Factores ambientales que influyen en el uso del espacio público para las personas mayores en Madrid

Abstract

International policies are challenged to create urban environments that foster active and healthy aging. This study seeks to determine the environmental and design factors that determine the use of public spaces by the elderly, using a mixed methodology that includes measurements of environmental parameters, observations and interviews with 200 elderly people during 2018 in three public spaces in the Arapiles neighborhood in Madrid. For the statistical analysis, different correlation tests have been applied between variables such as Pearson, Spearman, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis H, and chi-square. Besides, a multivariate statistical analysis is carried out to determine the degree to which environmental factors condition the use of public spaces by the elderly. The results show that the elderly represent 21% of the users of these spaces, their permanence is influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and noise, however, only wind speed is determinant within a regression model. Besides, some elements of the design also significantly influence it, such as benches, water fountains and children's playgrounds, which coincide with the areas of preference and greater influx of elderly people. The analysis of external contexts is complex due to a large number of variables involved; however, the importance of environmental variables is highlighted and their control through an adequate design that promotes the general welfare and encourages the use of public spaces by the elderly. Important lines of research are being opened to face the challenges of 21st-century cities, to adapt to demographic change, guaranteeing the health, comfort, and quality of life of all citizens.

Innovative Approach to Promoting Walkability in Lisbon

“…Several spatial models have been widely used [28,36], combined or not with GIS [37] and multivariate analysis techniques [38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. Recently, urban studies have examined walkability using a wide range of variables of a diverse nature [45], e.g., geometric, functional, social [28], environmental [38], etc., which translate into pedestrian flow indicators [3], attractiveness [37], usability [28], comfort, safety, quality [39], etc. They have generally used graph theory and, above all, the space syntax method [3,[46][47][48] in particular.…”

Thermal Comfort Influences Positive Emotions but Not Negative Emotions When Visiting Green Spaces during Summer

“…Differences in emotional responses to thermal comfort in different age groups may be related to changes in human physiological mechanisms. As people age, their vascular reactivity and cardiovascular flexibility decrease, their thermoregulatory response decreases, their cold/heat defense mechanisms become less sensitive [60,94], changes also occur in thermal perception and thermal sensitivity [95]. Many older adults suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or respiratory diseases [91], which may influence the relationship between their mood and thermal comfort.…”

Confort térmico y acústico para la tercera edad en espacios públicos de la ciudad consolidada del clima mediterráneo continental: caso de estudio barrio Arapiles, Madrid

“…Parte de este análisis y sus resultados preliminares fueron publicados en el artículo ¨Factores ambientales que influyen en el uso del espacio público para las personas mayores en Madrid¨ en la revista Urbano (Baquero-Larriva and Higueras-García 2019). A continuación, se presentan los resultados del periodo de estudio completo.…”