Determination of park use preferences of the elderly, case of Antalya city

Parks are public spaces open to all segments of society. In addition, parks can be defined as landscape units that meet the recreational needs of people, accommodate various uses and appeal to different user groups. Parks are areas that are accessible to everyone in urban life. Therefore, it positively affects the urban health in terms of "increasing the living standards of people" and "the quality of the environment". Parks contain different opportunities for each age group. One of these age groups is the elderly. Studies on Aging shows that Turkey is one of the fastest aging countries in the world. Therefore, studies on old age have increased in recent years. Meeting the needs of this increasing age group, solving their problems and contributing to their survival in a way that will be the least dependent on the outside are the foundations of the idea of "Age-Friendly City". In this study, the design features of the parks in Antalya are examined in terms of their suitability for the elderly. Within the scope of the study, the preferences of the elderly people on park use, their expectations, the problems they faced were tried to be revealed with the help of the questionnaire applied in the sample parks to be selected. In addition, the results of the study were supported by field studies. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the wishes, needs, and expectations of the elderly individuals differed with respect to other age groups and the park use patterns varied according to factors such as age, education, and gender. However, it has been emphasized that practitioners, designers, and decision-makers should have a design approach that takes into account the wishes and needs of elderly individuals.