001749 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Nathan A. Lewis ◽

Naomi Reesor ◽

Patrick L. Hill

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Purpose In Life ◽

Retirement Community ◽

Retirement Communities ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Sense Of Purpose ◽

The Social ◽

Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽

Retirement Facilities

Abstract Despite the growing use of retirement communities and ageing care facilities, little is known about how residing in retirement residences may impact aspects of older adult wellbeing. Living in these communities may hold particular influence on residents’ sense of purpose, if they feel limited in their opportunities for individual action, or could serve to promote purposefulness depending on the social connections available. The current study sought to explore contributing factors as well as barriers to purpose in older adults living in three continuing care retirement communities. Using brief semi-structured interviews, 18 older adults were asked to describe their purpose in life, community-related activities and any perceived challenges limiting their ability to pursue this purpose. Thematic analysis was used to examine themes common across interviews. Interviews presented a mixed picture of the nature of purposefulness in retirement facilities. Residents espoused several benefits of community living such as social and leisure opportunities, while also noting several obstacles to their purpose, including health concerns and the belief that purpose in life was not relevant for older adults. These findings provide insight into how older adults can derive a sense of purpose from activities within their retirement community and how facilities can better tailor programmes to promote purposefulness and support personally valued roles for residents.

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The impact of COVID‐19 on the social inclusion of older adults with an intellectual disability during the first wave of the pandemic in Ireland

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research ◽

10.1111/jir.12862 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Darren McCausland ◽

Retha Luus ◽

Philip McCallion ◽

Esther Murphy ◽

Mary McCarron

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

The Social ◽

The Impact

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Perceptions of the Neighborhood Built Environment for Walking Behavior in Older Adults Living in Close Proximity

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/0733464820979258 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 073346482097925

Author(s):

Florian Herbolsheimer ◽

Atiya Mahmood ◽

Nadine Ungar ◽

Yvonne L. Michael ◽

Frank Oswald ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Built Environment ◽

Past Research ◽

Subjective Assessment ◽

Neighborhood Environment ◽

Walking Behavior ◽

Close Proximity ◽

Physical Limitations ◽

Pedestrian Infrastructure ◽

Neighborhood Built Environment

Past research documents a discordance between perceived and objectively assessed neighborhood environmental features on walking behavior. Therefore, we examined differences in the perception of the same neighborhood built environment. Participants were grouped if they lived 400 m or closer to each other. The perception of the pedestrian infrastructure, neighborhood aesthetics, safety from crime, and safety from traffic was derived from a telephone survey from two North American metropolitan areas; 173 individuals were clustered into 42 groups. Older adults who walked for transport in their neighborhood experienced the same neighborhood as more walkable (β = .19; p = .011) with better pedestrian infrastructure (β = .16; p = .037). Older adults with physical limitations experienced the same neighborhood as less safe from crime (β = −.17; p = .030) and traffic (β = −.20; p = .009). The study supports the notion that individual behavior and physical restrictions alter the environment’s perception and explains part of the discordance between objective and subjective assessment of the neighborhood environment.

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