Urban park pathway design characteristics and senior walking behavior

Urban parks are easily available settings for seniors to engage in daily physical activity. As a type of low-cost physical activity, walking can bring seniors multiple health benefits. Among all park facilities, park pathways are most significantly related to physical activity. The present study examined the links between specific park pathway design characteristics and senior walking within urban park, through observations and interviews. This study was conducted in two neighborhood parks in Beijing, China. On-site observations were utilized to collect data on senior walking behavior (dependent variable) and pathway design characteristics (independent variable). We calculated the average number of observed seniors in all observations to represent usage of each pathway segment. Interviews were conducted to explore pathway design characteristics preferred and disliked by senior users. ANOVA analyses and correlation analyses revealed that seniors prefer pathways that have soft or even pavement (plastic track and bricks), benches, flowers, and light fixtures. Also, seniors are attracted to pathways that are long, between 3–3.9 meters wide, and without connection with activity zones. In addition, results suggest other pathway design characteristics, such as being along a water body, having shade, providing lateral visibility and visual connection with water, and without visual connection with landmarks may also encourage senior walking. By providing park pathways preferred by seniors, designers can create park environments that are supportive of senior walking, and ultimately contribute to improving senior health and life quality.