Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117566, Singapore.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jun 26;18(13):6880. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18136880.
Associated sensory and cognitive declines progress with ageing and profoundly impact the daily living and quality of life of older adults. In the context of an increased ageing population globally, this paper outlines an exploratory study of socio-sensory properties of two high-density housing neighbourhoods in Singapore and the ways senior local residents perceive their familiar built environments. This study employed exploratory on-site exercises with 44 student researchers (including sensory photo-journeys, documentation of sensory properties and daily activity patterns), and 301 socio-perceptual surveys with local residents, the majority of whom were older adults. The findings reveal important aspects related to sensory assessment and appreciation (e.g., crowdedness, noise, smell, cleanliness), walking experience (e.g., safety, wayfinding) and overall satisfaction with the neighbourhood (e.g., available public amenities, opportunities for inter-generational bonding), some of which correlated with age and reported health condition. Multi-sensory assessment shows the capacity to inform more integrated, empathetic, ability-building and context-specific ageing-friendly neighbourhood design.
随着年龄的增长，与感觉相关的认知能力会逐渐下降，这会极大地影响老年人的日常生活和生活质量。在全球人口老龄化加剧的背景下，本文概述了对新加坡两个高密度住宅区的社会感觉属性的探索性研究，以及当地老年人如何感知他们熟悉的建成环境。本研究采用了 44 名学生研究人员（包括感官照片之旅、感官属性记录和日常活动模式）的探索性现场练习，以及对 301 名当地居民（其中大多数为老年人）进行了社会感知调查。研究结果揭示了与感官评估和欣赏（例如拥挤程度、噪音、气味、清洁度）、步行体验（例如安全性、寻路）以及对邻里的整体满意度（例如公共设施的可用性、代际联系的机会）相关的重要方面，其中一些方面与年龄和报告的健康状况有关。多感官评估表明，它有能力为更具整体性、同理心、能力建设和具体情境的适合老年人的邻里设计提供信息。
