Use of parks by older persons and perceived health benefits: A developing country context.

Abstract This paper seeks to contribute to the growing literature on how neighborhood amenities such as parks relate with active ageing. It draws attention to this relationship in the context of developing country - India where with changing demographics, population ageing is emerging as a major challenge. It builds on empirical evidences from a neighborhood park in the city of Pune - a metropolis of 3.5 million people in western India. Employing a mixed research approach, the paper explains how a neighborhood park plays a significant role in promoting healthy living among older persons by offering various perceived health benefits. Although various physical characteristics of park encourage physical activities, it is found that social connections such as groups formed in the park encourage regular participation in physical activities and thereby provide psychological health benefits and social support for older users. The paper argues for considering the important role of parks in fostering social participation critical for active ageing while designing cities that are friendly and supportive to ageing populations. Highlights • Parks help in active ageing by offering physical, mental and social benefits • In neighborhood parks, older persons are dominant and regular users with women outnumbering men • Older persons use parks differently at different times of the day and prefer absence of noisy activites • Park use facilitates social participation at various levels leading to perceived health benefits • Social interaction in parks follows existing groupings amongst people of same age, gender and status [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]