Evaluation and Analysis of Environmental Aging of Public Space in Cold Urban Settlements Based on Importance Performance Analysis Theory—Taking Urumqi as an Example

Abstract

With the development of the Global Sustainable Development Goals, urban communities are increasingly focusing on sustainable development and all-age health and well-being, and the aging level of China will reach 21.1% in 2024. The aging process is accelerating, and the problem of population aging is becoming more and more serious, so it is more and more necessary and urgent to study the aging of the public space environment in urban settlements. Based on the research data of Urumqi settlements, this study utilizes importance performance analysis to evaluate the performance and importance of the aging public space environment. The main criteria elements for aging are identified as function and space, traffic and streamlining, services and facilities, green landscape and microclimate, and subjective soft needs; and the key evaluation indicators for aging are further refined. The results show that the surrounding urban environment, activity space abundance, building quality, building environment, external spatial layout, internal transportation, facilities, management, aging facilities, elderly service facilities, landscape, microclimate, and cultural activities are the key elements that need to be improved in order to improve the aging of the public space environment of cold urban settlements.

1. Introduction

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include improving the inclusiveness, safety, resilience, and sustainability of cities and human communities [1] (Figure 1). Designing sustainable and appropriate shared outdoor spaces can increase the inclusiveness and resilience of cities [2]. N. Abdollahzadeh and J. Rodríguez-Algeciras et al. point out that urban residents’ perception of the quality of the urban space and their satisfaction with the environment [3] influence the well-being of citizens [4]. A.M. Hassan et al. also suggested that the creation of comfortable urban outdoor space environments contributes to the improvement of public health, the utilization of open space, and the level of social interaction [5]; therefore, urban micro-regeneration and community upgrading has attracted a great deal of attention in the field of urban design and sustainable development in recent years [6,7].

Since the 1990s, the process of aging in China has accelerated. According to United Nations standards, China became an aging society in 2000. According to China’s National Bulletin on the Development of the Aging Career, 2024 [8], by the end of 2023, China’s aging level had reached 21.1% (Figure 1). The state has set up the National Working Committee on Aging, has explicitly incorporated the cause of aging into the overall planning of the economic, social, and sustainable development strategy, and has formulated a series of policies [9,10]. Against this background, constructing a livable environment for the elderly is particularly urgent and necessary.

In cold climate regions, extreme winter weather imposes significant constraints on the activities of residents. N. Pressman and W. Liu et al. showed that residents spend about 90% of their time indoors in winter [11], and outdoor regular activities are severely limited, which significantly reduces the activity level of the urban space [12]. For the elderly, Q. Yun et al. pointed out that meteorological factors such as low temperature, low humidity, and strong winds accelerate the decline of physiological functions, reduce immunity, and make them more susceptible to cold attacks, which, in turn, lead to a variety of health risks [13]. X. Bu et al. emphasized that as an important carrier of leisure and social functions in the community, the quality of the public space has a direct impact on the quality of life of the residents [14]. Therefore, optimizing the design of the public space in cold regions can effectively enhance the activity motivation of residents, promote physical exercise behavior, and ultimately achieve the overall improvement of spatial vitality [13].

For urban communities, recognizing the activity characteristics of the elderly and their spatial needs is a prerequisite for the aging-adaptive transformation of public space in residential areas [15,16]. J.A. Martilla and C. Ren et al. also proposed the importance performance analysis (IPA) method [17], which is an ideal tool for analyzing and evaluating the use of assessment [18], and J. Song et al.’s study also revealed that due to the large number of assessment elements in the public space environment of a settlement, older people have different requirements for various types of environmental features [19].

Therefore, this paper approaches IPA from different perspectives to evaluate the aging characteristics of public space environments concerning the various needs of the elderly. According to the needs of each spatial environment, it summarizes the spatial environment problems that need to be improved urgently and deals with the degree of matching between the public space environment of the settlements, the needs of the elderly, and the efficient use of resources to propose supportive countermeasures and suggestions for the aging-friendly transformation and upgrading of the public space environment of urban settlements in cold regions. This is of great importance both in theory and in practice. At the theoretical level, it supplements the theoretical foundation of sustainable cities and communities. It provides a theoretical basis for improving the aging environment of the public space in communities. At the practical level, it improves the living conditions of the community through urban renewal and provides a feasible way to improve the quality of the human environment in cold cities.

2. Methodology

In this research, we obtained the profile of elderly people’s use of the outdoor public space environment in each settlement through on-site observation and qualitative interviews. Then, we designed the research questionnaire for IPA evaluation by organizing the on-site research data and related literature in order to obtain older people’s subjective evaluation of the characteristics of the outdoor public space environment in the settlements. The research process mainly includes pre-research, formal research, and IPA data processing (Figure 2).

The main research method adopted in this paper, importance performance analysis (IPA), is an evaluation method based on user perception, which identifies improvement priorities by analyzing users’ perceptions of the importance of product or service attributes and actual performance. In the field of settlement planning and architecture, IPA is often used to assess the quality of the living environment, the rationality of spatial design, and user satisfaction, as well as to help architects or planners optimize their design solutions or renovation strategies.

The development of the content indicators of the IPA questionnaire in this study is mainly based on pre-survey interviews, coding and analyzing the original data using the rooting theory, merging some codes and eliminating some redundant codes, and finally, extracting the indicators of the elements of the needs of elderly people in cold cities with respect to the aging environment.

In this study, the IPA box plot was constructed with importance as the horizontal axis (I-axis), performance as the vertical axis (P-axis), and the middle value (3) of importance and performance as the dividing line to construct the IPA box plot. Four quadrants were included: I, Continuing Effort Zone; II, Maintenance Zone; III, Low-Priority Improvement Zone; and IV, Urgent Improvement Zone. The performance and importance of each indicator in the research settlements were summarized and divided by the number of respondents to derive the mean values of importance and performance and positioned in the corresponding quadrants one by one.

Considering the specificity of the cultural and socioeconomic background of the research city Urumqi, this study not only considers universal indicators at the level of the physical and spatial environment but also introduces regional indicators at the level of subjective spirit in order to ensure that the study eventually strikes a certain balance between geographical specificity and scientific universality, avoiding over-generalization or limiting cases.

2.1. Research on Urban Climate Environment

According to the Civil Building Design Code (GB 50176-2016) [20], China defines the climatic characteristics of different cities by dividing the thermal design of buildings into five climate zones based on meteorological indicators such as air temperature, air humidity, and rainfall, covering the frigid zone, the cold zone, the hot summer–winter cold zone, the hot summer–winter warm zone, and the mild zone [21,22]. In researching the evaluation of the public space environment in residential areas of cold cities, we refer to the definition criteria of typical cities in cold zones and their climatic conditions in this specification [20] and choose Urumqi as a typical case to be analyzed. The research results are not only applicable to this particular city but also can provide a reference for other regions with similar climatic characteristics, with strong scientific universality and research value.

Urumqi (43°80′ N, 32°18′ E) is located inland in Northwest China, which is categorized as a cold zone according to the thermal design code for buildings and belongs to the temperate continental climate type if referring to the Köppen climate classification [23]. The region presents typical cold climate characteristics, namely, significant differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures, obvious seasonal fluctuations, annual rainfall of less than 200 mm and increasing with elevation, long duration of the cold season, uneven distribution of the seasons, and frequent inversions in winter [20]. Meteorological data show that the city maintains an average annual temperature of around 7 °C, with the average temperature in July being close to 24 °C, while the average temperature in January is as low as around −12 °C. In terms of air humidity, the annual average relative humidity is about 61%, peaking at 82% in January and dropping to a low of 43% in August. Wind speed fluctuates around 2.2 m/s throughout the year, with a minimum wind speed of 1.4 m/s in January and northeasterly winds prevailing, and a maximum wind speed of up to 3.2 m/s in September with more southwesterly winds. The annual average solar radiation intensity is 115 W/m², with only 44 W/m² in January and 279 W/m² in July. The annual average value of the human comfort index (PET) is 3.3 °C, with a minimum of −17.8 °C in January and a maximum of 22.2 °C in July. The above meteorological parameters were obtained from the EPW Map database and analyzed using the Ladybug tool for climate characterization (Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6).

2.2. Selection of Research Settlements

On 29 March 2024, the communiqué of the Autonomous Region Bureau of Statistics showed that the province’s elderly population aged 60 years and above was on a rising trend year by year. The province’s elderly population, i.e., those over 60 years old, reached 3.37 million in 2023, accounting for 13.0% of the total population, of which 2.26 million were 65 years old and above, accounting for 8.7% of the total population. Hence, the proportion of the population that is aging is high, and the situation of old-age pensions is dire. This paper selects Urumqi as the primary research city, the capital of Xinjiang. According to the seventh population census of the autonomous region [24], as of 2021, the population was up to 4.05 million people, accounting for 15.68% of the total population of Xinjiang. The proportion of elderly people in the population is constantly growing, and various ethnic groups live in a mixed population, which provides a certain degree of representativeness.

The sampling range of this study on the aging of the public environment in cold urban settlements is selected from various locations in the old urban area of Urumqi Center, including Tianshan District, Shuimogou District, and Shayibak District [25], which basically covers all kinds of settlements in the entire Urumqi central urban area. In order to make the study more comprehensive, this paper not only selects the old settlements before 2000 but also selects some of the new settlements to provide a comparative study and comprehensive assessment to enhance the rationality and reliability of the study. We selected 16 typical settlements with different characteristics (

Table 1. Basic information on exploratory research case settlements. Source: the authors.

S/N	Time for Completion	Number of Households	Plot Ratio	Greening Rate	Parking Ratio	Type of Construction	Residential District Location
A	2013	1410	1.40	30%	300 (1:0.2)	Mid-rise
B	2016	2137	1.20	30%	200 (1:0.1)	Mid-rise
C	2008	1834	2.50	30%	1000 (1:0.5)	Mid/High-rise
D	2008	1533	2.50	30%	1500 (1:1.0)	Mid/High-rise
E	2007	2628	1.60	35%	350 (1:0.1)	Mid-rise
F	2007	732	1.49	30%	300 (1:0.4)	Mid-rise
G	1993	2028	1.40	20%	1000(1:0.5)	Mid-rise
H	2015	90	1.20	30%	100 (1:1.1)	Mid-rise
I	2014	840	3.00	30%	200 (1:0.2)	Super high-rise
J	2009	670	2.50	30%	200 (1:0.3)	High-rise
K	2007	200	1.20	30%	30 (1:0.2)	Mid-rise
L	2001	672	2.08	30%	100 (1:0.1)	Mid/High-rise
M	2019	2644	2.50	35%	200 (1:0.1)	Mid/High-rise
N	2002	1077	1.68	35%	200 (1:0.3)	Mid-rise
O	2002	342	1.40	30%	200 (1:0.6)	Mid-rise
P	2001	2167	1.40	30%	100 (1:0.05)	Mid-rise

). Through on-site observation and qualitative interviews on each material element of the public space in these 16 settlements, the aging status of the public space environment in urban settlements in Urumqi was assessed. The 16 settlements have different characteristics, and the problems they reflect are also different, so as the collective object of this empirical research, they are typical and representative.

Typical settlements are selected on the following bases [26]: ① Construction time: The construction time of each representative settlement is different, including old settlements around 2000 and the 1990s and new settlements built in the last 10 years and 20 years. ② Scale of the settlements: The total number of households in the selected settlements varies, with 500, 1000, 2000, or more households in the settlements with high pedestrian flow and high utilization rates. Space division and functional zoning relationships are relatively complete, covering specific services and facilities. ③ Settlement plot ratio and building type: The plot ratio of each representative settlement ranges from 1.20 to 2.50, and the building type includes multi-story, small high-rise, and high-rise buildings, which represent different environments with different plot ratios under different types of residential buildings, respectively. ④ Geographic location: The selected settlements are in the city center, adjacent to densely populated residential areas, with a relatively complete range of public utilities, transport facilities, and public service facilities within 1 km. The surrounding land use is of various kinds and is close to commercial facilities, public service facilities, and so on. ⑤ The primary public space environment in each residential area is different, with differences in space, landscape environment, and functional facilities, and the activities carried out by the elderly groups are also different.

2.3. Research Process

2.3.1. The First Stage of Exploratory Research

In June 2023, exploratory research, was conducted, and the research design was adjusted to focus on extensive on-site surveys. The research was carried out in 16 residential districts of different ages in the central city of Urumqi. About 50 elderly people were randomly selected for questionnaire surveys and free interviews in each residential district, and appropriate photographs were taken and recorded. Questionnaires were distributed during the morning, afternoon, evening, and nighttime hours. A total of 836 questionnaires were distributed, and 768 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective rate of 91.87%.

The interview process was conducted in the form of conversations, and according to the feedback from the elderly, the questioning and guiding methods were adjusted in a timely manner in the subsequent interviews. The pre-survey included a survey on the essential characteristics of the elderly group, their daily outdoor activity patterns, and their suggestions for improving the public space in the settlements, from which the activity characteristics, concerns, and activity needs of the elderly were summarized [27], and six settlements were selected for the formal study, including settlements A, B, C, D, L, and P (Figure 7). Factors influencing the utilization assessment of older adults in the settlements were identified, and the IPA formal research questionnaire was developed in conjunction with the literature study.

2.3.2. Research Questionnaire Design and Determination of Sample Size

The questionnaire survey was aimed at obtaining the elderly residents’ assessment of the aging of the public space environment in the settlement. The first part of the questionnaire was used to investigate the essential sociodemographic characteristics of the older people interviewed, including four questions on gender, age, literacy, and health status. The second part concerned the selected indicators for the assessment of the aging of the public space environment in the settlement, including 5 primary indicators, 18 secondary indicators, and 92 tertiary indicators, conducted through on-site observation, interviews, and literature collection, and the Likert scale [28] was used to construct a scale of importance for the performance indicators.

According to the empirical range of the sample size of the sample survey, it is appropriate to determine the sample size of the survey at about 3% when the total population size of the research site is 10,000 people [29]. According to the management office, the total number of households in settlements A, B, C, D, L, and P amounts to 1834, 1533, 1410, 2137, 672, and 2167, respectively. This research mainly focuses on the elderly and is based on the data of the Seventh Population Census of the National Bureau of Statistics [8], which shows that the average population of each household is 2.62 and that the level of aging has reached 21.1%. The total population of the six case study districts is about 25,000 people. The elderly population amounts to about 0.5 million people, and the sample was drawn according to 3%. The number of questionnaires distributed was 150.

2.3.3. Second Stage of Formal Research

In January 2024, the formal research process was conducted, and the IPA formal research questionnaire was distributed six times in early January, including in the morning and afternoon, evening, and nighttime, which was conducted according to the times when the elderly people’s daily activities were concentrated to enhance the generalizability of this study. A total of 178 questionnaires were distributed, and 152 valid questionnaires were recovered, with a validity rate of 85.4%.

The research content mainly includes the following [26]: ① Research on the current situation of the aging environment of the outdoor public space in the residential area, including two aspects: first, observe, take pictures, and record the behavioral activities of the elderly in the outdoor public space; second, take pictures and record the current situation of the physical environment of the outdoor public space, landscape, facilities, and other aspects. In this process, we can communicate with the managers of the plaza to understand the problems and difficulties that exist in the management and use of the settlement [30]. ② Questionnaire survey on the satisfaction of the elderly with various elements of the public space environment of the settlement. According to the data of the exploratory phase of the research, the sample selection in the formal research should try to cover the elderly members of different age groups, accounting for different degrees of aging, including the age of the cleaning staff and management personnel, etc. The distribution of the questionnaires and interviews should be wide-ranging to diversify the sample, and the questionnaires and interviews should be similarly broad, asking about age, health status, etc. The satisfaction survey of the elderly in the settlements was conducted by scoring 92 indicators across five aspects, namely, function and space, traffic and streamlining, services and facilities, green landscape and microclimate, and subjective soft needs (1–5 corresponds to very dissatisfied–very satisfied), and the elderly were allowed to freely describe the current situation of the aging environment in the public spaces in the settlements and the various problems, to talk about the difficulties they encounter in the course of their outdoor activities in the settlements, and to put forward their opinions accordingly. They were also asked to freely describe the current situation and problems of the public space environment in their neighborhoods, to talk about the difficulties they encounter during their outdoor activities in their neighborhoods, and to put forward their opinions.

2.3.4. Research Data Processing

The IPA method was adopted, and the analysis steps were as follows: ① According to the primary criterion level (first-level indicators), the data were divided into five groups: function and space, traffic and streamlining, services and facilities, green landscape and microclimate, and subjective soft needs. The importance and performance of each third-level indicator in each group were determined, and paired t-tests excluded the indicators that were not significant. ② Taking importance as the horizontal axis (I-axis) and performance as the vertical axis (P-axis), we constructed the IPA box plot, with the mean value of importance and performance as the dividing line. Four quadrants were included: I, Continuing Effort Zone; II, Maintenance Zone; III, Low-Priority Improvement Zone; and IV, Urgent Improvement Zone. Each assessment indicator is positioned in the corresponding quadrant according to its respective importance and performance scores, thus visually reflecting the difference between the actual performance of the assessment indicators and the ideal target and revealing the key factors affecting the elderly residents’ assessment of the aging of the public space environment in the settlement.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Basic Situation, Behavioral Characteristics, and Activity Needs of the Interviewed Older People

(1)

Basic situation of the elderly interviewed

In terms of the gender composition of the elderly in the exploratory and formal research settlements, the proportion of male and female participants is relatively balanced, with the number of males being slightly higher than that females, which also indicates, to a certain extent, that the male elderly population is more fond of going out. In terms of the age distribution, the proportion of younger elderly participants in the 65–74 age bracket is higher, accounting for 41% of the total number of elderly participants in the research. This is the main group of people who use the public space environment in the settlements (Figure 8A).

(2)

Behavioural characteristics of the surveyed older people

The weekly activity frequency of the elderly ranges from five to seven times and more than seven times per week in the non-winter season, accounting for 34% and 29%, respectively; while in the winter season, it is two–five times and five–seven times per week, accounting for 31% and 26%, respectively, and the frequency of activity does not decrease significantly compared with the non-winter season. Older people’s outings are characterized by a lower duration and more frequent activities. In the winter season, 1 h is the most frequent activity, accounting for 411%, and in the non-winter season, 2 h is the most frequent, accounting for 33%. In winter and non-winter settlements, there is a difference in the activity hours of the elderly during the day, and seasonal adaptive design is important for the public space environment of the settlement (Figure 8B).

(3)

Activity needs of elderly respondents

The main reason for the elderly to go out is that they want to participate in social interaction and like the lively and popular atmosphere, accounting for 47%; this is followed by rich activities and a positive environment, accounting for 32% and 19%, respectively. The highest participation of the elderly is in leisure and recreational activities (47%); followed by sports and fitness activities (34%); then, accompanying family members, children, etc. (22%); and lastly, recreational activities such as cultivating morals (8%). The last, then, is recreational activities (8%). Older people enjoy the spatial vitality brought about by children’s play, and the design and renovation of public space in settlements should consider creating a spatial environment for a variety of activities, as well as functional facilities to attract different groups of people, in order to increase the vitality of public spaces in the settlements (Figure 8C).

3.2. Classification of the Set of Assessment Elements

The influencing elements of the use of the built environment are very complex and can be divided differently for different groups of people from different perspectives. For the research object of this paper, the authors combed through the relevant literature from recent years and sorted out its selection and division of assessment elements for the research object [26,27,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40] (

Table 2. Classification of elements of built environment assessment in the relevant literature. Source: the authors.

References	Research Objects	Influencing Factors
[26]	Public space environment in old residential areas of Tianjin Universities	Users, spatial function structure, and facilities supporting construction, management, and operation services
[27]	Urban community public outdoor activity space in Harbin	Land use, facilities, landscape, and management
[31]	Public space in old neighborhoods in Xuzhou	Use crowd, road traffic, green environment, activity site, and functional facilities
[32]	Urumqi old community outdoor environment	Building orientation layout, road traffic, landscape and greening, and facility layout
[33]	Harbin settlement aging	Functional space, traffic streamlining, service facilities, green landscape, and subjective needs
[34]	Aging of leisure plaza in Shenyang	Use of crowd, space, landscape environment, and functional facilities
[35]	Public space in old settlements in Nanjing	Users, traffic space, public activity space, public infrastructure, and greening
[36]	Outdoor environment of old neighborhoods in Wuhan	Users, road traffic, site space, landscape greening, and elderly service facilities
[37]	Nanchang old community outdoor activity space	Users, traffic space, outdoor activity space, and landscape facility space.
[38]	Qingdao settlement-type senior living building exterior space	Public space, landscape greening, road traffic, facility sketches.
[39]	Public space of aging-friendly urban community in Wuhan	Route organization, site elevation protection, barrier-free design, plant color matching, plant configuration, and landscape features.
[40]	Equity in Nanjing’s senior communities	Density, diversity, and design.

). As can be seen from the table, the researchers covering the different elements of the division are not the same. However, the common point is basically centered on “people” and the “environment” and the interaction between the two.

Based on the set of evaluation elements established in the literature as a reference, combined with the work of the pre-survey stage and the feedback from the interviews, we extracted the evaluation indices of the elderly on the aging characteristics of the public space environment of the settlement and divided the aging evaluation indices into three levels, which together constitute the set of elements of the evaluation of the aging of the public space environment of the settlement of the city in the severe cold.

The first-level indicators mainly include five dimensions: function and space, traffic and streamlining, services and facilities, green landscape and microclimate, and subjective soft needs. Among them, the function and space dimension includes 5 secondary indicators and 27 tertiary indicators, the traffic and streamlining dimension includes 3 secondary indicators and 21 tertiary indicators, the service and facilities dimension includes 4 secondary indicators and 23 tertiary indicators, the green landscape and microclimate dimension includes 3 secondary indicators and 11 tertiary indicators, and the subjective soft needs dimension includes 3 secondary indicators and 10 tertiary indicators, totaling 92 tertiary indicators (

Table 3. Set of elements for environmental aging assessment of public spaces in cold urban settlements. Source: the authors.

Primary Indicators	Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators
A Function and space	A1 Peripheral urban environment	A11 Peripheral commercial land proportion; A12 peripheral public service facilities proportion; A13 peripheral public green space proportion; A14 peripheral building density; A15 peripheral bus stops number; A16 peripheral road network density
	A2 Coherence	A21 Enclosure of settlements; A22 Color of buildings, ground tiling, greenery, etc.
	A3 Activity space richness	A31 area, area per capita; A32 space richness; A33 arrangement of activity space for different seasons; A34 convenience of sheltering from rain, snow, and wind; A35 multi-seasonal greening; A36 convenience of use
	A4 Building quality	A41 height; A42 scale; A43 facade quality; A44 interior quality; A45 auxiliary facilities quality; A46 architectural form
	A5 Building interior environment	A51 stair form; A52 lift; A53 wall cleanliness and flatness; A54 heating quality; A55 sound environment; A56 ventilation, odor; A57 lighting effectiveness and quality
B Traffic and streamlining	B1 External spatial layout of the settlement	B11 distance to neighborhood healthcare; B12 distance to cultural and sports activities; B13 distance to educational facilities; B14 distance to commercial services; B15 distance to financial emails; B16 distance to settlement services; B17 distance to municipal parks; B18 distance to administration and others
	B2 Internal traffic in the settlement	B21 separation of people and vehicles; B22 parking situation; B23 signage marking; B24 wind and snow corridors; B25 road grading; B26 medical accessibility; B27 travelling accessibility; B28 dining accessibility
	B3 Internal Linkages	B31 cluster layout patterns; B32 relationships between clusters; B33 pedestrian streamlines
C Services and facilities	C1 Facilities within the settlement	C11 clubhouse; C12 settlement canteen; C13 refuse collection site; C14 activity room; C15 community medical station; C16 warming room, sun room; C17 courier station
	C2 Management within the settlement	C21 management level; C22 pro-people degree; C23 management intensity
	C3 Aging-friendly facilities	C31 barrier-free design, ramp handrails; C32 safety design, non-slip flooring, warnings; C33 thermal insulation design, heating, wind, and sunshine; C34 winter snow treatment, pathway clearing; C35 degree of perfection of aging-friendly facilities; C36 lighting rate
	C4 Elderly service facilities	C41 spatial richness; C42 ease of use; C43 service quality; C44 indoor environment; C45 professionalism; C46 service category; C47 site selection
D Green landscape and microclimate	D1 Green space	D11 green area; D12 number of species; D13 seasonal ornamental; D14 spatial level richness; D15 degree of loved ones
	D2 Landscape	D21 landscape vignettes; D22 landscape water bodies
	D3 Microclimate	D31 temperature and humidity, thermal comfort; D32 sunshine; D33 wind environment; D34 air quality
E Subjective soft needs	E1 Cultural activities	E11 richness of activities; E12 reasonable arrangement of activities; E13 frequency of activities; E14 participation of the elderly; E15 publicity of activities
	E2 Maintenance of social relations	E21 relationship with neighbors in the settlement; E22 gathering with family and friends
	E3 Psychological feeling	E31 degree of external interference; E32 degree of neighborhood harmony; E33 sense of security

).

3.3. IPA Analysis of Environmental Aging of Public Space in Settlements

The metrics of the evaluation indices are based on a Likert scale, with a score of 1–5 representing unsatisfactory, less satisfactory, average, more satisfactory, and satisfactory, respectively. Cronbach’s α tested the reliability of the sample data. The α coefficients of performance and importance in the IPA scale were 0.888 and 0.886, respectively, with good consistency reliability. Paired-sample t-tests were conducted to determine whether there were significant differences in the I- and p-values of the evaluation indicators in the five groups, respectively (Table 4, Table 5, Table 6 and Table 7). Except for the indicators “B32 relationship between clusters” in group B, “Traffic and streamlining”, and “D15 degree of loved ones” in group D, “Green landscape and microclimate”, the p-values of all the other indicators are less than 5%, which indicates that there is a difference in the importance and performance of the indicators in each group, and this indicates that there are differences in the importance and performance of each group of indicators.

The IPA box plots were constructed by taking the mean values of the importance and performance of each group of data as the center point (Figure 7, Figure 8, Figure 9 and Figure 10). The IPA box plots were divided into four quadrants, and the contents of each quadrant were as follows: ① The mean values of the importance and performance of the indicators were high in the continuous effort zone, which indicated that older people not only attached importance to the indicators in this quadrant but were also satisfied with the performance of the indicators in this quadrant. ② The low mean importance and high mean performance of the indicators in the “II, Maintenance Quadrant” indicate that older adults do not value the indicators in this quadrant but are satisfied with their performance. ③ The low mean importance and low mean performance of the indicators in the “III, Low-Priority Improvement Quadrant” indicate that older adults not only do not value the indicators in this quadrant but are also dissatisfied with their performance. ④ The high mean importance and low mean performance of the indicators in the “IV, Urgent Improvement Quadrant” indicate that older adults place great importance on the indicators in this quadrant but are dissatisfied with their performance.

In general, the indicators in Quadrants I and II show the advantages of the existing sites in terms of the spatial environment, which should be maintained. The indicators in Quadrants III and IV show the disadvantages that exist and need to be improved. The indicators in Quadrant III can be put on hold, while those in Quadrant IV need to be addressed immediately. For the aging of the public space environment of the settlement, it is more important to analyze the disadvantages of the space environment than the advantages. Therefore, the indicators in Quadrant IV are specifically compared, categorized, and summarized. The key evaluation indicators for ageing have been highlighted in grey (Table 3).

3.4. Refinement and Analysis of Key Evaluation Indicators of Aging Appropriateness

According to the statistical results of IPA data and the classification summary of the indicators in Quadrant IV, the key evaluation indicators of the elderly on the aging of the environmental characteristics of the public space of the settlement for the elderly are derived.

3.4.1. Function and Space

Quadrant IV of the IPA analysis chart contains 11 indicators (Table 4, Figure 9): A12 percentage of public service facilities in the neighborhood; A13 percentage of public green space in the neighborhood; A15 number of bus stops in the neighborhood; A33 arrangement of activity space for different seasons; A34 convenience to escape from rain, snow, and wind; A36 convenience to use; A43 quality of façade; A45 quality of auxiliary facilities; A52 elevator; A53 cleanness and smoothness of wall surface; A57 lighting effectiveness and quality. It reflects that the elderly residents who participate in outdoor activities in the settlements attach great importance to the greening of the outdoor space and convenience of use, especially focusing on the treatment of rain and snow in the cold winter in order to carry out their normal activities. At the same time, they have certain requirements for the indicators of the internal and external wall surfaces of the residences and the related auxiliary facilities. However, they are not satisfied with the performance of these indicators in practice.

Table 4. Paired samples t-test statistics for function and space indicators. Source: the authors.

Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators	Performance (P)	Importance (I)	Mean Difference (P-I)	t-Value	p-Value
A1 Peripheral urban environment	A11 peripheral commercial land proportion	3.56	4.83	−1.27	12.062	0.000
	A12 peripheral public service facilities proportion	3.56	2.14	1.42	0.273	0.000
	A13 peripheral public green space proportion	4.45	2.69	1.76	3.042	0.000
	A14 peripheral building density	1.83	3.40	−1.57	9.340	0.001
	A15 peripheral bus stops number	4.62	1.92	2.70	10.115	0.000
	A16 peripheral road network density	1.40	3.01	−1.61	8.101	0.034
A2 Coherence	A21 enclosure of settlements	2.20	2.07	0.13	8.431	0.011
	A22 color of buildings, ground tiling, greenery, etc.	2.73	4.30	−1.57	8.524	0.000
A3 Activity space richness	A31 area, area per capita	3.57	3.97	−0.40	8.806	0.000
	A32 space richness	2.95	3.03	−0.08	4.900	0.000
	A33 arrangement of activity space for different seasons	3.21	1.32	1.89	11.738	0.000
	A34 convenience of sheltering from rain, snow and wind	3.89	2.44	1.45	6.811	0.000
	A35 multi-seasonal greening	2.93	1.57	1.36	8.382	0.011
	A36 convenience of use	4.69	2.55	2.14	6.362	0.000
A4 Building quality	A41 height	2.14	1.23	0.91	6.452	0.019
	A42 scale	2.28	1.87	0.41	8.104	0.000
	A43 facade quality	4.23	2.96	1.27	4.089	0.000
	A44 interior quality	4.42	3.90	0.52	11.301	0.000
	A45 auxiliary facilities quality	3.81	2.68	1.13	1.350	0.000
	A46 architectural form	1.44	1.20	0.24	3.042	0.020
A5 Building interior environment	A51 stair form	1.94	2.32	−0.38	10.490	0.046
	A52 lift	4.59	1.72	2.87	3.538	0.000
	A53 wall cleanliness and flatness	3.71	1.68	2.03	2.966	0.000
	A54 heating quality	4.52	3.51	1.01	7.510	0.000
	A55 sound environment	1.69	2.65	−0.96	11.040	0.017
	A56 ventilation, odor	2.55	2.80	−0.25	3.943	0.000
	A57 lighting effectiveness and quality	3.09	1.90	1.19	11.022	0.000

Table 4. Paired samples t-test statistics for function and space indicators. Source: the authors.

Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators	Performance (P)	Importance (I)	Mean Difference (P-I)	t-Value	p-Value
A1 Peripheral urban environment	A11 peripheral commercial land proportion	3.56	4.83	−1.27	12.062	0.000
	A12 peripheral public service facilities proportion	3.56	2.14	1.42	0.273	0.000
	A13 peripheral public green space proportion	4.45	2.69	1.76	3.042	0.000
	A14 peripheral building density	1.83	3.40	−1.57	9.340	0.001
	A15 peripheral bus stops number	4.62	1.92	2.70	10.115	0.000
	A16 peripheral road network density	1.40	3.01	−1.61	8.101	0.034
A2 Coherence	A21 enclosure of settlements	2.20	2.07	0.13	8.431	0.011
	A22 color of buildings, ground tiling, greenery, etc.	2.73	4.30	−1.57	8.524	0.000
A3 Activity space richness	A31 area, area per capita	3.57	3.97	−0.40	8.806	0.000
	A32 space richness	2.95	3.03	−0.08	4.900	0.000
	A33 arrangement of activity space for different seasons	3.21	1.32	1.89	11.738	0.000
	A34 convenience of sheltering from rain, snow and wind	3.89	2.44	1.45	6.811	0.000
	A35 multi-seasonal greening	2.93	1.57	1.36	8.382	0.011
	A36 convenience of use	4.69	2.55	2.14	6.362	0.000
A4 Building quality	A41 height	2.14	1.23	0.91	6.452	0.019
	A42 scale	2.28	1.87	0.41	8.104	0.000
	A43 facade quality	4.23	2.96	1.27	4.089	0.000
	A44 interior quality	4.42	3.90	0.52	11.301	0.000
	A45 auxiliary facilities quality	3.81	2.68	1.13	1.350	0.000
	A46 architectural form	1.44	1.20	0.24	3.042	0.020
A5 Building interior environment	A51 stair form	1.94	2.32	−0.38	10.490	0.046
	A52 lift	4.59	1.72	2.87	3.538	0.000
	A53 wall cleanliness and flatness	3.71	1.68	2.03	2.966	0.000
	A54 heating quality	4.52	3.51	1.01	7.510	0.000
	A55 sound environment	1.69	2.65	−0.96	11.040	0.017
	A56 ventilation, odor	2.55	2.80	−0.25	3.943	0.000
	A57 lighting effectiveness and quality	3.09	1.90	1.19	11.022	0.000

During the field research, the following discoveries were made: ① As some of the old settlements were built in an earlier period, the relevant norms were had not yet been perfected, which led to a serious shortage of activity venues in the public space inside the settlements. Although the edge of the settlement added a public activity site, due to accessibility not being high, coupled with the cold and dry winter climate and poor weather conditions, the site is underused; due to limited human and material resources, the snow has not been dealt with, part of the snow have turned to ice, the site of the internal activities have the inconvenience of it being easy to fall, and it is less safe, resulting in reduced ease of use, so the space usage rate is low. ② Some of the old settlements lack underground parking garages; in order to alleviate the problem of insufficient parking spaces, the parking area and activity venues and landscaped green spaces have generated functional crossover; thus, the functional zoning is not clear, and the phenomenon of chaotic parking occurs. Over time, the ground pavement of the activity sites and the green landscape areas have been crushed and damaged, and fitness and sports venues, recreation and entertainment venues, basketball courts, etc., have been reduced to car parks, and the vitality of the public space has declined. ③ Some residential buildings are in disrepair, with walls peeling off from both internal and external surfaces, and the lack of management also leads to the serious problem of wall advertisements being graffitied and painted indiscriminately. Meanwhile, due to the lack of relevant norms, the quality of auxiliary facilities such as lifts, barrier-free access, ramp handrails, and lighting inside the residential buildings is low.

In summary, the function and spatial dimensions of the settlements reflect three core issues. ① The deep-seated contradiction of spatial imbalance, i.e., the planning lag and demographic changes, the surge in demand for intergenerational activities leading to a widening gap between supply and demand, and the lack of seasonal adaptive design. ② The governance problem of parking space encroachment; i.e., the ambiguity of property rights has triggered the “tragedy of the commons,” and the ownership of surface parking lots and green areas has not been clearly delineated. ③ Institutional obstacles behind the aging of buildings, i.e., the lack of innovation in the maintenance fund-raising mechanism and the vicious circle caused by the lack of property funds.

3.4.2. Traffic and Streamlining

Quadrant IV of the IPA analysis diagram of this group contains six indicators (Table 5, Figure 10): B16 distance to settlement services; B17 distance to municipal parks; B21 separation of pedestrians and vehicles; B22 parking situation; B25 road leveling; and B26 medical convenience. This reflects that the elderly people in the settlement pay more attention to the parking situation of the internal transport in the settlement and are dissatisfied with the current parking planning. There is an urgent need to improve the accessibility of external functional service facilities, especially medical facilities and large municipal parks.

Table 5. Paired samples t-test statistics for traffic and streamlining indicators. Source: the authors.

Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators	Performance (P)	Importance (I)	Mean Difference (P-I)	t-Value	p-Value
B1 External spatial layout of the settlement	B11 distance to neighborhood healthcare	3.61	3.60	0.01	12.707	0.001
	B12 distance to cultural and sports activities	2.75	1.79	0.96	18.029	0.000
	B13 distance to educational facilities	4.51	4.67	−0.16	21.040	0.000
	B14 distance to commercial services	2.16	4.92	−2.76	17.297	0.000
	B15 distance to financial emails	1.20	4.86	−3.66	18.022	0.013
	B16 distance to settlement services	3.70	2.59	1.11	12.645	0.000
	B17 distance to municipal parks	4.77	1.95	2.82	0.248	0.000
	B18 distance to administration and others	2.67	3.34	−0.67	6.333	0.021
B2 Internal traffic in the settlement	B21 separation of people and vehicles	3.09	2.44	0.65	4.200	0.000
	B22 parking situation	4.34	1.13	3.21	2.611	0.000
	B23 signage marking	2.51	3.61	−1.10	5.255	0.025
	B24 wind and snow corridors	3.85	3.91	−0.06	8.718	0.000
	B25 road grading	4.82	2.69	2.13	6.716	0.000
	B26 medical accessibility	4.35	1.83	2.52	11.724	0.000
	B27 travelling accessibility	4.79	4.07	0.72	9.333	0.000
	B28 dining accessibility	3.05	4.95	−1.90	0.248	0.001
B3 Internal Linkages	B31 cluster layout patterns	1.44	2.94	−1.50	12.645	0.036
	B32 relationships between Clusters	2.03	2.51	−0.48	18.022	0.078
	B33 pedestrian streamlines	4.08	3.95	0.13	17.297	0.000

Table 5. Paired samples t-test statistics for traffic and streamlining indicators. Source: the authors.

Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators	Performance (P)	Importance (I)	Mean Difference (P-I)	t-Value	p-Value
B1 External spatial layout of the settlement	B11 distance to neighborhood healthcare	3.61	3.60	0.01	12.707	0.001
	B12 distance to cultural and sports activities	2.75	1.79	0.96	18.029	0.000
	B13 distance to educational facilities	4.51	4.67	−0.16	21.040	0.000
	B14 distance to commercial services	2.16	4.92	−2.76	17.297	0.000
	B15 distance to financial emails	1.20	4.86	−3.66	18.022	0.013
	B16 distance to settlement services	3.70	2.59	1.11	12.645	0.000
	B17 distance to municipal parks	4.77	1.95	2.82	0.248	0.000
	B18 distance to administration and others	2.67	3.34	−0.67	6.333	0.021
B2 Internal traffic in the settlement	B21 separation of people and vehicles	3.09	2.44	0.65	4.200	0.000
	B22 parking situation	4.34	1.13	3.21	2.611	0.000
	B23 signage marking	2.51	3.61	−1.10	5.255	0.025
	B24 wind and snow corridors	3.85	3.91	−0.06	8.718	0.000
	B25 road grading	4.82	2.69	2.13	6.716	0.000
	B26 medical accessibility	4.35	1.83	2.52	11.724	0.000
	B27 travelling accessibility	4.79	4.07	0.72	9.333	0.000
	B28 dining accessibility	3.05	4.95	−1.90	0.248	0.001
B3 Internal Linkages	B31 cluster layout patterns	1.44	2.94	−1.50	12.645	0.036
	B32 relationships between Clusters	2.03	2.51	−0.48	18.022	0.078
	B33 pedestrian streamlines	4.08	3.95	0.13	17.297	0.000

During the field research, the following discoveries were made: ① The elderly interviewed generally reflected the seriousness of chaotic parking in the neighborhood and expressed their dissatisfaction. Due to the lack of underground parking garages, there is a serious shortage of parking spaces in the neighborhood, and most of the residents choose to drive their cars over the paving stones and park them in the green areas between the houses; hence, the landscape of the green areas has been seriously damaged, and the internal roads in the neighborhood are full of potholes and broken paving stones. In addition, they are parked on both sides of the road and unit entrance, occupying the road traffic, the community between the homes in the green spaces of the various decentralized small plazas, and other public space resources. ② Part of the old district property supervision is inadequate; parking seriously blocks the internal fire escapes and exits, causing fire safety and fire prevention hazards. Although there are signs warning against it, because the parking space is too small, the problem has not been solved, and the phenomenon has not improved. Therefore, part of the community, in order to solve the urgent parking problem in the original car park, initiated the construction of a three-dimensional garage project of the four-story lifting and shifting type, creating additional parking spaces to alleviate, to a certain extent, the serious parking problem.

To summarize, the level of traffic and the degree of streamlining in the settlements reflects the fact that parking conflicts are a common pain point in urban renewal, the essence of which is the structural imbalance between the stock of spatial resources and the dynamic growth of demand. The deeper logic of parking space encroachment is that the intensification of the contradiction between supply and demand forces space encroachment. With the sharp increase in the number of private cars, early planning failed to foresee the explosive growth in motorized vehicles, resulting in a serious lag in infrastructure. The phenomenon of chaotic parking is not only a symptom of the shortage of spatial resources but also reflects the imbalance of multiple interests in the community governance system. Residents’ demand for convenient parking conflicts with the protection of public spaces. The failure of property supervision exposes the weak capacity of community self-governance, and the occupation of fire escapes highlights the sharp dichotomy between the bottom line of safety and convenience.

3.4.3. Services and Facilities

Quadrant IV of the IPA analysis chart for this group contains 12 indicators (Table 6, Figure 11): C14 activity room; C16 warm room, sun room; C21 management level; C22 proximity; C23 management strength; C31 barrier-free design, ramp handrail; C32 safety design, non-slip floor, warning; C33 design of heat preservation, heating and sheltering from the wind and sunshine; C35 perfection of aging-adapted facilities; C36 illumination rate; C42 convenience of use; C45 professionalism. It reflects that the elderly are dissatisfied with the management and other facilities in the residential area, including cultural, sports and recreational, and aging-adapted facilities, especially with respect to the facilities and places for collective activities in winter rain and snow, barrier-free facilities, safety measures, heat preservation facilities, and heating facilities such as sunrooms and warm rooms. While the elderly are satisfied with the evaluation of community aged-care service facilities as a whole, there are still some shortcomings in terms of the convenience of use and the professionalism of doctors and carers.

In the field research, the following discoveries were made: ① The elderly people are not satisfied with the convenience of the elderly service facilities and feel that the cost is high, but they are relatively satisfied with the environment of the activity space and the health care services of the community elderly facilities. More attention should be paid to the location of community elderly facilities to improve the convenience of the elderly in using the facilities. At the same time, attention should be paid to the cost control of senior care facilities to provide the elderly with reasonably priced senior care services of top quality, which requires the support of the government and all sectors of society. ② Regarding the health care services in the community and senior living facilities, the elderly are more satisfied with the health checkups and medicine stockpiles and hope that there will be professional doctors to provide services and health lectures for the elderly, which indicates that the professionalism of the doctors in the senior living facilities should be improved and the popularization lectures on health science should be strengthened. Elderly people are satisfied with the quality of elderly care services, and they are well taken care of and regularly consulted, but the professionalism of carers needs to be improved. The fees are reasonable and affordable, but there are still some unreasonable fees which should be improved. ③ Regarding cultural, sports, entertainment, and other service facilities, the elderly are dissatisfied with the establishment of comprehensive entertainment activities such as square dancing and poetry recitation activities and hope that more public places such as clubhouses and activity rooms will be built. They are more satisfied with the air quality and humidity but less satisfied with the temperature, indicating that indoor heating facilities such as sunrooms and warming rooms still need to be adjusted and improved to meet the dynamic room temperature needs of the elderly. ④ Some of the elderly were dissatisfied with the management and aging-friendly facilities in the residence. Due to financial problems, the management level and strength of the residence have declined, which has led to difficulties in collecting property fees and even legal disputes between the property owners and the residents, forming a vicious circle and making it even more difficult to improve property management. The road steps and unit entrances contain multiple steps, lacking barrier-free facilities, ramps and handrails, and night-time lighting. The entrance steps are icy after the snow melts, and there is a lack of non-slip and other safety measures on the slippery steps. Therefore, individual tenants have taken the initiative to lay blankets on the entrance steps in consideration of the safety of the entrance to their flats. The security of the unit door is low, and the unit door is always open. Only the path near the main entrance of the district is properly cleared, but some of the roads on the inner side and the road surface in front of the unit door are not cleared in time, and the snow becomes ice, making it difficult to walk on the road surface and easy to slip and fall. Because the snow in public spaces has not been dealt with, part of the exposed snow under the ground tiles makes it very easy for pedestrians to slip and fall.

In summary, the level of residential services and facilities reflects the systematic mismatch of supply and demand and the difficulty of integrating resources in community-based elderly care services. Elderly service planning has not fully taken into account the economic capacity and action characteristics of the elderly group, and it is necessary to establish a diversified cost-sharing mechanism with government subsidies and social capital participation, as well as “15-min living circle” planning that optimizes the layout of facilities. There is a talent reserve gap when the policy of combining medical and nursing care comes into effect, and we should promote the establishment of a directed training mechanism between medical institutions and nursing care institutions so as to redirect professional medical resources to the community level. Weak property management at the grassroots level requires the introduction of innovative modes such as trust-based property management and the establishment of a synergistic mechanism of government supervision, residents’ co-management, and professional operation and maintenance. The solution to these problems requires breaking down departmental barriers and building a whole-life-cycle senior care service system so that hardware facilities and soft services can form an organic linkage.

Table 6. Paired samples t-test statistics for services and facilities indicators. Source: the authors.

Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators	Performance (P)	Importance (I)	Mean Difference (P-I)	t-Value	p-Value
C1 Facilities within the settlement	C11 clubhouse	2.45	1.80	0.65	2.966	0.023
	C12 settlement canteen	4.28	4.81	−0.53	21.040	0.000
	C13 refuse collection site	3.20	3.69	−0.49	18.029	0.000
	C14 activity room	3.82	1.80	2.02	12.707	0.002
	C15 community medical station	4.84	4.20	0.64	11.022	0.000
	C16 warming room, sun room	4.66	1.84	2.82	3.943	0.000
	C17 courier station	1.75	3.23	−1.48	6.371	0.000
C2 Management within the settlement	C21 management level	3.07	1.62	1.45	10.510	0.000
	C22pro-people degree	3.51	1.68	1.83	6.830	0.043
	C23 management intensity	3.47	1.41	2.06	6.830	0.000
C3 Aging-friendly facilities	C31 barrier-free design, ramp handrails	4.89	2.25	2.64	4.322	0.000
	C32 safety design, non-slip flooring, warnings	4.72	2.79	1.93	0.709	0.000
	C33thermal insulation design, heating, wind, and sunshine	4.30	2.53	1.77	8.602	0.024
	C34 winter snow treatment, pathway clearing	4.68	3.55	1.13	13.653	0.000
	C35 degree of perfection of aging-friendly facilities	4.57	1.61	2.96	8.945	0.000
	C36 lighting rate	3.52	2.31	1.21	7.266	0.031
C4 Elderly service facilities	C41 spatial richness	2.66	2.13	0.53	2.988	0.004
	C42 ease of use,	4.82	2.74	2.08	8.249	0.000
	C43 service quality	4.70	4.17	0.53	1.009	0.002
	C44 indoor environment	3.80	4.93	−1.13	0.275	0.000
	C45 professionalism	4.18	2.47	1.71	14.136	0.000
	C46 service category	3.59	4.10	−0.51	2.352	0.018
	C47 site selection	2.99	3.60	−0.61	4.249	0.000

Table 6. Paired samples t-test statistics for services and facilities indicators. Source: the authors.

Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators	Performance (P)	Importance (I)	Mean Difference (P-I)	t-Value	p-Value
C1 Facilities within the settlement	C11 clubhouse	2.45	1.80	0.65	2.966	0.023
	C12 settlement canteen	4.28	4.81	−0.53	21.040	0.000
	C13 refuse collection site	3.20	3.69	−0.49	18.029	0.000
	C14 activity room	3.82	1.80	2.02	12.707	0.002
	C15 community medical station	4.84	4.20	0.64	11.022	0.000
	C16 warming room, sun room	4.66	1.84	2.82	3.943	0.000
	C17 courier station	1.75	3.23	−1.48	6.371	0.000
C2 Management within the settlement	C21 management level	3.07	1.62	1.45	10.510	0.000
	C22pro-people degree	3.51	1.68	1.83	6.830	0.043
	C23 management intensity	3.47	1.41	2.06	6.830	0.000
C3 Aging-friendly facilities	C31 barrier-free design, ramp handrails	4.89	2.25	2.64	4.322	0.000
	C32 safety design, non-slip flooring, warnings	4.72	2.79	1.93	0.709	0.000
	C33thermal insulation design, heating, wind, and sunshine	4.30	2.53	1.77	8.602	0.024
	C34 winter snow treatment, pathway clearing	4.68	3.55	1.13	13.653	0.000
	C35 degree of perfection of aging-friendly facilities	4.57	1.61	2.96	8.945	0.000
	C36 lighting rate	3.52	2.31	1.21	7.266	0.031
C4 Elderly service facilities	C41 spatial richness	2.66	2.13	0.53	2.988	0.004
	C42 ease of use,	4.82	2.74	2.08	8.249	0.000
	C43 service quality	4.70	4.17	0.53	1.009	0.002
	C44 indoor environment	3.80	4.93	−1.13	0.275	0.000
	C45 professionalism	4.18	2.47	1.71	14.136	0.000
	C46 service category	3.59	4.10	−0.51	2.352	0.018
	C47 site selection	2.99	3.60	−0.61	4.249	0.000

3.4.4. Green Landscape and Microclimate, Subjective Soft Needs

Quadrant IV of the IPA analysis chart for this group contains seven indicators (Table 7, Figure 12): D21 landscape vignettes; D31 temperature and humidity, thermal comfort; D32 sunshine; D33 wind environment; E11 activity richness; E12 reasonable arrangement of activities; and E13 activity frequency. This reflects that the elderly are dissatisfied with the microclimate environment formed in winter inside the settlement, including the thermal environment, wind environment, light environment, etc. In contrast, the cleanliness of the surrounding air and environment is rated higher due to the high green coverage rate. Regarding the reasonable arrangement of collective activities in the public space of the community, the types of activities, and the frequency of activities, the elderly said that they cannot satisfy the increasing demand for activities nowadays.

During the field research, the following discoveries were made: ① Some old settlements have older trees due to their age, and although the plants are not constructed, the trees are lush and leafy, and the green coverage is high. In the summer, the whole area of the settlement can be shaded by green plants; and in the winter, a large number of green plants also help to shield the cold wind, thus improving the microclimate environment in winter and summer. However, lower temperatures are still an inherent characteristic of cold-land settlements, and the elderly are still dissatisfied with the thermal comfort of winter temperatures. Most of the elderly said that sunshine is the main factor that determines their activities in winter, so the planning and renewal of the settlement needs to take into account the creation of open sunshine places. ② For community cultural, sports, and recreational activities, the elderly are more willing to organize square dance activities and activities such as poetry recitation and brush painting, indicating that the enabling of comprehensive recreational activities such as square dancing should be strengthened in the construction of the settlements so as to enrich the community activities, to satisfy the subjective soft needs of the elderly through social interactions, and to improve the mental health and happiness of the elderly in order to improve the overall well-being of the community.

In summary, the levels of the greening landscape and microclimate and subjective soft needs of the settlements reflect the core contradiction of environmental optimization for the elderly communities in cold areas. On the basis of the existing greening resources to play the role of microclimate regulation, the question becomes how to break through the double constraints of natural climate limitations and activity space function. The strong dependence of the elderly on sunlight suggests that space transformation should follow the dynamic logic of “chasing light in winter and seeking shade in summer”. The differentiation of the demand for cultural and sports activities exposes the generational differences in aging-friendly design, and the parallel demand for square dancing and traditional cultural activities requires functional composability in spatial design.

Table 7. Paired samples t-test statistics for green landscape, microclimate, and subjective soft needs indicators. Source: the authors.

Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators	Performance (P)	Importance (I)	Mean Difference (P-I)	t-Value	p-Value
D1 Green space	D11 green area	3.86	3.60	0.26	2.021	0.000
	D12 number of species	1.88	2.78	−0.90	18.093	0.043
	D13 seasonal ornamental	2.12	1.66	0.46	6.548	0.000
	D14 spatial level richness	1.33	2.20	−0.87	7.870	0.000
	D15 degree of loved ones	1.59	2.88	−1.29	2.077	0.536
D2 Landscape	D21landscape vignettes	3.22	1.27	1.95	8.421	0.000
	D22 landscape water bodies	2.27	1.25	1.02	5.517	0.007
D3 Microclimate	D31temperature and humidity, thermal comfort	4.78	2.24	2.54	0.379	0.000
	D32sunshine	4.84	2.89	1.95	7.518	0.000
	D33 wind environment	3.01	2.79	0.22	11.147	0.000
	D34 air quality	3.71	3.16	0.55	5.720	0.000
E1 Cultural activities	E11richness of activities	4.25	2.44	1.81	6.626	0.001
	E12 reasonable arrangement of activities	3.54	2.06	1.48	15.292	0.000
	E13 frequency of activities	3.77	1.79	1.98	7.668	0.010
	E14 participation of the elderly	4.36	3.63	0.73	10.516	0.000
	E15 publicity of activities	2.28	2.19	0.09	4.264	0.030
E2 Maintenance of social relations	E21 relationship with neighbors in the settlement,	4.06	4.65	−0.59	9.125	0.000
	E22 gathering with family and friends	4.74	4.07	0.67	1.443	0.000
E3 Psychological feeling	E31 degree of external interference	1.82	3.25	−1.43	13.829	0.020
	E32 degree of neighborhood harmony	3.76	4.09	−0.33	0.224	0.000
	E33 sense of security	3.14	3.86	−0.72	2.426	0.035

Table 7. Paired samples t-test statistics for green landscape, microclimate, and subjective soft needs indicators. Source: the authors.

Secondary Indicators	Tertiary Indicators	Performance (P)	Importance (I)	Mean Difference (P-I)	t-Value	p-Value
D1 Green space	D11 green area	3.86	3.60	0.26	2.021	0.000
	D12 number of species	1.88	2.78	−0.90	18.093	0.043
	D13 seasonal ornamental	2.12	1.66	0.46	6.548	0.000
	D14 spatial level richness	1.33	2.20	−0.87	7.870	0.000
	D15 degree of loved ones	1.59	2.88	−1.29	2.077	0.536
D2 Landscape	D21landscape vignettes	3.22	1.27	1.95	8.421	0.000
	D22 landscape water bodies	2.27	1.25	1.02	5.517	0.007
D3 Microclimate	D31temperature and humidity, thermal comfort	4.78	2.24	2.54	0.379	0.000
	D32sunshine	4.84	2.89	1.95	7.518	0.000
	D33 wind environment	3.01	2.79	0.22	11.147	0.000
	D34 air quality	3.71	3.16	0.55	5.720	0.000
E1 Cultural activities	E11richness of activities	4.25	2.44	1.81	6.626	0.001
	E12 reasonable arrangement of activities	3.54	2.06	1.48	15.292	0.000
	E13 frequency of activities	3.77	1.79	1.98	7.668	0.010
	E14 participation of the elderly	4.36	3.63	0.73	10.516	0.000
	E15 publicity of activities	2.28	2.19	0.09	4.264	0.030
E2 Maintenance of social relations	E21 relationship with neighbors in the settlement,	4.06	4.65	−0.59	9.125	0.000
	E22 gathering with family and friends	4.74	4.07	0.67	1.443	0.000
E3 Psychological feeling	E31 degree of external interference	1.82	3.25	−1.43	13.829	0.020
	E32 degree of neighborhood harmony	3.76	4.09	−0.33	0.224	0.000
	E33 sense of security	3.14	3.86	−0.72	2.426	0.035

4. Conclusions and Prospects

4.1. Conclusions

In this paper, in order to better explore the core needs of the elderly in harsh cities with respect to various aspects of the aging of the public environments in settlements, first, through field research interviews, we extracted the elements of the elderly participants’ needs with respect to the aging of settlements, which can be classified into five dimensions; second, we carried out an IPA of the characteristics of the aging of the public environment in settlements across these five dimensions; and finally, we distilled the key indicators of the aging of the settlements in harsh cities, symbolizing the core needs of the elderly with respect to the aging of settlements.

The main findings of the study are that the needs of the elderly in cold cities for the aging of the public space environment in settlements can be broadly categorized into five dimensions: function and space, traffic and streamlining, services and facilities, green landscape and microclimate, and subjective soft needs. ① For function and space, there is an urgent need to improve the surrounding urban environment, the richness of activity space, the quality of the building, and the environment inside the building. ② For traffic and streamlining, there is an urgent need to improve the external spatial layout of the settlement and the internal transportation of the settlement. ③ For services and facilities, there is an urgent need to improve the facilities in the settlement, the management of the settlement, the facilities for the aging, and the facilities for the elderly. ④ For green landscape, microclimate, and subjective soft needs, landscape, microclimate, and cultural activities need to be improved.

Based on the results of this study, the following optimization strategies are proposed:

(1) Function and space: ① In terms of the surrounding urban environment, add convenient service facilities within a 500 m radius of the settlement to ensure that the elderly can reach them in 10–15 min on foot, including supermarkets/vegetable markets, community medical stations, bus stops, etc. ② In terms of the abundance of space for activities, it is necessary to install a wind- and snow-proof link system in response to the rain and snowy weather in the winter in the cold city, connecting the building–square–service center, ensuring timely snow removal in winter, and promoting the use of environmentally friendly snowmelt, stairs, and ramps with embedded anti-slip strips. ③ In terms of the quality of the building and the environment inside the building, the old settlements should be undergo the timely shedding of the wall painting and renovation; for buildings of four floors and above, elevators should be added, along with accessibility ramps (slope ≤ 1:12), with the installation of double handrails on both sides, with a height of 85 cm and 65 cm from the ground (convenient for wheelchair users), and corridors and stairwells making use of human sensor LED lights.

(2) Traffic and streamlining: ① In terms of the external spatial layout of the settlement, it is necessary to shorten the distance between the settlement and public service outlets such as commerce, education, sports, municipal, medical, and parks, etc. There should be at least ≥3000 square meters of green space in the parks, and a circular barrier-free walkway should be set up to improve the mobility of the elderly. Public transport connections should be optimized, and a community micro-circulation bus should be added at the main entrance of the settlement. ② In terms of internal traffic in the settlement, strengthen the management of motor vehicles, the expansion of parking spaces, the construction of vertical lifting three-dimensional garage, and the use of vacant land to set up seasonal temporary parking.

(3) Services and facilities: ① In the residential buildings, facilities need to focus on increasing multi-functional activity rooms, warming rooms, sunrooms, etc., in order to meet the needs of the elderly with respect to comprehensive sports and recreational activities. There should be winter sunshine heating and dynamic room temperature, etc. Every 500 households should be equipped with a ≥100 square meters composite sunshine warming room. ② In the management of the residential area, there is a need to improve or replace the community property services and the selection of the company’s larger-volume management companies in order to prevent a vicious circle phenomenon regarding the stagnation of community management due to financial breaks. Improve the level and strength of community management, and at the same time, allow the residents to participate in community management work. Adopt a two-track monitoring system, establish an online contact group and an offline monthly property-owners joint meeting, and effectively improve the accuracy and humanization of the settlement services. ③ In terms of aging-friendly facilities, focus on improving the aging-friendly design in the three domains of accessibility, safety, and heat preservation. Measures should be taken to increase the number of barrier-free passages, handrails, seats, anti-skid flooring, danger warning signs, light, and wind protection, etc., with anti-skid granular paving in the main roads, rest seats set up every 50 m, the entrance to the unit abolished and replaced by a 1:12 gentle ramp, height-adjustable handrails installed on both sides (65–85 cm, which can be raised and lowered), and LED guide lights embedded in the nighttime paving. ④ In terms of senior care service facilities, focus on the selection of the location of the site of the senior care facilities, with a service radius of ≤300 m, as well as community health service centers to improve the convenience of the elderly in using these senior care facilities and, at the same time, to improve the professionalism of the doctors and caregivers in the senior care facilities, to strengthen the health popularization of science lectures and consultations for the elderly, and to ameliorate the phenomenon of unreasonable charging.

(4) Green landscape and microclimate: ① In terms of landscape, it is necessary to regulate parking in the settlement to prevent the occupation and destruction of the green landscape. Implement the “green line no parking” system, set physical isolation within 3 m from the green belt (granite curbing with a height of 30 cm), construct modular vertical green wall + parking rack combination facilities, use permeable grass tiles to pave temporary parking spaces, improve the level of property management in the settlement, make timely repairs to landscape vignettes in the settlement, and make improvements to the phenomenon of unreasonable charges. ② In terms of the microclimate, through reasonable layout planning and green coverage of the settlement, set up three layers of windbreaks in the direction of the dominant wind to reduce the infiltration of cold wind during the winter, improve the openness of the sky, improve the sunshine environment and wind environment of the settlement, and ultimately, and indirectly, improve thermal comfort in winter.

(5) Subjective soft needs: Culturally, it is necessary to preserve a sense of cultural memory, to reshape the spirit of a place, and to continue the regional ecological lineage by preserving historical elements, integrating the traditional street space with a pleasant new development through the fine design of the community street pavement and traditional architecture, adopting local materials for use in local architecture, and presenting the regionalized characteristics of the architecture to reflect a sense of cultural identity. In terms of activities, regional cultural festivals are held, and intergenerational interaction mechanisms are used to establish a “pairing” volunteer service system, such as four-and-a-half o’clock classrooms and assisted meals for the elderly, to realize two-way services, to satisfy the needs of intergenerational interaction between the “old and the young” in the community, and to create an all-age friendly environment.

The core elements and key indicators of aging proposed in this study aim to balance the needs of the elderly with the efficiency of resources, which is not only of great significance for the construction of sound aging settlements in cold cities, improving the quality of life of elderly residents, reducing urban construction investment, shortening the cycle and cost of urban renewal, and activating the urban stock of space; it also contributes to increasing the inclusiveness of the city and the human community, and it helps to improve the inclusiveness, safety, resilience, and sustainability of cities and human communities, to ensure healthy lifestyles for the elderly, and to promote the well-being of people of all ages. This is in line with Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) of the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

4.2. Limitations and Prospects

• Data Acquisition and Sample Bias

It is difficult to conduct research in winter, and the cold climate leads to fewer outdoor activities in this period. Hence, the distribution of questionnaires and the acquisition of data take place more in spring and fall and less in winter, and there is a certain seasonal bias in the data. The sample size is not fully covered. The public space environment in various types of settlements in Urumqi varies greatly due to the age and size of the settlements, so if the sample is not evenly covered, it may lead to the underestimation of the needs of the elderly in certain types of settlements. We need to develop a differentiation strategy for newly built and old settlements in the future.

2.

Conflict between static analysis and dynamic demand

IPA relies on static data at a certain point in time, and the time dimension is missing. However, the demand for the use of the public space environment in cold cities changes drastically with the seasons (e.g., the demand for shade in summer conflicts with the demand for daylight in winter), and it is difficult for a single analysis to reflect the dynamic priorities. Moreover, aging-friendly retrofitting requires long-term tracking feedback. At the same time, IPA is mostly a one-time assessment, which cannot capture the change in the effect of retrofitting or the adaptation process of the elderly; thus, the long-term adaptability is insufficient. In the future, we will compare and analyze the IPA data of each season in order to propose a comprehensive aging evaluation index and optimization strategy for the whole year.