Accumulative evidence and knowledge have revealed a close relationship between environments and human emotions. Residential open space (ROS) plays a significant role in shaping the older adults’ health and well-being. However, there is a lack of evidence for the association between various types of ROSs and the older adults’ emotions. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the effects of ROSs of different qualities on the older adults’ physiological and psychological responses relevant to emotions. Three types of ROS (poor, medium, and high quality) were selected, and data from 69 older adults were collected through a real-world field experiment using multiple wearable sensors. Residential outdoor characteristics were quantified objectively through visual-perception indices and perceived restorativeness subjectively. The emotions were analyzed based on skin conductance level, heart-rate variability, electroencephalogram, and a psychological questionnaire. The results show that compared to exposure to the poor-quality ROS, exposure to the high-quality ROS led to a significantly lower increase in SCL and a higher improvement in vigor. Significant differences in β/α indices were found across the three types of ROS. In addition, the emotional effects of the visual-perception characteristics differed according to ROS type. Blue space and safety were negatively associated with the older adults’ emotional arousal in the high-quality ROS, while safety and walkability were negatively related to the older adults’ emotional arousal in the poor-quality ROS. The effects of greenery, visual crowdedness, and enclosure on the older adults’ emotions produced mixed findings among the different types of ROS. The findings of the research can offer guidance for urban planners to improve the design of ROS to provide more emotionally pleasing and age-friendly experiences.

中文翻译：

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住宅开放空间如何影响老年人的情绪：使用可穿戴传感器的现场实验


积累的证据和知识揭示了环境与人类情感之间的密切关系。住宅开放空间（ROS）在塑造老年人的健康和福祉方面发挥着重要作用。然而，缺乏证据表明各种类型的活性氧与老年人的情绪之间存在关联。本研究的目的是检查和比较不同质量的ROS对老年人与情绪相关的生理和心理反应的影响。选择了三种类型的 ROS（低质量、中质量和高质量），并通过使用多个可穿戴传感器的真实现场实验收集了 69 名老年人的数据。住宅的户外特征通过视觉感知指数和主观感知的恢复性进行客观量化。根据皮肤电导水平、心率变异性、脑电图和心理问卷对情绪进行分析。结果表明，与暴露于劣质 ROS 相比，暴露于高质量 ROS 导致 SCL 的增加显着降低，而活力提高较高。三种类型的 ROS 的 β/α 指数存在显着差异。此外，视觉感知特征的情绪影响因ROS类型而异。在高质量 ROS 中，蓝色空间和安全性与老年人的情绪唤起呈负相关，而在低质量 ROS 中，安全性和步行能力与老年人的情绪唤起呈负相关。绿色植物、视觉拥挤和封闭对老年人情绪的影响在不同类型的 ROS 中产生了不同的结果。 研究结果可以为城市规划者改进 ROS 的设计提供指导，以提供更愉悦情感和更适合老年人的体验。