ABSTRACT
We have examined the effect of the physical environment on children in Chapter 4. In this chapter, we elaborate how the impact might be felt on a very different sector of our society, namely senior citizens. Similar to children, senior citizens tend to spend a lot of their time in their immediate home environment. Unlike children, some senior citizens have stronger financial independence, meaning their choice of the living environment is more flexible. Again, we would like to use this opportunity to illustrate that real estate research can be applied to determine the relationship between the built environment and the level of happiness of senior citizens and how the major determinants of the built environment may influence this level of happiness among senior citizens in Hong Kong. But again, we need to reiterate that ‘happiness’ is a multi-faceted phenomenon and we by no means want to conclude that the environmental factors discussed in this chapter will definitely contribute unconditionally to elevate the degree of happiness among senior citizens anywhere.
