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Older Adults’ Views of the Connections between Neighbourhood Built Environment and Health in Singapore

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Abstract

Increasing life expectancy in cities has heightened the urgency to understand how built environments affect the various health dimensions of the ageing population. This study explores community-dwelling older adults’ (n = 80; aged 52 and above) perceptions of the links between neighbourhood built environment and their physical, social and mental health in Singapore. Content analysis of focus group discussions reveals that Singaporean older adults associate different but overlapping built environment factors with the physical, social and mental dimensions of health. Safety, amenities, pedestrian-friendly spaces, transport infrastructure, and social and public spaces are most frequently identified with older adults’ health. In particular, safety and pedestrian-friendly spaces are considered most important to older adults’ physical health while safety and amenities are most important for social health, and aesthetics and wayfinding for mental health. These findings underscore the diversities and complexities of everchanging person-environment fit that must be considered while planning, designing and/or retrofitting neighbourhoods and outdoor spaces in high-density Asian cities.

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Notes

  1. Singapore has a multi-ethnic population where the majority – 76.2% is Chinese and the remaining comprising Malay (15%), Indian (7.4%), Eurasians and other ethnic minority (1.4%).

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Acknowledgements

This material is based on a research project funded by the National Research Foundation, Singapore and Singapore’s Ministry of National Development under the L2NIC Award No. L2NICTDF1-2017-2. The authors acknowledge the contribution of Anna Dieterich for her support in focus group participant recruitment, data collection, and draft report writing. The authors are thankful to the project research team at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Geriatric Education and Research Institute Ltd, Lekker Architects Pte Ltd, Tierra Design Studio Pte Ltd, CPG Consultants Pte Ltd as partners and collaborators in this study. Special thanks go to all research participants for generously giving their timeand sharing their experiences. This research/project is supported by the National Research Foundation, Singapore, and Singapore’s Ministry of National Development under the L2NIC Award No. L2NICTDF1-2017-2. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the National Research Foundation, Singapore and Singapore’s Ministry of National Development.

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  1. Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore, 487372, Singapore

    Md Rashed Bhuyan & Belinda Yuen

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  1. Md Rashed Bhuyan
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Table 5 Focus group discussion guide (English version)
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Bhuyan, M.R., Yuen, B. Older Adults’ Views of the Connections between Neighbourhood Built Environment and Health in Singapore. Population Ageing 15, 279–299 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-021-09328-4

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