Nonlinear Effects of the Built Environment on Light Physical Activity among Older Adults: The Case of Lanzhou, China

Peng Zang, Hualong Qiu, Fei Xian, Linchuan Yang, Yanan Qiu and Hongxu Guo
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Peng Zang: Department of Architecture, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Hualong Qiu: Department of Architecture, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Fei Xian: Department of Architecture, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Linchuan Yang: Department of Urban and Rural Planning, School of Architecture, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China
Yanan Qiu: Department of Architecture, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Hongxu Guo: Department of Architecture, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-15

Abstract: The aging of the population is increasing the load on the healthcare system, and enhancing light physical activity among older adults can alleviate this problem. This study used medical examination data from 1773 older adults in Lanzhou city (China) and adopted the random forest model to investigate the effect of the built environment on the duration of light physical activity of older adults. The results showed that streetscape greenery has the most significant impact on older adults’ light physical activity; greenery can be assessed in a hierarchy of areas; population density and land-use mix only have a positive effect on older adults’ light physical activity up to a certain point but a negative effect beyond that point; and a greater distance to the park within 1 km is associated with a longer time spent on light physical activity. Therefore, we conclude that the built environment’s impact is only positive within a specific range. Changes in the intervention of environmental variables can be observed visually by calculating the relative importance of the nonlinearity of built environment elements with partial dependency plots. These results provide a reasonable reference indicator for age-friendly community planning.

Keywords: green visibility; built environment; light physical activity; random forest; older adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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