This quantitative study examines the effects of Public Open Space (POS) on older people’s well-being and examines the roles of neighborhood social cohesion (NSC) and place dependence (PD) as series buffers. A questionnaire survey of 501 people aged 65 and over was conducted in various communities of Hong Kong. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the pathways connecting POS and well-being. A multigroup analysis examined differences in the POS–well-being associations between the young-old (aged 65 to 75, n = 166) and old-old group (aged 76 to 95, n = 166). Results show that the association between POS and emotional well-being was stronger than social and psychological well-being. POS promotes three facets of well-being through developing NSC and, subsequently, PD. Multigroup analysis results suggest that the pathway from POS to emotional well-being via NSC is stronger for the old-old group; POS is more important for psychological well-being for the young-old group. This study highlights that the quality of POS, including attractive natural elements, various amenities, and sufficient space for social interactions, is essential for making relationship-rich and health-promotive urban environments.

Acquiring sociospatial experiences at nested geographical scales is a lifelong meaning construction process, and this has great implications for aging in place. Various experiences trigger older people’s attitudinal and sentimental reflections regarding how they evaluate and attach themselves to where they live; this invokes residential satisfaction, and subsequently, place attachment. Through a questionnaire survey of 501 community-dwelling individuals aged sixty-five and older in Hong Kong, an ultra-high-density Asian city, this article examines the relationship between sociospatial experiences and well-being through a sequential path analysis model. It identifies five dimensions of sociospatial experiences: “homes and housing estate,” “social environment,” “living convenience,” “pedestrian experience,” and “blue and green” features. All dimensions predict emotional, social, and psychological well-being via residential satisfaction and then place attachment. Place attachment is a more robust mechanism than residential satisfaction in the environment–well-being association. Developing a satisfying relationship, and subsequently, functional and emotional links with the place of residence, is conducive to achieving well-being. This uncovers an important mechanism of person–environment interactions for aging in place.

Deprivation is a crucial geographical concept because it highlights disparities in socioeconomic conditions and neighborhood resources across different locations, serving as a powerful lens to unde...