Given the ageing global population, it is important to promote “healthy ageing”. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by prolonging the health of older people. Both the physical and mental well-being of older people are closely related to their living environment. Providing daily outdoor activities and enhancing the quality of public spaces and amenities in residential areas can encourage the adoption of healthy behaviours among older people. This study selected eight typical residential areas in Shenzhen, China, and analysed 40 outdoor public spaces. Video content obtained from fixed-point behavioural observation was entered into the Mangold INTERACT behavioural analysis system to extract the health behaviour data of older people. Regression analysis was then performed on the health behaviour data and the index data of the sample space elements. The results showed that several factors affect the outdoor health behaviours of older people. These factors include the scale of the outdoor space, the size of the hard ground area, the quality of the grey space, the green-looking rate, the accessibility of the site, the number of fitness facilities, and the richness of site functions. This study focused on a host of health-related behaviours such as rest, leisure, communication, and exercise. It confirmed the corresponding spatial needs of the elderly when engaging in the aforesaid activities. In this way, the quantitative research has supplemented previous studies by studying and evaluating the behaviour and activities of the elderly in specific settings. Through the analyses, a configuration model of outdoor space in residential areas was constructed with the aim of health promotion. Based on this model, a flexible and multilevel configuration list revealing seven specific types under three priorities is being proposed. The findings provide a scientific and effective strategy for optimising the quality of outdoor environments in residential areas. More specifically, the deployment of the Mangold INTERACT system to extract and quantify behavioural data enabled this study to overcome the limitations of traditional approaches to behavioural observation and recording. This provides a prelude for other quantitative research on the environment and behaviour.

Given China’s increasingly severe population ageing, urban comprehensive parks are important places for older adults’ daily activities. Improving their quality directly affects the physical and mental health of older adults. Most previous studies have explored spatial optimisation strategies from a single dimension, focusing either on behaviour or on perception; studies on simultaneous improvements in behavioural and perceptual levels across functional space types remain limited. This study selects 40 activity spaces from four urban comprehensive parks in Shenzhen as samples. It systematically analyses differences in older adults’ behavioural patterns and perceptual experiences across six types of functional spaces. Based on the results, a comprehensive behaviour–perception evaluation model is developed to identify optimisation priorities for different space types. Furthermore, generalised linear regression models are employed to explore the relationships between environmental elements and older adults’ behaviours and perceptions, from which targeted optimisation strategies are derived. First, significant differences are observed among six functional space types in older adults’ concentrated leisure behaviour, dispersed exercise behaviour, concentrated exercise behaviour, and safety, while the remaining indicators are relatively balanced. Second, the evaluation model classifies the 40 samples into four space types, including high behavioural level–high perceptual level, high behavioural level–low perceptual level, low behavioural level–high perceptual level, and low behavioural level–low perceptual level. Third, 12 environmental elements, including area, degree of greenery, and leisure facilities, are associated with older adults’ behavioural and perceptual levels in urban comprehensive parks. Fourth, optimisation strategies are proposed for problem spaces with low behavioural or perceptual levels across the six functional space types, including behavioural strategies such as expanding activity spaces and avoiding excessive plant density, as well as perceptual strategies such as improving plant landscape layering and balancing spatial colour combinations. This study develops a quantitative evaluation and spatial optimisation framework guided by older adults’ behaviour and perception, providing theoretical support and practical insights for the sustainable improvement of urban comprehensive park quality.