Intergenerational Integration in Community Building to Improve the Mental Health of Residents—A Case Study of Public Space

Abstract

This study defined intergenerational integration in communities at a theoretical level and verified whether a series of measures could facilitate negotiation and communication between community residents and other stakeholders to generate a positive and healthy community environment and gradually improve intergroup relations. Specifically, we applied community psychology and used Hongqiao New Village in Shanghai, China, as a research site to explore intergenerational conflict in public community spaces. The research was divided into two stages: an input stage and an output stage. In the input stage, participatory research and tea parties were used to deeply explore residents’ public space requirements. In the output stage, we tested the validity of the theory by using the Intergenerational Attitude Scale to investigate whether the intergenerational relationships were changed by the co-creation intervention. The results showed that the intervention caused a decrease in the incidence of conflict between residents using the square and caused some children to join the older groups in their activities. We thus propose a theoretical system model of intergenerational integration strategies that incorporates elements of integration, disagreement, and synergy in intergenerational interactions. Overall, this paper provides new ideas for building a community environment that supports mental health and improves intergenerational relationships and social well-being.

The Relationship between Spatial Behavior and External Spatial Elements in Ancient Villages Based on GPS-GIS: A Case Study of Huangshan Hinterland, China

“…The core of settlement building is coordinating relationships between people and the environment, and external space is a key aspect [16]. Some researchers argue that incomplete external space design, gauged from the spatial behavior of inhabitants, is mainly the outcome of relatively weak theoretical research that requires due consideration and urgent intervention in the rural planning movement [2,53].…”

“…However, the logic of village space structure, which constitutes the core worth of preservation, needs to be researched more from the perspective of the correlation of village space elements and the space behavior of village inhabitants, mainly in ancient villages. The extensive literature on village space is bounded within physical morphology villages [6,[14][15][16]. Behavioral studies are attraction-based observations and need more comprehensiveness in enumerating village space elements.…”

Analysis and Optimization of Residential Elements from the Perspective of Multi-Child Families in the Yangtze River Delta Region

“…Neighborhood atmosphere reshaping A well-organized space not only fosters neighborhood interaction but also yields positive and healthy effects on children's physical and mental health [49]. Firstly, the establishment of community facilities that seamlessly integrate activities for residents of different generations facilitates potential communication between these inter-generational groups.…”