Density, Diversity, and Design: Evaluating the Equity of the Elderly Communities in Three Measures of the Built Environment

Abstract

Building an aging-friendly city is necessary, considering the unprecedented demographic shift of the aging population. It is necessary to study the built environment conditions surrounding the elderly’s residential areas. This study examines the density, diversity, and design (3D) features around the two typical elderly communities, which are community-based care and the nursing home. Then, the equity analysis is conducted from the social and spatial perspective. We use the 3D framework to measure the built environment around elderly communities. The essential features of an aging-friendly community are used to assess the built environment around the elderly communities. Moreover, we analyze the social and spatial equity of the elderly communities from the facility level and the town level. From the facility level, the 3D features of the elderly communities and the whole communities are compared to identify the social disparity among groups. From the town level, the average values of the 3D features are aggregated to each town, and then the attribute values of the towns are compared to reveal the spatial gaps and spatial mismatch areas. Results found that the spatial distributions of the 3D features around elderly communities present the center-periphery patterns. This study also found that a social disparity exists between the elderly communities and the whole communities. Moreover, there is a spatial mismatch between the diversity of facilities, road connections, and the number of elderly. Towns located in the fringe area are with a high number of elderly, but with a low diversity and road connections. The findings of this study can help planners and decision-makers to optimize the living facilities for old people and inform the gap in planning an aging-friendly city.