Autonomy, Wellbeing, and Social Interaction: Landscape Design for Active Ageing in Neighborhoods

As the aging population rapidly increases, the health status of this group has become a pressing issue for the city of Guangzhou. Unfortunately, older adults are often argued as a burden to society. The situation of the elderly is even more difficult facing with the COVID-19. Evidence suggests that built environments are closely associated with the health of the elderly. However, the existing outdoor environments are usually lack of awareness of the elderly's needs. Therefore, inclusive design for the outdoor environment is necessary to improve the life quality of the elderly.
Based on the concept of active ageing, and different quality levels of residential outdoor environments, our project proposed a set of landscape toolkit to create active ageing neighborhoods that benefit the mental and physical health of the elderly.
Our design strategy for different quality levels of outdoor environments includes three parts:
1. autonomy and independence: providing walkable and easy access environment;
2. health and wellbeing: creating pleasant and comfortable outdoor environments for health promotion;
3. social interaction: promoting the social connection of multi-aged groups.
At its core, the project designed physical spaces to enable older people to live independent, healthy, social, and secure lives. This thoughtful design can meet the specific needs of older residents while also making the residential outdoor environment more accessible and enjoyable for all.