The Effects of Neighborhood Environment on Elderly’s Walking Time and Quality of Life : A Case Study of Nokbeon-Dong in Seoul

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of neighborhood environment on elderly people’s walking time and quality of life by measuring their health levels and social networks. To achieve this purpose, the site was selected as the Nokbeon-Dong in Seoul, and analyzed through questionnaires. A total of 206 questionnaires were analyzed using the structural equation model, which can analyze relationships between numerous variables effectively at the same time. Subsequently, analysis through the AMOS 24 program was also conducted to analyze the structural equation model. The study’s results revealed that the neighborhood environment characteristics influencing elderly people’s walking time included crime safety, quality of walking environment, convenience of using health and welfare facilities, accessibility to living facilities, and quality of parks and open spaces. In addition, factors affecting elderly individuals health levels included quality of walking environment, convenience of using health and welfare facilities, quality of parks and open spaces, and neighborhood characteristics influencing the elderly’s health levels based on their amount of walking. The study also revealed that a higher-quality walking environment, higher accessibility to living facilities, and higher-quality parks and open spaces led to stronger social networks in the elderly population.