Identifying the Indicators and Components of Health Villages Based on Place Attachment in the Elderly (Case Study: Yazd City)
Keywords:
Health Village, Sense of Place, Aging Architecture, Shahrizd.Abstract
This study aims to identify and prioritize the physical and socio-psychological components influencing the formation of place attachment in elderly health villages. This research employed a descriptive–analytical design using a mixed qualitative–quantitative approach. Data were collected through an ANP-based pairwise comparison questionnaire completed by 12 experts in architecture, environmental psychology, and urban planning. Instrument validity was confirmed by specialists, and reliability was verified using Cronbach’s alpha (0.815). Data analysis was conducted using the Analytic Network Process to determine the relative weights and priorities of criteria and sub-criteria. ANP results indicated that socio-psychological factors exert the strongest influence on place attachment, followed by physical–natural factors. At the sub-criteria level, security obtained the highest priority weight, while sociability and psychological comfort ranked next. Among physical components, aesthetic quality and natural elements were identified as the most influential, whereas form and structure and type of activity showed the lowest relative importance. Strong interrelationships were observed between security and sociability, highlighting the necessity of designing safe and socially interactive environments. Place attachment in elderly health villages is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by the interaction of social, psychological, and physical components. Effective design strategies must therefore emphasize safety, social interaction, psychological comfort, and environmental quality to enhance life satisfaction, reduce social isolation, and strengthen place attachment among the elderly.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Seyed Hamed Hajimirzadeh (Author); Hero Farkisch; Mohammad Taji (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
