| It is generally understood that health is more than the absence of illness or disease. Health is primarily concerned with the physical, mental, social and spiritual well being - the quality of life experiences - of people. Linked to this is the understanding that at every stage of life, one's health and well being are affected by a series of complex interactions between social and economic factors, the physical environment and individual behavior, as well as by a variety of hereditary factors. During the Second World Assembly on Ageing held in 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that age-friendly built environments can make a difference between independence and dependence for all individuals, especially for those who are growing older. As the demographic trend toward a more aged population continues, WHO's report on aging has spawned growing attention to the built environment as a key determinant of the physical and psychological health of the aging. Improving and sustaining the health of the elderly has become a topic of strong interest in fields such as community development, urban planning, environmental psychology, gerontology and urban design. Healthy urban planning further implies a need to place values such as equity and collaboration at the forefront of any decision-making process.;This research project sought to identify certain limitations in current applications of urban design practices in Omaha, Nebraska. These limitations appear to be rooted in an incomplete understanding of the nature of the declining physical and/or psychological capacities of the elderly and their desire to continue to personally control their physical environments. This project's analysis focused on pedestrian settings in public plaza areas. Its findings validated the impact of place on a citizen's quality of life: place affects one's performance in terms of spatial orientation and consequently seems to enhance or deflate a person's sense of well-being. |
