| Keywords |
Elders; Neighborhood; Conversational interview; Social activity; Street; Park |
| Abstract |
This study aims to understand the circumstances of the association between social activities of elders and the neighborhood environment. Qualitative approach was used instead of quantitative one that focus on limited specific variables. Elders were interviewed in a conversational manner for social activities and place in urban residential neighborhood of Seoul. Open coding from grounded theory was used to analyze the interview data. Six themes were emerged: close neighbors nearby home, running a store with longtime neighbors, getting together in pleasant parks, being alone in public parks, gatherings in small in-between space, shrinking social ground. Elders were found that they have strong bond with other neighbors getting together everyday. In fact, they tended to help each other for everyday needs and have stronger social connection in streets around housing units than public parks. Women of longtime residents in their 70s or 80s had close social connections around neighborhood who would have taken care of everyday things in homes. Future studies should address social activies of men and other locations such as community center, cultural facility, library. |