Neighbourhood determinants for life satisfaction of older people in Beijing

Demographic change and ageing societies are an increasingly critical issue for researchers and policymakers across the world and in particular in China, where the government’s population control strategies have since the late 1970s substantially changed social and demographic structures. At the same time, the traditional role of families in caring for elderly people is diminishing. In this situation, the neighbourhood as a living environment and as a platform for service provision is growing in importance for the elderly. Building on the authors’ previous proposition that age-friendly urban planning needs to take differences between neighbourhood types into account, the objective of this study is to identify which neighbourhood factors concretely contribute to the life satisfaction of seniors in different Beijing neighbourhoods. For this purpose, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) and found social support to be the primary neighbourhood factor affecting life satisfaction amongst the urban elderly in Beijing. We then differentiated between aged neighbourhoods with a high number of older people and others with less elderly residents, and found dwelling conditions and community-provided senior services to be additional critical indicators of satisfaction in the former and accessibility to services in the latter. Accordingly, we suggest tailoring government interventions that aim at age-friendly environments differently in different neighbourhoods.