Can Improved Environments Alone Ensure Well-Being for Older Adults? Exploring Aging in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods

Liang Ma, Yage Liu, Yan Huang and Runing Ye

Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2025, vol. 115, issue 2, 380-403

Abstract: The concept of aging in place has gained prominence in urban planning, yet few studies have specifically examined the impact of neighborhood environments on the subjective well-being (SWB) of older adults in disadvantaged areas. This study addresses this gap by comparing the SWB of residents in four low socioeconomic neighborhoods in Xi’an, China—two urban renewal areas with improved environments and two traditional neighborhoods with poor conditions. Using surveys, interviews, and statistical analysis, our study uncovers significant insights into the relationship between the built environment and SWB. Surprisingly, residents in urban renewal neighborhoods with better physical environments report lower residential satisfaction and a diminished sense of community. Our findings further suggest that perceptions of the built environment might have a greater influence on older adults’ well-being than objective conditions. In particular, perceived living convenience and affordability are two factors significantly associated with the SWB of older adults in these disadvantaged neighborhoods. These results emphasize the need for planning strategies that integrate both “hard” physical improvements and “soft” measures that enhance social connections, psychological experiences, and neighborhood identity. Additionally, our research reveals that the built environment factors influencing SWB are consistent across age groups, underscoring the potential benefits of developing age-friendly communities that serve all generations. The implications of this study provide valuable guidance for urban planners and policymakers in creating neighborhoods that effectively promote the well-being of older adults.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/24694452.2024.2433014 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:raagxx:v:115:y:2025:i:2:p:380-403

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/raag21

DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2024.2433014

Access Statistics for this article

Annals of the American Association of Geographers is currently edited by Jennifer Cassidento

More articles in Annals of the American Association of Geographers from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().