Walking in Your Culture: A Study of Culturally Sensitive Outdoor Walking Space for Chinese Elderly Immigrants

Objectives: This was a study conducted in Atlanta, GA, in the United States with Chinese elderly immigrants, examining the relationship between visual preference and motivation to walk in a particular outdoor space. Backgrounds: Outdoor walking promotes the well-being of older adults. However, their declined body functions impact their motivation to walk outside. For elderly immigrants living in a country with different cultural backgrounds from their homelands, it is important to find the ways to enhance their motivation of outdoor walking. Method: Visual preference survey was conducted to assess preferences of first-generation Chinese elderly immigrants attending a care facility setting. Preferences included Chinese classical walking spaces or American modern walking spaces. The data were interpreted using descriptive statistics and factorial experiment analysis. Results: A total of 95 Chinese elderly immigrants gave valid responses to the visual preference survey. Survey results revealed that respondents had a high preference for Chinese classical walking spaces even though they had an average time of 26 years as a U.S. resident. Although the functions and purposes of the walking spaces caused safety and comfort concerns, the interaction effects of design style, design function, and design purpose illustrated that Chinese classical style had high effectiveness to promote outdoor walking of Chinese elderly immigrants. Conclusions: These results support the significance of culturally sensitive care environments in promoting outdoor walking for elderly Chinese immigrants. It also indicates that spaces designed with an assigned cultural style had higher attractiveness to older adults from the same assigned cultural background.