TY - JOUR
T1 - Urban vitality and seniors’ outdoor rest time in Barcelona
AU - Akinci, Zeynep S.
AU - Marquet, Oriol
AU - Delclòs-Alió, Xavier
AU - Miralles-Guasch, Carme
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was funded by the RecerCaixa Project (“Ciudad, calidad de vida y movilidad activa en la tercera edad. Un análisis multimetodológico a través de Tracking Living Labs” 2016). Z.S.Akinci is supported by a PhD grant by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR, 2019 FI_B 00039 ), provided by Generalitat de Catalunya. O. Marquet has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 845570.
Funding Information:
This project was funded by the RecerCaixa Project (?Ciudad, calidad de vida y movilidad activa en la tercera edad. Un an?lisis multimetodol?gico a trav?s de Tracking Living Labs? 2016). Z.S.Akinci is supported by a PhD grant by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR, 2019 FI_B 00039), provided by Generalitat de Catalunya. O. Marquet has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 845570.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - Immobility and lack of physical activity (PA) are global problems among seniors (≥65 years old). While being active is preferable to not doing physical activity, not leaving the house for long periods might increase mortality risk, lead to social isolation, depression, cognitive impairment, besides other health problems. However, going out of home, even to spend rest time outdoors could improve mental health, increase vitamin D intake, or provide opportunities in involvement in various experiences such as psychosocial, emotional, cultural, therapeutic, leisure or even PA, since resting forms an essential part of PA for some seniors. Previous studies show that the characteristics of individuals as well as the physical environment and how seniors perceive it affect their outdoor behavior. Aiming to contribute to the literature which mostly focuses on the relationship between characteristics of the physical environment and seniors' PA, this study explores how a specific urban characteristic: urban vitality impacts seniors' outdoor rest while considering age and gender. To do so we used GPS-tracking and accelerometer data belonging to 253 seniors residing in Barcelona, in combination with a GIS-based urban vitality index and a questionnaire for sociodemographic data and neighborhood perceptions. Results show that seniors in Barcelona tend to rest rather than being active in more vital areas. However, results differ among age and gender groups. The probability of using vital areas for outdoor rest was especially higher among older senior men (≥75 years old). This study furthers our understanding of seniors' outdoor behavior, its relationship with the built environment and how this relationship varies among individual characteristics. Results might provide valuable insights for the design of vital urban spaces that can have positive contributions to seniors' lives while strengthening the community life by promoting social inclusion of all age and gender groups in urban life.
AB - Immobility and lack of physical activity (PA) are global problems among seniors (≥65 years old). While being active is preferable to not doing physical activity, not leaving the house for long periods might increase mortality risk, lead to social isolation, depression, cognitive impairment, besides other health problems. However, going out of home, even to spend rest time outdoors could improve mental health, increase vitamin D intake, or provide opportunities in involvement in various experiences such as psychosocial, emotional, cultural, therapeutic, leisure or even PA, since resting forms an essential part of PA for some seniors. Previous studies show that the characteristics of individuals as well as the physical environment and how seniors perceive it affect their outdoor behavior. Aiming to contribute to the literature which mostly focuses on the relationship between characteristics of the physical environment and seniors' PA, this study explores how a specific urban characteristic: urban vitality impacts seniors' outdoor rest while considering age and gender. To do so we used GPS-tracking and accelerometer data belonging to 253 seniors residing in Barcelona, in combination with a GIS-based urban vitality index and a questionnaire for sociodemographic data and neighborhood perceptions. Results show that seniors in Barcelona tend to rest rather than being active in more vital areas. However, results differ among age and gender groups. The probability of using vital areas for outdoor rest was especially higher among older senior men (≥75 years old). This study furthers our understanding of seniors' outdoor behavior, its relationship with the built environment and how this relationship varies among individual characteristics. Results might provide valuable insights for the design of vital urban spaces that can have positive contributions to seniors' lives while strengthening the community life by promoting social inclusion of all age and gender groups in urban life.
KW - Accelerometer
KW - GPS
KW - Outdoor rest
KW - Seniors
KW - Urban vitality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120774919&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/832e712a-63b0-3648-acc3-5cfa60d38e39/
U2 - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103241
DO - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103241
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85120774919
VL - 98
JO - Journal of Transport Geography
JF - Journal of Transport Geography
SN - 0966-6923
M1 - 103241
ER -