The Influence of Elderly-Friendly Public Spaces and Stakeholder Perspective on The Quality of Life in Urban Micro-Districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China

Abstract

Fuzhou City, located in China's Fujian Province, exemplifies the demographic transformation underway. The city's elderly population is growing, with individuals aged 60 and above constituting 16.76% of its municipal population. This demographic shift, coupled with increasing urbanization, underscores the urgent need to enhance public spaces to serve the requirements of elderly individuals better. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the influence of elderly-friendly public space and stakeholder perspective on the quality of life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. The quantitative method based on questionnaires is applied. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percent frequency, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation are introduced. Various inferential statistical methods are used to test the hypothesis, particularly the Independent Samples t-test, the One-way ANOVA, and the Multiple Linear Regression analysis. The results obtained from the study indicate that differences in Gender, Marital Status, Duration of Residence, Living Arrangement, Type of Housing, and Mobility Limitation generate differences in Quality of Life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. Differences in Elderly Utilization Patterns generate differences in Quality of Life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. Differences in Stakeholder Involvement in Public Space generate differences in Quality of Life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. The results obtained from the Multiple Linear Regression Analyses show that there are significant positive impacts of all aspects of Public Space Characteristics (Accessibility, Safety Measures, and Types of Amenities) on Quality of Life in urban micro-districts of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province.