Spatial and Community Environments and Older Adults’ Mental Health in Traditional Lingnan Dwellings: A Qualitative Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62051/25he9b04Keywords:
Lingnan traditional dwellings; spatial environment; community environment; older adults’ mental health.Abstract
In light of the aging population, how the residential built environment affects mental well-being has attracted more and more interest. With regard to traditional Lingnan-style houses, this paper aims to analyse the respective contributions of the spatial environment and the community environment to psychological health by means of semi-structured interviews with 13 inhabitants who had lived there for several decades. The analysis showed that the spatial environment mainly works through stress-reduction paths: comfort, safety, intimacy, and control make older people less anxious and uneasy, which helps them stay mentally tranquil in daily life; while the community environment mainly works through a resource-provision path: chances to communicate, relational support, ownership, trust, and social networks can give them emotional support, social connection, as well as a sense of meaning. Comparatively speaking, the spatial environment provides a kind of foundation for mental wellness, while the community environment is stressed and emphasized more frequently both from seniors’ own point of view and in their life stories. Therefore, age-friendly remodelling of old residential areas needs to consider both upgrading physical space and keeping local society and a sense of identity alive.
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