Abstract
As part of the methodology to better understand the lived experiences of older adults as they move through outdoor urban environments, an Urban Audit was developed comprising three tools—onsite observation , walking survey and photograph interview. This Chapter explicates one of these tools—the walking survey where older respondents were invited to walk along and share their experiences and feelings about their everyday neighbourhood spaces . The findings showed that social and recreational activities were strong pull factors attracting older people to public spaces .
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- 1.
Void decks can be found on the ground floor of apartment blocks in public housing . They have been purposefully left vacant (open space) and are typically used for communal activities.
- 2.
See Chap. 10.
- 3.
This is a standard physical fitness test used by the Singapore Armed Forces, Police Force and Civil Defence Force to test the physical fitness and motor skills of its members, ranging from under 25–49 years old.
- 4.
HDB is the abbreviation for the Housing and Development Board, the public housing agency in Singapore. Thus, public housing is popularly referred to as HDB housing/block/flats.
- 5.
Located in Little India conservation area, Tekka Market is a multi-use complex, comprising a wet market, food centre and shops selling primarily Indian goods.
- 6.
Observed during the 7th month in the lunar calendar every year, Chinese people of Taoist faith would pray to ghosts/spirits of their ancestors with offerings outside their homes. The offerings include the preparation of ritualistic food and burning of incense, joss paper and a plethora of paper mache material items, e.g. clothes, gold and other fine goods. See Fu (2004), Yee and Tan (1999) for more information on this festival.
- 7.
This is a nature reserve and Singapore’s largest surviving primary rainforest.
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Yuen, B., Kong, P. (2019). Walking with Older Adults. In: Yuen, B. (eds) Ageing and the Built Environment in Singapore. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92444-1_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92444-1_5
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