Research on Construction of Public Spaces for Quality Elderly Care Communities in Macao

Abstract

Aging has led to a series of problems in eldercare throughout the world, with focus on the quality of the daily living environments for aged people. Community public spaces are essential for the daily life of elderly people; however, many of such spaces are becoming unsuitable for use, because most communities were built in an era when aging had not yet acquired the dimension of a serious problem. Macao has shown a pronounced aging trend, and as most aged people living in Macao hope that their community public spaces will meet their daily needs, constructing public spaces for quality eldercare in the aging communities of Macao could improve the sense of belonging and the happiness index of residents. This study investigates the Iao Hon Community of Macao, a community with a serious aging phenomenon. The syntax method was adopted to analyze the integration value, connectivity, selectivity, and intelligibility of public spaces in the Iao Hon Community from the perspective of the aged residents. A satisfaction evaluation system was then created to assess public activity spaces. The degree of satisfaction of the aged people with the community public spaces was evaluated via field survey and analyzed using the importance-performance composite method. The physiological, psychological, and behavioral factors of the aged residents were considered for a comprehensive examination of community public spaces. The findings of this paper enrich the literature on the construction of public spaces for quality eldercare in old communities, and relevant strategies for constructing such spaces are proposed.