ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how life-cycle stages factor into environmental behaviors, perceptions, and needs. An individual's age, life-cycle stage, and roles in life (e.g., do they work or go to school) all influence their spatial needs as well as their understanding of the affordances of public spaces. The human life cycle includes infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Armstrong, 2020). This chapter focuses on childhood, adolescence, and late adulthood, as well as the human-environment considerations of working adults. An overview of the societal context and developmental or functional needs related to each age is given, followed by a discussion of activities and types of environments in which they occur. Lastly, an interpretation and application of life-cycle stage research for designers and planners are provided. The intent is to share information that will inform the creation of places that meet the needs of a range of ages and not to suggest that environments should cater to only a particular age group.
