The effect of facilities management of common areas on the environment domain of quality of life or older people in private buildings

Abstract

Purpose The world was facing significant aging challenges. Aging in place has long been advocated which reflected the preference of older people to stay in their own home as long as possible. A huge amount of older people resided in private buildings that consist of both indoor settings (i.e. individual unit flats) and outdoor settings (i.e. common areas like lobby and corridor). The effect of indoor environment on the quality of life of the older people has been investigated, while this paper aims to examine the different effect of common areas environment for the older people. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was administered among over 300 older people living in private buildings. Multiple statistical techniques, including reliability test, correlation coefficient and multiple regression models, were used to analyze the collected data to determine the interactions between facilities management of the common areas in private buildings and the environment domain of quality of life for older people. Findings The final results were concluded based on the congruence of all the statistical results, which covered the identification of facilities management factors in common areas of private buildings that could influence the environment domain of quality of life for older people, including overall environment, health-care accessibility, information acquisition and transportation aspects; the overall environment was positively predicted by space and security in common areas of private building; health-care accessibility was positively affected by space, barrier-free facilities and recreational facilities; the information acquisition was only positively predicted by security; transportation was positively predicted by distance and recreational facilities; and building services of common areas in private buildings had no effect on the environment domain of quality of life for older people. Originality/value Practical recommendations have been made to improve the facilities management of common areas in private buildings to ensure the quality of life for older people, including provision of walking assistance, motion or infrared controlled systems and so on. This study contributed to enhance current understanding of the interactions between the older people and their living environment.

Occupant satisfaction on facility services: case studies of six multi-generational condominiums

“…On the other hand, the location of common areas, such as the placement of car parking and kids’ areas that were difficult to monitor and control by security staff, caused negative impacts in terms of security service quality, which is one of the most important factors that affects the quality of life of older people (Leung et al , 2019), and thus contributed to the lower satisfaction scores of occupants older than 50.…”

“…When well-designed common areas exist, a higher level of engagement can be achieved by getting residents involved in the planning and running of activities. Leung et al (2019) argue that the architectural components in the common areas of private buildings should be planned by taking into account the size of various spaces (i.e. lobby size or corridor width) and the distance among different functional spaces (e.g.…”

“…The person who has responsibilities on the arrangement of facility services in the condominium buildings and common areas is called a juristic person manager. Concerning the multi-generational condominiums, Leung et al (2019) argue that the three main supporting facilities factors that can positively affect the quality of life for older people in a private building are security, barrier-free facilities and recreational facilities. This study offers an assessment of occupant satisfaction with cleaning and security services in multi-generational condominiums.…”

All-Inclusiveness and End-User Satisfaction in Student Housing Nexus: Cognitive Dissonance Perspective

“…These includes: natural in common areas, distance of individual room and fire exits, and artificial lights in staircase areas. Leung, Zhen, and Pynoos (2018) also considered space, distance, and building services as main factors of common areas in buildings. Their study found that distances factor in common areas was positively affected.…”

“…Tudzi et al, (2017) application of the Act found that even where the parking spaces were provided in universities, there were no clear signage which resulted in the competition of student with disabilities using wheel chair for parking space with other students. In other studies, Leung et al (2018) assessed the indicators using handrails, signage, security, and barrier-free facilities as the environmental design factors. Their studies found that the overall environment design for the disabled was positively forecasted.…”