Global demographic shifts toward an ageing population have highlighted loneliness as a pressing concern affecting older adults' well-being. With play recognised as a potential buffer against such adverse conditions, a knowledge gap persists in understanding and environmentally supporting older adults’ play needs, particularly in high-density urban contexts with limited public spaces. Using Hong Kong as a case study, this research aims to systematically identify, categorize, and analyze the play behaviors of older adults in community parks, investigating how spatial design elements mediate these behaviors in high-density urban contexts. We employ behavior mapping techniques coupled with unobtrusive observation, capturing footage four times daily in three selected parks. The data is processed using a fine-tuned YOLOv8 human pose estimation model, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of behavior identification and classification. The study results reveal variations in play behaviors across different park designs and neighborhood characteristics, identifying key features that enable or inhibit older adult play. The analysis results reveal distinct patterns of older adults' play behaviors and their associations with specific spatial design elements that facilitate or constrain these activities in community parks. These insights provide valuable guidance for creating age-friendly public spaces that better support older populations’ play needs in high-density urban environments, contributing to the promotion of active aging and social inclusion.

Authors:
Izzy Yi Jian, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Xiaosheng Zhu, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Izzy Yi JIAN is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies at the Education University of Hong Kong, and the Director of Happy Ageing Lab Foundation, CUHK.

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