Age-friendly neighbourhood environment, functional abilities and life satisfaction: A longitudinal analysis of older adults in urban China.

The construction of age-friendly neighbourhoods is a priority for practice and policy to promote active ageing and increase life satisfaction for older adults. However, there has been a paucity of longitudinal evidence on the interaction effects of age-friendly neighbourhood environment and functional abilities on life satisfaction among older adults in urban China. This study makes the first attempt to examine the effect of person-environment fit on life satisfaction by the accumulative effects of age-friendliness of the baseline neighbourhood environment (measured within the WHO Age-Friendly City framework) on functional abilities and life satisfaction trajectories and the long-term effects of functioning changes on life satisfaction, drawing from four waves of longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and latent growth curve modelling. Results indicated that the age-friendliness of transportation was positively associated with functional abilities, and housing was the primary factor that shaped life satisfaction at the baseline. Better maintenance of functional abilities could promote life satisfaction over time. For older adults living in recently built neighbourhoods, social environment factors such as associations and facilities for social participation were more important in functional abilities, and communication and information were more important in life satisfaction. For those living in neighbourhoods built before 2000, physical environment factors such as transportation were essential in functional abilities, and housing was more essential in life satisfaction; health-related facilities and services at baseline exerted a cumulative effect on maintaining functional abilities in the long run. Our findings inform policymakers about how to effectively allocate public resources to enhance older adults' life satisfaction in the Chinese urban context.

A Study on the Spatial Pattern of the Ecological Product Value of China's County-Level Regions Based on GEP Evaluation.

Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) is a concept that reflects ecological product value by using geospatial technology. It can demonstrate the spatial distribution of ecological products and provide new perspectives and refined support for spatial planning. China's county-level regions are important units for the promotion of ecological product value. Based on the concept of GEP, this study evaluated the ecological product value of China's county-level regions in 2020, used Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) to visualise spatial patterns and conducted a correlation analysis between the GEP indices and economic and land use factors. The study found that the results of evaluation and analysis varied by spatial distribution: (1) county-level regions with high provisioning service indices are concentrated in northeastern China and southeastern China; (2) county-level regions with high regulating service indices are concentrated south of the Yangtze River and in the southern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; (3) county-level regions with high cultural service indices are concentrated in southeastern China; (4) county-level regions with high composite GEP indices are concentrated in northeastern China. The results have different correlations with different factors, reflecting the complex mechanisms behind ecological value transformation. For example, the composite GEP index for an area has a strong positive correlation with the area's proportions of woodland area, water area and GDP.