The Effect of High-Density Built Environments on Elderly Individuals’ Physical Health: A Cross-Sectional Study in Guangzhou, China

The built environment refers to the objective material environment built by humans in cities for living and production activities. Existing studies have proven that the built environment plays a significant role in human health, but little attention is paid to the elderly in this regard. At the same time, existing studies are mainly concentrated in Western developed countries, and there are few empirical studies in developing countries such as China. Based on POI (point of interest) data and 882 questionnaires collected from 20 neighborhoods in Guangzhou, we employ multilevel linear regression modeling, mediating effect modeling, to explore the path and mechanism of the impact of the built environment on elderly individuals’ physical health, especially the mediating effects of physical and social interaction activity. The results show that the number of POIs, the distance to the nearest park and square, and the number of parks and squares are significantly positively correlated with the physical health of the elderly, while the number of bus and subway stations and the distance to the nearest station are significantly negatively correlated. Secondly, physical activity and social networks play a separate role in mediating the effect of the built environment on elderly individuals’ physical health. The results enrich the research on the built environment and elderly individuals’ health in the context of high-density cities in China and provide some reference basis for actively promoting spatial intervention and cultivating a healthy aging society.