Coupling and Coordination Characteristics and Influencing Factors of the Livable Environment System for the Elderly in China

The construction of a livable environment for the elderly is an important measure to address the challenges of aging and improve their livelihood and well-being. Based on China’s national conditions and combined with the actual development needs of the cities, it is of great significance to explore the coupling and coordination characteristics and influencing factors within the livable environment system for the elderly for the coordination and stable development. This article was based on the three subsystems of ’living service environment, socioeconomic environment and ecological livable environment’, following the research framework of ’process-pattern-trend-impact’, constructs an evaluation index system for the livable environment for the elderly. Entropy weight-TOPSIS evaluation model, coupling coordination degree model, center of gravity and standard deviation ellipse model and the geographic detector model were used starting from the evolution of coupling coordination types to study the spatial and temporal pattern and dynamic trend characteristics and influencing factors of internal coupling coordination types in the livable environment system for the elderly from2010 to 2019. The results showed that: 1) The coordinated development of life service environment system and ecological livable environment system(LE) and socioeconomic environment system and ecological livable environment system(SE) in the livable environment for the elderly decreased from the intermediate coordination level coordination areas to the low-level quality improvement and optimization areas: coordinated transition type. The overall development level of life service environment system and socioeconomic environment system(LS) was low, and it was always at a low level. 2) The coupling degree of livable environment system for the elderly was high, the coupling coordination type shown a gradually decreasing layer structure with Zhejiang, Beijing and Guangdong high-level leading demonstration areas as the axis belt. 3) The coupling coordination center of the elderly livable environment system was located in Henan, and the standard deviation ellipse was distributed in the northeast-southwest direction. The development center and the ellipse of the high-level leading demonstration areas and the intermediate coordination level areas were concentrated in the central and eastern regions, while the low-level coordination areas for improving quality and efficiency are mainly located in the western region. 4) Urban development, green facilities, infrastructure, government macroscopic regulation and control, economic stimulus, and housing construction were all important factors affecting the coordinated development of the livable environment system for the elderly, exerting a varying degree of effect on the level of coordinated development of various types of systems.