Abstract
Background: In the context of an aging society, the physical and mental health and quality of life of the elderly have received more and more attention. Among them, in the field of mental health of the elderly, subject well-being is an important concern. Many studies have shown that the environment has a certain impact on people's mental health. In the field of landscape, public health and architecture, most of the studies focus on the natural environment, including the number and proportion of green space, the distance to green space, the characteristics of green space, as well as the building density, building form, road network density and layout in the built environment. However, in China, the specific environment elements that are more comprehensive and more closely linked with urban planning and management need to be studied. Objectives: Relevant research shows that more than 80% of the activities of the elderly are completed within 1 km of the neighborhood. This study takes neighborhood environment as the main research area and research object. The objectives include: 1, to find the status of the elderly’s subject well-being in Shanghai; 2, to find the impact of the neighborhood environmental factors on the subject well-being of the elderly; and therefore, 3, to put forward some suggestions for neighborhood planning to promote the subject well-being of the elderly. Methods: Based on the data of the Fourth Survey on the Living Conditions of the Elderly in Urban and Rural Areas of China, 3431 urban residential samples in Shanghai were selected and analyzed in this study. The subject well-being comes from the question, "General speaking, do you feel happy?" Options include five levels, ranging from very happy to very unhappy. According to the existing literature and the specific requirements of Shanghai urban planning compilation and management, the environmental factors are summarized as 20 indicators in four aspects: natural environment, housing conditions, urban form and facility environment. According to the sample address, the environmental factors indicators are calculated in GIS. The data are analyzed by the method of ordered logistic regression in SPSS 22. Results: 71% of the respondents felt very happy or happy, while only 2.2% of the respondents said they were unhappy or very unhappy. Non-agricultural household registration, low education, married couples, self-rated economic status of the elderly, higher happiness. Under the condition of controlling the basic characteristics and socio-economic attributes of the elderly, the community natural environment, housing conditions and facilities environment have a significant impact on the well-being of the elderly. The newer the housing, the larger the building area, the more commercial retail and sports leisure facilities, educational and scientific research facilities, the better of the subject well-being of the elderly; while the proportion of parks and green space, the number of cultural and entertainment facilities and medical facilities have a negative impact on the happiness of the elderly. Conclusion: Under the control of socio-economic variables, community environment can significantly affect the subjective well-being of the elderly. Housing conditions and the number of shopping facilities have a positive impact on the subjective well-being of the elderly. In the planning of community life circle, attention should be paid to improving the housing conditions and other hardware facilities of the elderly, and increasing shopping, sports and leisure services to promote the well-being of the elderly.
