Toward achieving Age-Friendly public open space Case study of the upgrading of Al-Okilat park –Buraida city –KSA

Abstract

By 2030 two thirds of the world population will be living in cities, at least one-quarter of them will be of age over 60 years, so the global graph lines of urbanism and aging are together rising. The elderly are not homogeneous groups, however, they have common general attributes and features. The elderly achieves greater satisfaction by engaging with the outdoor space every day, neighborhood open spaces may also be considered as locations that influence the well-being and quality of life of the elders. The majority of elderly people live in environments that do not respect enough their various needs, these needs are physical, mental, and social needs. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined the concept of health to a state of full physical, mental, and cultural well-being, and in 2005, WHO has introduced the age-friendly city program, which has a set of checklists to evaluate how age-friendly is the city, the research follows indicators of this program to reach the indicators of achieving an Age-Friendly urban open space which fulfills the elderly multiple needs and help elderly people to integrate with their community. The Indicators which the research produces include promoting physical needs for the elderly (physical activities, physical and psychological comfort), providing safe environment, promoting elderly people social needs (as social contact and the sense of belonging, Promoting the need for respect and choice and Promoting the need for self-realization. Finally, the paper provides an applied study to achieve these indicators in Al-Okilat park in Buride city-KSA. The research recommend that senior citizens should be involved in all steps of the urban open space design process (planning, urban design, implementation) to improve their social participation.