Urban Neighbourhood Outdoor Environments and Age-friendliness: A Study of Jaipur City, India

Authors

  • Parshant Rehal Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India
  • Prabhjot Singh Chani Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India
  • Sonal Atreya Indian Institute of Technology, BHU Varanasi, India
  • Harsimran Kaur Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22232/stj.2025.13.01.09

Keywords:

Outdoor Environments, Age-friendliness, Well-being

Abstract

An age-friendly built environment is crucial for older adults to retain an active lifestyle, impacting their ability to independently execute all their daily activities in out-of-home settings. The availability of public spaces within outdoor environments is often associated with improving social inclusiveness and additional health benefits. The aspect of an outdoor built environment for geriatric populations to enjoy good health and well-being remains under-studied in the context of Indian cities. Therefore, the study attempts to understand the key challenges experienced by older adult populations towards their daily life activities in the outdoor built environment in Indian cities. The study hypothesized that the quality of neighbourhood public and green open spaces, along with the accessibility to such outdoor spaces, strongly impact the overall satisfaction level of older adults. A mixed method approach has been adopted to conduct the study, incorporating observational analysis and surveys administered among the urban older adult populations. Survey schedules were carried out among randomly selected older adult residents aged 60 years and above (n =70) in and around the urban neighbourhoods in Jaipur city. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were conducted on the responses from the older adults. Findings indicate that accessibility barriers and safety concerns from traffic negatively impact the satisfaction and active ageing among elderly residents within the out-of-home neighbourhood environment. Creating age-friendly neighbourhood spaces and improving the accessibility linkages between the home and the outdoor built environment through architecture and design interventions can help improve user experiences and life satisfaction among the ageing population. 

Author Biographies

Parshant Rehal, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India

Research Scholar, Department of Architecture and Planning

Prabhjot Singh Chani, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India

Professor, Department of Architecture and Planning

Sonal Atreya, Indian Institute of Technology, BHU Varanasi, India

Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Planning and Design

Harsimran Kaur, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India

Research Scholar, Department of Architecture and Planning

References

Dallat, M. A. T., Soerjomataram, I., Hunter, R. F., Tully, M. A., Cairns, K. J., & Kee, F. (2014). Urban greenways have the potential to increase physical activity levels cost-effectively. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH (Vol. 24, Issue 2). https://doi. org/10.1093/eurpub/ckt035.

de Vries, S., van Dillen, S. M. E., Groenewegen, P. P., & Spreeuwenberg, P. (2013). Streetscape greenery and health: Stress, social cohesion and physical activity as mediators. Social Science & Medicine, 94, 26-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. socscimed.2013.06.030.

Del Aguila, M. (2021). Neighbourhood environment walkability and the independence of older people: A comment on the 30- year plan for greater Adelaide. In Australian Planner (Vol. 57, Issues 3-4). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/07293682. 2021.2017993.

Kim, Y., Yeo, H., & Lim, L. (2024). Sustainable, walkable cities for the elderly: Identification of the built environment for walkability by activity purpose. Sustainable Cities and Society, 100, 105004. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCS.2023.105004.

Lee, A. C. K., Jordan, H. C., & Horsley, J. (2015). Value of urban green spaces in promoting healthy living and wellbeing: prospects for planning. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 8, 131. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S61654.

Liu, Y., Pan, Z., Liu, Y., & Li, Z. (2023). Can living in an age- friendly neighbourhood protect older adults' mental health against functional decline in China? Landscape and Urban Planning, 240, 104897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. landurbplan.2023.104897.

Meetiyagoda, L. (2018). Pedestrian safety in Kandy Heritage City, Sri Lanka: Lessons from World Heritage Cities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 38, 301-308. https://doi.org/10.1016/J. SCS.2018.01.017.

Lee, A. C. K., Jordan, H. C., & Horsley, J. (2015). Value of urban green spaces in promoting healthy living and wellbeing: prospects for planning. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 8, 131. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S61654.

Liu, Y., Pan, Z., Liu, Y., & Li, Z. (2023). Can living in an age- friendly neighbourhood protect older adults' mental health against functional decline in China? Landscape and Urban Planning, 240, 104897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. landurbplan.2023.104897.

Meetiyagoda, L. (2018). Pedestrian safety in Kandy Heritage City, Sri Lanka: Lessons from World Heritage Cities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 38, 301-308. https://doi.org/10.1016/J. SCS.2018.01.017.

Salmistu, S., & Kotval, Z. (2023). Spatial interventions and built environment features in developing age-friendly communities from the perspective of urban planning and design. Cities, 141, 104417. https://doi.org/10.1016/J. CITIES.2023.104417.

Steels, S. (2015). Key characteristics of age-friendly cities and communities: A review. Cities, 47, 45-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2015.02.004.

WHO. (2007). Global Age-friendly Cities: A Guide. https://www. who.int/ageing/publications/active_ageing/en/

Yang, L. C., Liu, J. X., Liang, Y., Lu, Y., & Yang, H. T. (2021). Spatially Varying Effects of Street Greenery on Walking Time of Older Adults. In ISPRS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEO- INFORMATION (Vol. 10, Issue 9). https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijgi 10090596 .

Yung, E. H. K., Conejos, S., & Chan, E. H. W. (2016). Social needs of the elderly and active aging in public open spaces in urban renewal. Cities, 52, 114-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. cities.2015.11.022.

Zhang, Y., Koene, M., Chen, C., Wagenaar, C., & Reijneveld, S. A. (2024). Associations between the built environment and physical activity in children, adults and older people: A narrative review of reviews. Preventive Medicine, 180. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.YPMED.2024.107856

Downloads

Published

2025-09-29

How to Cite

Parshant Rehal, Prabhjot Singh Chani, Sonal Atreya, & Harsimran Kaur. (2025). Urban Neighbourhood Outdoor Environments and Age-friendliness: A Study of Jaipur City, India. Science & Technology Journal, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.22232/stj.2025.13.01.09

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2025): January 2025

Section

Research Articles

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Parshant Rehal, Prabhjot Singh Chani, Sonal Atreya, Harsimran Kaur

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

© The Author(s) 2025. Published by the Science & Technology Journal (STJ), Mizoram University.

Articles published in this journal are open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license.

License link: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)