Effect of Urban Transformation and the Age-Friendly City Strategy on the Improvement of Residents’ Subjective Well-Being: Simulation Based on the Scenario Method
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 147, Issue 4
Abstract
Hosting large conferences and events often facilitates the transformation of a city by the government. Before the 9th BRICS Summit, the local government launched a systematic urban renovation project, providing a feasible way for the government to increase accessibility for elderly residents by covering the necessary and additional costs. We aimed to present an economical and effective method for obtaining evidence-based reports that will encourage policymakers to increase their input and implement the policy of age-friendly cities. The data were derived from seven waves of regular follow-up investigations that were conducted before and after the 9th BRICS Summit. Residents over 18 years of age were sampled from the family planning system using the multistage stratified sampling method and were interviewed via telephone. The scenario method was used to simulate the effect of promoting the age-friendly city strategy on residents’ subjective well-being (SWB). Each respondent was randomly interviewed with one of the parallel versions of the questionnaire (positive or negative scenarios) to ensure intrainterviewer randomness. The paired-sample t-test was used to analyze the changes in residents’ attitudes given urban construction. Hierarchical regression analysis was then employed to test how the scenarios affected participants’ SWB to estimate the influence of the future implementation of age-friendly city policies. Residents’ levels of satisfaction with the city’s popularity, transportation, development, appearance, and competitiveness improved significantly after the BRICS Summit compared with that at baseline. Promoting the construction of age-related cities has the potential to significantly improve residents’ SWB, and residents of all age groups can benefit from this strategy. Urban renewal during the BRICS Summit improved the quality of life of local residents. The SWB of residents can be improved through urban transformation, such as the promotion of the construction of age-friendly cities. Moreover, the scenario method has application value and prospects for providing evidence-based urban planning advice to policymakers.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their sincere appreciation to all research assistants, investigators, and community workers of Siming District for their assistance. The authors would especially like to thank the study participants in Xiamen for their time and willingness to participate. In addition, the project was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China (No. 2018J01129) and Scientific Research Grant of Fujian Province of China (No. Z0230104). The sponsors of the project had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, or data interpretation. Yi-Chen Chiang, Da-Rui Gao, and Xian Li contributed equally to this study.
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Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 147 • Issue 4 • December 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: May 12, 2020
Accepted: Apr 8, 2021
Published online: Jul 19, 2021
Published in print: Dec 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Dec 19, 2021
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