AccScience Publishing / JCAU / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/jcau.1754
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Data-driven insights into age-friendly smart community development in China: A case study of Beijing

Pokai Chuang1 Yuan Lai1*
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1 Department of Urban Planning, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism 2024, 6(3), 1754 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1754
Submitted: 4 September 2023 | Accepted: 3 January 2024 | Published: 27 May 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

The aging society has prompted a re-evaluation of community development strategies to better accommodate the needs of older populations. In this context, the concept of age-friendly smart communities has gained prominence, aiming to leverage technologies to enhance the quality of life for older residents. This article summarizes a general concept of an age-friendly community within the framework of smart city development in China. It then explores residential compounds in Beijing to investigate their potential for implementing age-friendly smart communities. Through data description and classification, the spatial distribution and local characteristics of residential compounds were examined. The results highlight housing compounds with the potential to become age-friendly smart communities, based on factors such as building age, population demographics, and typological differences reflecting community conditions and surrounding resources. Overall, by examining the intersection of the aging population, urban regeneration, and technology integration, this article contributes to understanding how data-driven insights can shape the evolution of smart communities in an aging society.

Keywords
Smart communities
Urban informatics
Aging society
Urban planning
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (# 72274101), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (# 2022YFC3800603), and the Tsinghua-Toyota Joint Research Fund.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, Electronic ISSN: 2717-5626 Published by AccScience Publishing