The Use of a Public Space in a Public Housing Complex by Senior Citizens: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Recently, many community gathering spaces (CGSs) have been built as platforms for senior citizens to socialize. This study constitutes an ethnographic examination of how senior citizens use a CGS in a public housing complex in Japan. The results depicted six characteristic styles in which senior citizens used the CGS: visiting a park, attending a school, using a library, using a meeting room, shopping for commodities, and participating in events. Frequency of CGS use and group cohesion were two properties that distinguished among the six styles. Moreover, environmental features of the CGS enabled senior citizens with various physical and social conditions to use the CGS.

Keywords:

• Ethnography
• housing complex
• public space
• third place
• social relationship

Acknowledgments

The authors express thanks to all the users and staff of the CGS, the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Tokyo, the Urban Renaissance Agency, and Ryo Nishikawa as introducers and supporters of the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).