Perception, Design and Ecology of the Built Environment, A Focus on the Global South

Abstract

Urban public Spaces has multiple facetsUrban spacesUrban public spacesChina for successful Place makingUrban place. Appropriation of a space is a manifestation of privatization and globalization. Through these various aspects, a public space becomes inclusive. Here the aspect of inclusivity is perceived through the eyes of elderly population of an urban space. Gerontological aspects deal with the need of elderly population of the society, and an inclusive urban design should confront with the elderly-friendly design. A critical analysis of urban public space in South Asian country like China is done with respect to the sociocultural scenario of elderly living condition. Key principles of elderly inclusive urban space are discussed. These principles become the tool to evaluate the elderly-friendly inclusive urban public design. The reality of an urban public space can be revealed by looking at it from both the aspects of design guidelines, rules, and regulations and the user's opinion about the space. The top-down approach of design guidelines is the depiction of what the city aspires to be, while bottom-up user-centric study reveals the effect of the guidelines and what the elderly people feel about the space. The article analyzes various strategies adopted by urban local body to create elderly-friendly urban public space in China. Study through Delphi method, post-occupancy survey, and ethnography reveals the reality of user's experience about the urban space. Correlation of these factors was drawn to through various literature reviews to shed light on the triadic interrelationship of design guidelines, urban public space, and elderly population. Based on the discussions on various examples from the country of China, a correlation of an urban space and its elderly friendliness is collated. Possibilities of contextual applications and necessary deviations from the Chinese aspects are there to implement in other countries of South Asia, as they characterize sociocultural similarities as well as dissimilarities.