EFFECTS OF SOCIAL FEATURES OF URBANGREENWAYS ON THE OUTDOOR ACTIVITY OFOLDER ADULTS

More than ۲۵% of Iran's population will be beyond the age of ۶۵. Urban green spaces play a crucialrole in helping older people maintain an active lifestyle. Urban green ways not only offer a physicalenvironment that promotes outdoor activities, but they also offer social capital and social cohesivenessto entice older persons to engage in outdoor activities in their communities. The accessibility of theseareas thereby increases older individuals' involvement in outdoor activities. This study created amultilevel model to investigate how the social environment of neighborhood green ways affectsindividual engagement in outdoor activities in the urban green ways of Qazvin at the individual level.The data included ۱۳۰ individuals who were at least ۱۸ and ۱۰ green ways. The findings indicate thatpeople engage in more outdoor activities when they reside close to green ways with high levels ofneighborhood social capital. In order to encourage older people to engage in outdoor activity, urbangreen ways which are typically linear public spaces located alongside roads should be better designedand planned.

Keywords:

Urban greenway , Social features , Outdoor activity , Older adults , Qazvin