ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Perceptual assessment of the quality of urban space - validation of criteria and metrics by older citizens
Provisionally accepted
- Poznań University of Technology, Poznań, Poland
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Despite the urban challenges related to population ageing and urbanization, cities remain insufficiently adapted to the needs of seniors. Numerous instruments and studies for the assessment of urban quality of life (QoL) have already been developed, but tools evaluating age-friendliness of urban areas and involving participatory Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) are scarce. The aim of the study was to conduct the workshops with the participation of seniors to validate criteria, sub-criteria and metrics used to assess the quality of senior-friendly architectural and urban space, formulated in previous studies on QoL and MCDA. The group task involved proposing metrics for assessing the quality of architectural and urban spaces by describing them on sticky notes, which were subsequently attached to specific sub-criteria on B1 boards. Participants were asked to select the three most important criteria and three most important sub-criteria on an A3 board. The answers developed during group work and individually were analyzed and compiled in a larger group. Both existing and newly proposed metrics were validated. Questionnaire survey constituting a part of the assessment framework was improved based on added/reformulated metrics. The most significant criteria according to seniors are ex aequo K1. Accessibility of urban area for ageing population and K.6. Adaptability for seniors ageing in place. Metrics suggested repeatedly were lifts, handrails, benches, as well as proximity to shops and parks. Urban planners and older citizens can use the questionnaire to evaluate the quality of urban spaces. The weights assigned by seniors suggest what aspects should be paid attention to when planning cities. Further research will include validation of the evaluation framework with experts and subsequently improving the questionnaire. The following stage will concern conducting a large-scale questionnaire survey among elderly residents.
Keywords: Workshops, Validation, Perceptual assessment, quality of urban space, Older citizens
Received: 30 Jul 2025; Accepted: 19 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ptak-Wojciechowska and Gawlak. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Agnieszka Ptak-Wojciechowska, agnieszka.ptak-wojciechowska@put.poznan.pl
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