With rapid population aging in China, the age-friendly upgrading of rural public spaces has become central to both rural revitalization and active aging. Existing evaluation frameworks are constrained by urban-oriented indicators, linear utility assumptions, and static assessments that overlook rural contextual needs. In response to these limitations, this study develops and validates a rural age-friendly public space evaluation system by coupling the Kano model with the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). Evaluation indicators were derived from in-depth interviews with rural older adults through three-level grounded-theory coding. The Kano model was then used to identify demand attributes and Better–Worse coefficients, while indicator weights were determined using an AHP–entropy method adjusted by Kano coefficients. Finally, a Kano–CMM correlation matrix was constructed to generate a five-level maturity evaluation model and applied to Xinan Village, Xiancun Town, Zengcheng District, Guangzhou. Results identify seven core dimensions: safety and protection; accessibility and mobility continuity; comfort and health friendliness; health and wellness support; social interaction and psychological belonging; environmental sanitation and quality; and maintenance, renewal, and durability. Rural older adults’ needs are dominated by must-be attributes, followed by attractive attributes, whereas one-dimensional attributes are comparatively less prominent. Safety- and accessibility-related indicators show the highest negative risk sensitivity, indicating that rural age-friendly design should prioritize risk reduction over experiential enhancement. The proposed framework moves beyond checklist-based assessment and provides an evidence-based, dynamic, and auditable tool for diagnosing and improving rural age-friendly public spaces.
Li et al. (Sun,) studied this question.