A Study on the Role of Gardening and Planning of Green Environments for Daily Use by Residents in Senior Housing

Abstract

This study examines and analyzes the current state of gardening facilities for residents in 11 senior citizen housing complexes and their understandings, actual gardening behaviors and their effects. The objective is to suggest a direction for the planning of gardening and its spatial composition in senior housing complexes. The study used surveys and interviews and conducted field visits to examine actual gardening facilities. The study produced the following outcomes. 1) Elderly people had high expectations that gardening would bring them 'mental comfort and physical health'. Though they are experiencing mental comfort, direct effects on physical health were not seen.2) The common gardening space provided by the facilities subject to the research, were small in size compared to the number of residents and it was inconvenient since it did not take into consideration the characteristics of the gardening activities.3) Elderly people found that gardening encouraged social interactions with other residents and enriched their daily lives. 4) Residents in senior housing complexes chose places as gardening spaces that are close to their flats, in particular their living rooms and on the same level for easy horizontal access.From the result of this research, it was clear that diverse gardening space should be provided for the residents to choose and freely express their individual characteristics. In addition, instead of providing a dedicated gardening space, a multipurpose area that could also be used for diverse hobbies was more practical.

Assessment and Evaluation of Soil Ecosystem Services

“…With its abundance of microbial and faunal life and its ability to spring forth flowers and food, there is no wonder that soil is a joy for so many, in which to work, play, and dream. Indeed, the practice of gardening is recognized as a viable treatment for patients with a wide range of mental and emotional conditions, including transitioning from correctional institutes to freedom (Rice and Remy, 1998) and providing recreation for seniors (Kim and Ohara, 2010). In addition, evidence exists for more rapid recovery from physical trauma and surgery just by viewing gardens, while healing gardens have become an important component of hospital design (Cooper and Barnes, 1999).…”

Measuring Age-Friendly Housing: A Framework

“…Furthermore, the ratio proposed by Eurostat [98] was not considered consistent with the common size of housing in which Italian older people live. With regard to room type, the presence of more than one bathroom [79], a caregiver's room [46,85], and outdoor spaces [26,41,48,85,99] are cited as age-friendly features and were then included in the metric. Regarding the layout of the dwellings, authors reported the positive effects of having semi-open plan [48] and of reducing the number of doors, hallways, and rooms [69], above all for people living with dementia [85,94].…”

“…This form of measurement has been introduced in the metric. Findings report that outdoor spaces offering an accessible extension to the home, like balconies, gardens, patios, and terraces, are positively associated with the wellbeing of older people [26,41,48,85,99]. The positive effects of exposure to daylight, the contact with nature and the physical activity of gardening are some of the reasons why older people experience physical and mental benefits.…”

High Life Study protocol: a cross-sectional investigation of the influence of apartment building design policy on resident health and well-being

“…This may relate to a lack of communal space for residents to interact 25. Several small studies also suggested that the design of communal spaces, and activities they supported (eg, gardening), were important for mental health 33 34. However, as with most apartment-level and building-level studies, these studies lack the specificity needed to inform evidence-based policy.…”