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Dissertation
EVALUATING THE INVITATION QUALITY OF ASSISTED LIVING NEIGHBORHOODS IN CORE URBAN AND SUBURBAN FORMS
Doctor of Design (DDes), Washington State University
01/2012
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/4679
Abstract
According to some prevailing trends, such as a fast-growing population of older adults, a change in the American family structure, a growing population of older adults moving to assisted living facilities (ALFs), and an increasing number of ALFs in suburban areas, semi-independent older adults' choices to live in ALFs in core urban areas may be dramatically reduced in the near future. To address this issue, the approach was to compare ALF neighborhoods in suburban and urban forms by assessing the invitation qualities to suggest what kind of urban form can offer a higher invitation quality for ALF residents to use the outdoor environment. This framework was applied for its potential benefit to future research evaluating the outdoor activities of ALF residents related to the neighborhood invitation quality and how different quality measures can generate more pedestrian activity, yield a higher social well-being, and provide a greater quality of life for ALF residents living in various urban forms.
Therefore, all ALFs in the city of Spokane were selected in 2 comparison groups based on DSHS criteria and the research's control variables, 7 in the core urban area located approximately within 3 miles from downtown Spokane, and 7 in the suburban
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area outside the area, approximately 3-8 miles from downtown Spokane. For the privacy consideration, these sites were identified as sites A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, and A7 as sample group A in the core urban area and sites B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, and B7 as sample group B in the suburban area.
The research hypothesis was tested for the two sample groups' invitation qualities through SAFE Assessment measures including safety, attractiveness, friendliness, and efficiency. Overall, the general invitation quality for the core urban neighborhood received an average score of Ma=57.42 and SDa=2.37 compared to the suburban neighborhood, which received an average score of Mb=48.14 and SDb=5.84. These findings indicated that the invitation quality of core urban, in the moderate rating-quality category, and suburban, in the low rating-quality category, were different for ALF neighborhoods. Also, according to the independent t-test analysis, the invitation quality of the core urban and suburban neighborhoods had a significant statistical difference.
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Details
- Title
- EVALUATING THE INVITATION QUALITY OF ASSISTED LIVING NEIGHBORHOODS IN CORE URBAN AND SUBURBAN FORMS
- Creators
- Mehran Madani
- Contributors
- Nancy Blossom (Advisor)Christine Oakley (Advisor)Bob Short (Committee Member)Kerry Brooks (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of Design and Construction
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Design (DDes), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 194
- Identifiers
- 99900581852701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation