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Assessing the location of public-and-community facilities for the elderly in Beijing, China

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Abstract

The spatial equity of public-and-community facilities (PCFs) is a significant aspect in improving the healthy living environment for the elderly as the elderly population increases rapidly in Beijing, China. This study aims to identify and map the distribution pattern of PCFs in a study area in four neighbouring subdistricts in Beijing and to analyze the spatial equity status of PCFs distributions integrally and respectively. Data for 15 types of PCFs located in the study area were collected. GIS spatial analysis tools, including global and local spatial autocorrelation, were used to analyse the spatial autocorrelation of various types of PCFs. The results show that, integrally, the density of PCFs is in a descending pattern as the distance increases from the city center. Respectively, the distribution pattern shows significant difference among various PCFs and the four subdistricts. The results of this study provide suggestions for future planning of healthy living environment for the elderly residents in a rapidly developing megacity and also shed light on future research on spatial equity of PCFs at the community level.

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Notes

  1. The retirement age for males is 60 in China. We use aged 60 to define the elderly throughout this paper except in citing research from other sources.

  2. The 11th Five-Year Plan on Functional Area Development of Beijing Municipality (Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform 2006) divides Beijing into four functional areas: Capital Core Functional Area, Urban Functional Extension Area, Urban New Developing Area, and Ecological Protection Area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the editor and reviewer for their time and comments. The insightful and constructive comments from Professor Mark Rosenberg at Queen’s University in Canada are appreciated. Special thanks to Jingyi Jiang, Sitong Guo, Lingling Liang, Hao Wang, Bo Wang, Yunhe Feng, Yang Yuan et al. for their contribution in the fieldwork and data analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

    Shangyi Zhou, Yang Cheng, Mengzhu Xiao & Xin Bao

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  1. Shangyi Zhou
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  2. Yang Cheng
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  3. Mengzhu Xiao
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  4. Xin Bao
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Correspondence to Yang Cheng.

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Zhou, S., Cheng, Y., Xiao, M. et al. Assessing the location of public-and-community facilities for the elderly in Beijing, China. GeoJournal 78, 539–551 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-012-9450-1

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