Creating a link between the community and the elderly to increase social vitality and satisfaction in public spaces

The modality to spend the elderly period plays a vital role in the physical and mental health of people; As in this stage in addition to physical effects, psychological aspects of the elderly can also be affected which may lead to depression or isolation. Unfortunately, in this era and with the significant alteration in human lifestyle, the number of individuals who take residence in nursing homes has increased dramatically. Hence, maintaining a high level of satisfaction for the elderly is the main challenge in these places; Especially the elderly who have both adequate physical strength and sufficient intelligence to manage their daily routines. Therefore, the main concern of urban designers and planners in such situations is to provide a suitable physical environment to improve the quality of life and vitality of the elderly in public spaces. This research follows two aims: ۱) Evaluating the effect of public open spaces on the vitality and social satisfaction of the elderly to create a connection with society; ۲) Extracting the affecting components of social capital and elderly satisfaction to provide solutions to design public spaces in both cities and the elderly health centers. The research method has been applied quantitatively using descriptive and survey methods. Data gathering was done in archive-based and field research methods using a researcher-made questionnaire. The results indicate that in public open spaces, the existence of a common language among the elderly leads to greater intimacy, attachment and a desire to attend. In addition, the environment's security, space recognition and easy navigation in open spaces can encourage the elderly to participate voluntarily. Although for the elderly, there is no obligation to interact with the youth and this matter has no effect on the willingness or unwillingness to attend in public spaces.

کلیدواژه ها:

Elderly satisfaction ، social interactions ، social capital ، open spaces ، nursing home ، social connection