Place Identity in the Neighborhood as Perceived by the Elder Residents: Relations with Attachment, Dependence and Place Quality

The way that elder relate to and identify with their neighborhoods is considered to be an important reason affecting continued living in place. Predilection for ageing in place becomes even more dominant as individuals grow older, despite of undermined social support system, and deterioration in the physical condition of the neighborhood. A positive neighborhood that supports continued activity, social interaction, and accessible services can potentially contribute to successful aging in place. The purpose of this investigation was to examine place identity and its relation to place dependence, place quality, and place attachment as perceived by elders living in neighborhoods with different levels of maintenance. Findings showed that place attachment, place dependence and place quality were moderately and strongly correlated with place identity. Place attachment and place dependence were found to be higher in well-maintained neighborhoods, but no significant differences were found in place identity with regard to the declined neighborhoods. Different dimensions were observed to have a contribution as predictors of place identity in each type of neighborhood. While services quality and place dependence were found to be additional predictors of place identity in wellmaintained neighborhoods, independence and quality of the physical environment resulted the unique predictors of place identity in the neighborhoods. Place attachment was found to be the most important predictor of place identity in both types of neighborhoods. Findings from this study are considered for the design of neighborhoods for elder people.

Keywords: Place identity, place attachment, place dependence, place quality, neighborhood, elder adults.