Heng ZHANG, Zhi LI

College of City Construction, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China

Abstract With the continuous progress of urbanization, motor traffic has occupied the streets of contemporary China, and people’s demand for street space has been ignored. The disappearance of street life and the rapid development of cars have caused various problems including congestion, exhaust, noise, accidents, environmental degradation and so on. People-oriented living streets are gradually away from people’s life, the street walking environment is getting worse and worse, and the street space does not pay enough attention to the needs of pedestrians, especially the elderly. At present, China has entered an aging society, and paying attention to the needs of the elderly is an inevitable problem in urban construction and development. This study starts with the analysis of the walking needs of the elderly and the street characteristics suitable for the needs of the elderly, and takes the street space of Dieshan Road in Nanchang City as the research area. And the relevant strategies are put forward to improve the living street space environment, so that the elderly can go back to the street space.

Key words Aging, Living street, Human-oriented concept, Dieshan Road

1 Introduction

In Jane Jacobs’TheDeathandLifeofGreatAmericanCities, Kevin Lynch’sTheImageoftheCityand Jan Gehl’sLifebetweenBuildings, it is shown that urban space is the container of people’s daily life and the place of social communication. The traditional street carries almost all people’s activities. It is a public place to organize urban life, a space that belongs entirely to pedestrians, and a space that completely serves human activities. However, with the rapid expansion of the scale of modern cities and the excessive development of automobile traffic, it has caused various problems such as congestion, exhaust, noise, accidents, and environmental deterioration. With the development of the street dominated by motor vehicles, the street space is gradually "invaded" by cars, the urban road and space are more and more divorced from the humanized scale, and the street life that many people are accustomed to slowly withdraw from the stage of the city. With the emergence of various urban issues such as traffic congestion and the deterioration of the street environment, designers begin to rethink the urban development model from a human point of view. People began to make a more in-depth study of the relationship between human activity behavior and space, which greatly improves the quality of urban space as a material function. Currently, the street space environment in China does not pay enough attention to people, only focuses on the evaluation of street landscape and ignores the needs of people, and the design of human-based street space is not good. This paper takes Dieshan Road in Nanchang City as the research area, takes the elderly as the main research object, to analyze the physical conditions and behavioral characteristics of the elderly, and put forward relevant strategies to improve the living street space environment, so that the elderly can go back to the street space and improve their quality of life.

2 Living street and human-based concept

The living street refers to the public space which is mainly based on the slow traffic system and meets the daily life needs of the people[1]. Living street space often has a variety of functions, such as walking, shopping, greening, traffic hub, interpersonal communication, recreation and leisure, which can best reflect the side of urban life and basically meet people’s needs for various activities[2].

The essence of "human-based" living street is people-oriented, starting from the needs of people, to find and solve problems. In the aspect of urban planning and design, more emphasis is placed on the optimization of the building space environment in the design process, on the basis of ensuring that the use function and feasibility of the design scheme remain unchanged, according to ergonomics, human psychological needs, behavior characteristics and so on, to give users a sense of comfort.

3 Present situation of aging and the needs for street space

Population aging is a regional social problem faced by the international community and urgently needs to be solved[3]. An aging society means that people over 60 years old account for 10% of the total population, or people over 65 years old account for 7% of the total population in a country or region. In 2000, China’s elderly population reached this standard and entered an aging society. According to the2019StatisticalBulletinissued by the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of people aged 60 and over in China reached 254 million, accounting for 18.1% of the total population; the number of people aged 65 and over was 176 million, accounting for 12.6%. According to relevant research, 2021 to 2050 will be the accelerated stage of aging in China, and 2050 to 2100 will be a stable stage of severe aging, indicating that China will be in an aging society for a long time. We should begin to make corresponding preparations for aging in order to adapt to the aging society, and make relevant practical research for it[4-5]. However, due to the lack of people-oriented concept in urban construction and the general lack of policies, facilities and projects for the elderly, the elderly are generally faced with economic, health and emotional problems[6]. Therefore, it is of great significance to attach importance to the activity and mental needs of the elderly and carry out corresponding elderly-oriented transformation according to different types of space.

4 Analysis of the behavioral needs of the elderly

According to the way of literature research and network research, it is known that the elderly have decreased physical endurance, physical stability and flexibility, eyesight and hearing. Although there has been a great decline in the physical stability and flexibility of the elderly, their enthusiasm for outdoor space has not diminished. Street space is the most concentrated and frequent activity place for the elderly, so it is more urgent to reform the elderly-oriented strategy[7]. In the living street space, under the guidance of Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs[8], the walking needs of the elderly are reflected in the basic aspects such as physiology and safety, as well as social respect and self-identity in terms of spiritual needs. Generally speaking, the walking needs of the elderly at this stage focus on convenience, safety and communication.

4.1 ConvenienceConvenience means that the needs of the middle-aged and elderly in the street can be basically met by environmental facilities to facilitate their travel, access and use, and so on. People’s desire to travel does not decrease with age; on the contrary, with the arrival of retirement, the elderly will have more leisure time to increase their daily activities, but the increase of age will reduce their own stability and flexibility[10]. Therefore, the convenience transformation of the living streets which carry most of the activities of the elderly is of great significance to the travel of the elderly.

4.2 SafetySafety is the first factor in human travel, especially for the elderly with poor physical stability and flexibility. Whether the street environment is safe or not can directly affect the travel frequency of the elderly. As people get older, sense of security decreases and their sense of dependence on others increases. If the street space environment sends a dangerous signal to the elderly, the frequency of their activities will be greatly reduced.

4.3 CommunicationModerate communication can make the elderly feel at ease and adjust their lives, which is of great significance to their physical and mental health. With the high-quality development of big cities, more and more people continue to gather to big cities, leaving behind lonely empty nesters, whose sense of loneliness and loss is becoming more and more prominent. A large number of studies have shown that in open urban spaces, such as streets, parks, and squares with interpersonal communication feature, it can greatly alleviate the negative emotions of the elderly[11].

5 Overview of the study area

5.1 Selection of study areaAccording to the data of the fifth census, 6.44% of the population in Nanchang City was over 65 in 2000, while the proportion was 7.19% for the elderly population in Donghu District, which entered the aging society ahead of the average level of Nanchang City, and ranked second in the aging coefficient. According to the data of the sixth census, the people aged over 65 in Nanchang accounted for 7.71% of the total population in 2010, and the elderly aged over 65 in Donghu District accounted for 8.96%, ranking fourth in the aging coefficient. Although the ranking has dropped somewhat, the aging situation in Donghu District was still much higher than the average level of Nanchang City. Therefore, Dieshan Road, a representative living street in Donghu District, is selected as the research object of this study, the elderly-oriented status of Dieshan Road is evaluated and analyzed, and on this basis, the relevant transformation strategies are put forward according to the needs of the elderly.

Dieshan Road is the main living street in Donghu District, Nanchang City, with a total length of about 2.1 km from Nanjing West Road in the east to Fuhe Road in the west (Fig.1).

Fig.1 Location map of Dieshan Road

Around Dieshan Road, there are primary schools, secondary schools, hospitals, farmers’ markets and other public service facilities, with a large flow of people, but they are located in the old city, the facilities are perfect but the quality is not high, the living standards of the elderly need to be improved.

5.2 Analysis of the present situation of Dieshan Road

5.2.1Convenience analysis. The width of some sections of the street is unreasonable, only for one person to pass, so that some pedestrians have no way to go. The pedestrian space in the street is occupied, resulting in a blocked road, making it impossible for pedestrians to pass smoothly, which brings obstacles to the elderly who are unable to move, and has a poor sense of experience. The pedestrian pavement in the street is relatively smooth as a whole, and provides a convenient and comfortable walking space for the elderly. However, in the part of the connection with the roadway, the road surface is uneven and hinders the movement of the elderly.

5.2.2Safety analysis. There is a good physical isolation between the pedestrian space and the vehicle space on Dieshan Road (making use of the height difference of curb stones, greening,etc.), and there is a crosswalk at the intersection. These design elements can make it easier for the elderly to identify the areas of their walking space and meet the basic safety needs of the elderly. However, in part of the sidewalk connection, pedestrians and motor vehicles and other activities mixed together, so that people do not have sense of security, which is not conducive to creating a safe street space. The gentle slope design is adopted in the connecting part of the intersection and the sidewalk, which can improve the sense of security and comfort for the old, weak, sick and other special people when walking. However, there are still some small steps without gentle slope treatment. At the same time, the ramp also facilitates the parking of vehicles, so some vehicles are also crowded onto the sidewalk, causing some obstacles to the street space. Road intersections lack pedestrian crossing facilities, although most intersections have a short distance and pedestrians can pass quickly, there are still intersections that need to be set up for pedestrian crossing. For example, at the intersection of Dieshan Road and Xiangshan North Road, where the distance across the street is long, the traffic flow is large, and the flow of people is also large, it is necessary to set up secondary street-crossing facilities in the crosswalk considering that the walking speed of the elderly is slow and their physical strength is poor, to provide the elderly with a space to rest and stop.

5.2.3Communication analysis. There is some open space at the intersection and in front of the building, and this kind of space is easy to make a flow of people gather, and it is easier to create communication between people. The phenomenon of homogenization of the existing open space on Dieshan Road is serious, and there are basically no street facilities. Being in the same street space for a long time will make users feel dull and boring, which is not conducive to the elderly staying for a long time. Dieshan Road street public facilities include stone seats, garbage cans, bus stops and so on, but the form adopted is simple, the setting density is low, and the design form is not conducive to the rest of the elderly. Except for street trees, there are basically no greening facilities in the streets, and there is a lack of green space for shading, which is not attractive to the elderly.

6 Construction of the "elderly-oriented strategy" for Dieshan Road street

Through the understanding and analysis of the current situation of Dieshan Road on the street view map, it is found that the street space environment can basically meet the needs of the elderly, but some details are not well dealt with, and it is not attractive enough for the elderly to travel. It needs to be upgraded in the following aspects.

6.1 ConvenienceIn the investigation, it is found that many road sections with unreasonable width and a large number of obstacles should be reconstructed and widened according to the demand of pedestrian flow, combined with the front area of the building, so as to create a neat and comfortable walking space to ensure the effective passage of the elderly. The resistance piles can be set up on the gentle slope to prevent motor vehicles from occupying the sidewalk, parking spaces and centralized parking lots can be set up on the roadside of Dieshan Road to rectify static traffic. It is necessary to ensure the continuity of the walking space and make the pedestrian flow into a whole. In the connecting part, the material or color can be used to make a distinction and ensure smooth road surface and minimize the ups and downs (especially the connection between shops and sidewalks), so as to avoid disrupting the original walking rhythm of the elderly.

6.2 SafetyFor the elderly with mobility difficulties, barrier-free facilities must be fully set up in the street space, including curb ramps, traffic resistance piles, twice crossing, blind sidewalk facilities and so on. The overall pavement of Dieshan Road is relatively smooth, but for a small number of steps without gentle ramps, it should be further optimized. In linear streets, zebra crossings should be set up every 400 m, and twice crossing facilities should be set up at intersections with large traffic volume and road width, and by distinguishing the pedestrian crossing area and the traffic area with different colors and materials, the elderly can have a strong sense of territory and sense of security to reach the other side of the road comfortably.

6.3 CommunicationIn the investigation of Dieshan Road, it is found that there are many spaces for the activities of the elderly, but these spaces have not been well used, lacking in good design and planning, and the communication space has become silent and boring. Encircling the street space to a certain extent can enrich the hierarchical sense of the space and give the elderly a certain sense of belonging. The combination of virtuality and reality can be used to limit the space, such as the use of greening, and street facilities, to provide the private or semi-private space for the communication of the elderly. And we can set up some pavilions, flower beds and fitness facilities in the open space, which have a good effect on the health of the elderly and increase the interest and attractiveness of the space.

7 Conclusions

In the context of aging, paying attention to the needs of the elderly is a content that can not be ignored, and urban construction will also develop in a direction suitable for the needs of the elderly. As the main place of bearing the outdoor activity space for the elderly, the living street is very meaningful for the elderly to maintain a healthy body and a happy and normal state of mind. Therefore, this paper takes Dieshan Road—a living street as the research object to understand and analyze the behavior needs of the elderly. Starting from the actual travel needs of the elderly—convenience, safety and communication, this paper analyzes the current situation of Dieshan Road, and puts forward relevant transformation strategies to create a convenient, efficient, safe, comfortable and meaningful elderly-oriented street, so that the elderly can go back to the street space, and improve their quality of life.

The deficiency is that during the Covid-19 outbreak, the street space of Dieshan Road can only be investigated in the form of Internet research, and the quality of the space environment of the street can not be experienced personally, and the elderly living near Dieshan Road can not be surveyed and interviewed so that we can’t understand the actual needs of the local elderly. This part can be expanded in the future, and it is necessary to put forward more strategies suitable for elderly-oriented street transformation and upgrading in accordance with the actual needs of the elderly.