Effect of Environmental Planning on Elderly Individual Quality of Life in Severe Cold Regions: A Case Study in Northeastern China

Abstract

With the development of urbanization and the ageing population, the improvement of the urban environment and the quality of life (QOL) of the elderly in cities with a cold climate have become critical issues to be addressed. However, only a few studies have focused on this aspect. According to a review of the literature, the contents of the built environment (BE) in severe cold regions are defined as thirteen key factors of four categories (density, environmental aesthetics, outdoor environment, and accessibility) and the QOL of old people consists of three aspects (residential, health, and social satisfaction). This study explores how BE variables are associated with the QOL of older adults by using ordered logit and gologit2 models. The data consist of the results of 1945 questionnaires from field surveys in 11 different residential areas, across two cities in northeastern China. The results show: (1) Walkability in winter, distance to a public park of 400–1000 m, outdoor shelters and seating, less than five buses available, and a mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees are five of the most important variables of BE that have a significant positive impact on QOL compared with other climatic regions; (2) “Pocket parks” and pedestrian walkway safety are appropriate approaches to improve wellbeing under local economic conditions. For public transportation, metro and rail transit systems are encouraged, and some rules are needed to reduce the number of buses in harsh weather conditions; (3) Compared with spatial distribution in other climates, the scope of a 15 min city should be less than 1km in severe cold areas. From the findings, we conclude that there are six possible pattern languages to improve the urban environment, and they can provide information for further study on environmental planning in severe cold regions.

Zooming into climatic conditions to understand cities: A review and perspective on studies of Chinese winter cities

“…An essential characteristic of a winter city is the climate, especially in winter. There are five specific characteristics of cold urban winters, including temperatures generally below 0°C, precipitation often in the form of snow, short daylight and sunshine hours, long duration of the above three characteristics, and distinct seasonal changes (Leng, 2009). As a stable and persistent natural factor, the cold climate significantly impacts the built environment, urban energy consumption, the inhabitants themselves, and the socio-economic development of cities.…”

“…The third stage is the rapid development stage. The publication of scholar Leng Hong's book "Study on Urban Environmental Livability in Cold Regions" has led to a surge of research on livable cities in the academic community of winter cities in China (Leng, 2009). The volume of literature on related studies has entered an explosive period.…”

“…Urban planning scholars should fully explore spatial resources to improve the diversity of the landscape environment in terms of snow and ice, color, night, and water (Leng, 2009). In the design of the ice and snow landscape, it is essential to focus on the macro-level integrated planning of the city regarding site selection, distribution, grade, scale, and capacity, and to carry out detailed design under the guidance of macro planning.…”

Assessment of Recreation Areas in Terms of Risk Groups in the Society

“…However there have been limited studies evaluating recreation areas, especially in areas where winter conditions are quite severe, such as Erzurum (Gao et. al., 2018;Leng and Han, 2022;Ogawa et. al., 2019;Wang et.…”

The Role of “Nostalgia” in Environmental Restorative Effects from the Perspective of Healthy Aging: Taking Changchun Parks as an Example

“…Some studies have revealed that older adults who live near parks and have good interaction with parks have better psychological well-being [12]. Additionally, park environments can improve energy levels, restore attention, alleviate stress, improve mood, and enhance happiness through the provision of good spatial elements and spaces with different attributes [13][14][15][16]. At present, relevant research focuses on exploring the correlation between park characteristics and the health recovery effects of specific populations.…”