Ecological and Perceptual Factors Shaping Age-Friendly Quality in Rural Public Spaces
Keywords:
Age-friendly rural public space, Ecological experience, Spatial perception, PLS-SEMAbstract
As rural populations in China rapidly age, enhancing the age-friendliness of public spaces in these areas has become a crucial priority. This study examines the relationships between ecological experiences, spatial perception, and perceived quality in a rural village in Jinan, China. A mixed-methods design was adopted, integrating field behavioural observations with 176 questionnaire surveys. The data were analysed using PLS-SEM to evaluate the proposed structural relationships. The findings reveal that ecological experience positively influences and enhance overall spatial perception such as continuous greenery and shaded semi-open spaces were found to extend users’ length of stay and foster greater social interaction.
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