IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i7p3922-d779500.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ageing Well in Small Villages: What Keeps Older Adults Happy? Environmental Indicators of Residential Satisfaction in Four Dutch Villages

Author

Listed:
  • Nienke J. A. Moor

    (Research Group Architecture in Health, HAN University of Applied Sciences, 6846 CC Arnhem, The Netherlands)

  • Kim Hamers

    (Research Group Architecture in Health, HAN University of Applied Sciences, 6846 CC Arnhem, The Netherlands)

  • Masi Mohammadi

    (Research Group Architecture in Health, HAN University of Applied Sciences, 6846 CC Arnhem, The Netherlands
    Smart Architectural Technologies, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5644 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands)

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the existing literature about liveability in rural areas by explicitly focusing on the level of residential satisfaction of older adults (55+) in four small Dutch villages. We strive not only to identify the key indicators of residential satisfaction among older villagers but also to better understand how these indicators affect their (daily) life. Moreover, in line with the person–environment fit tradition, we differentiate according to the capabilities and vulnerabilities of older villagers. To this end, we use a mixed-method approach, in which we combine survey data with qualitative data collected with photovoice in the four villages. The findings indicate that older adults’ perceptions of spatial, social and functional aspects of the living environment are related to the degree of residential satisfaction overall. However, these perceptions appear to be strongly intertwined, especially perceptions about spatial characteristics, local identity and connectedness. Older adults who are hindered by health problems in undertaking daily activities experience a lower level of person–environment fit, which is reflected in a lower level of residential satisfaction. However, this relationship between subjective health and residential satisfaction can only be partially explained by different perceptions of the spatial, social and functional environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Nienke J. A. Moor & Kim Hamers & Masi Mohammadi, 2022. "Ageing Well in Small Villages: What Keeps Older Adults Happy? Environmental Indicators of Residential Satisfaction in Four Dutch Villages," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:3922-:d:779500
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/3922/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/3922/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phillips, David R. & Siu, Oi-ling & Yeh, Anthony G.O. & Cheng, Kevin H.C., 2005. "The impacts of dwelling conditions on older persons' psychological well-being in Hong Kong: the mediating role of residential satisfaction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(12), pages 2785-2797, June.
    2. Lisanne Bergefurt & Astrid Kemperman & Pauline van den Berg & Aloys Borgers & Peter van der Waerden & Gert Oosterhuis & Marco Hommel, 2019. "Loneliness and Life Satisfaction Explained by Public-Space Use and Mobility Patterns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Anna P. Nieboer & Jane M. Cramm, 2018. "Age-Friendly Communities Matter for Older People’s Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(8), pages 2405-2420, December.
    4. repec:bla:ijurrs:v:38:y:2014:i:4:p:1142-1159 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shi Chen & Yi Sun & Bo Kyong Seo, 2022. "The Effects of Public Open Space on Older People’s Well-Being: From Neighborhood Social Cohesion to Place Dependence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Lei Kang & Zhaoping Yang & Yunxiao Dang & Wenzhong Zhang & Caicai Liu, 2022. "Can Tourism Development Make Cities More Livable? Investigating 40 Cities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-17, January.
    3. Jo-Ying Huang & Hui-Chuan Hsu & Yu-Ling Hsiao & Feng-Yin Chen & Shu-Ying Lo & Tzu-Yun Chou & Megan F. Liu, 2022. "Developing Indicators of Age-Friendliness in Taiwanese Communities through a Modified Delphi Method," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Zhong, Sinan & Lee, Chanam & Foster, Margaret J. & Bian, Jiahe, 2020. "Intergenerational communities: A systematic literature review of intergenerational interactions and older adults’ health-related outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    5. Ho, Hung Chak & Cheng, Wei & Song, Yimeng & Liu, Yuqi & Guo, Yingqi & Lu, Shiyu & Lum, Terry Yat Sang & Chiu, Rebecca & Webster, Chris, 2022. "Spatial uncertainty and environment-health association: An empirical study of osteoporosis among “old residents” in public housing estates across a hilly environment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    6. Ahuva Even-Zohar, 2022. "The “At Home†Program: Students Residing with Older Adults," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    7. Yang Zhang & Agnes E. Van den Berg & Terry Van Dijk & Gerd Weitkamp, 2017. "Quality over Quantity: Contribution of Urban Green Space to Neighborhood Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-10, May.
    8. Karla Romero Starke & Janice Hegewald & Stefanie Schmauder & Pauline Kaboth & Lena Marie Uhlmann & David Reissig & Kristin Klaudia Kaufmann & Jürgen Wegge & Gesine Marquardt & Andreas Seidler, 2022. "Health and Care Dependency of Older Adults in Dresden, Germany: Results from the LAB60+ Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-18, September.
    9. Kevin Cheng & David Phillips & Oi-Ling Siu & Anthony Yeh, 2014. "Patterns of Residential Adjustment for Older Person: Who will Recover and How Do They Recover? A Study in Different Residential Environments in Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(1), pages 295-319, October.
    10. Ruohan Zhang & Jialan Zhang & Kuan Zhang & Dingde Xu & Yanbin Qi & Xin Deng, 2024. "Do Clean Toilets Help Improve Farmers’ Mental Health? Empirical Evidence from China’s Rural Toilet Revolution," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, January.
    11. Pan, Zhuolin & Liu, Yuqi & Liu, Ye & Huo, Ziwen & Han, Wenchao, 2024. "Age-friendly neighbourhood environment, functional abilities and life satisfaction: A longitudinal analysis of older adults in urban China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    12. Yan, Bingqiu & Gao, Xiaolu & Lyon, Michael, 2014. "Modeling satisfaction amongst the elderly in different Chinese urban neighborhoods," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 127-134.
    13. Ming Guan & Hongyi Guan, 2024. "Sense of community and residential well-being among rural-urban migrants in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    14. Jianbo Han & Edwin H. W. Chan & Esther H. K. Yung & Queena K. Qian & Patrick T. I. Lam, 2022. "A Policy Framework for Producing Age-Friendly Communities from the Perspective of Production of Space," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-23, February.
    15. Yafei Liu & Martin Dijst & Stan Geertman, 2017. "The subjective well-being of older adults in Shanghai: The role of residential environment and individual resources," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(7), pages 1692-1714, May.
    16. Thomson, Hilary & Thomas, Sian, 2015. "Developing empirically supported theories of change for housing investment and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 205-214.
    17. Hui-Chuan Hsu, 2020. "Typologies of Loneliness, Isolation and Living Alone Are Associated with Psychological Well-Being among Older Adults in Taipei: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Sun, Bindong & Liu, Jiahang & Yin, Chun & Cao, Jason, 2022. "Residential and workplace neighborhood environments and life satisfaction: Exploring chain-mediation effects of activity and place satisfaction," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    19. Josca van Houwelingen-Snippe & Thomas J. L. van Rompay & Somaya Ben Allouch, 2020. "Feeling Connected after Experiencing Digital Nature: A Survey Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-16, September.
    20. Yue, Yafei & Yang, Dongfeng & Owen, Neville & Van Dyck, Delfien, 2022. "The built environment and mental health among older adults in Dalian: The mediating role of perceived environmental attributes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:3922-:d:779500. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.