Study On Pathway Design Of Park In Changsha City Based On Walking Behavior Of The Elderly

As the population ages,the health of the elderly is gaining attention.For older adults,walking is a convenient and low-cost way to maintain health,and urban parks provide places for older adults to walk,with park trails and walking being the most closely related.This study used behavioral observation method to explore the objective path characteristics of parks that affect the walking behavior of the elderly in addition Questionnaire survey was used to clarify the subjective preference of the elderly for park path characteristics.This study mainly demonstrates and studies the relationship between walking behavior and path characteristics of the elderly from two aspects,The main findings of the study are as follows.The results of the association between park trails and walking behavior of older adults indicate that: Among the physical attributes of paths path material(mixed pavement),path form(linear),path width(6-8m),number of sitting benches(4-7),paths without steps and paths with lighting had a significant effect on the number of elderly people,and path length was positively correlated with the number of elderly people.Significantly more older adults in the path surroundings were observed on paths planted with two rows of street trees,a combination of shrubs and groundcovers,continuous lateral visibility,visually connected to landmarks;also,more older adults were observed on paths connecting an activity area.The results of a study of older adults’ preferences for trail characteristics showed that:Among the physical attributes of paths,older adults prefer paths with paved surfaces,natural styles,seating benches,no steps,and wider surfaces;among the surroundings of paths,older adults give preference to paths with flowers,two rows of street trees,a combination of flowers,waterfront with guardrails,continuous lateral visibility,no enclosures,and visual connections to water and structures.In terms of differences in path preferences by demographic attributes,there were significant differences in the choice of waterfront paths by gender,with more men choosing waterfront paths without guardrails than women,while there were significant differences in the path feature of steps by age group,with 60-65 years old choosing paths with steps more often than 75-80 years old.In addition,literacy and familiarity with the park had no effect on the preference of path characteristics.Based on the results of the above two studies,the difference between objective physical environment and subjective preference is clarified,This paper puts forward the path design optimization strategy of Changsha Lieshi Park from three aspects: the physical attribute of the path,the surrounding environment of the path and the connection with the activity area,so as to provide reference and reference for building a healthy and comfortable walking environment of urban park.