Reconfiguring designed outdoor spaces in China’s urban gated community: assessment of the local residents’ acceptance and utilisation

© Dr. Cai Wei WuGated communities have gained unprecedented popularity in China, and have become the dominant developmental option in urban housing estates. Although there have been several studies undertaken on the social and spatial consequences of gated communities, little research has been undertaken on how the outdoor spaces in the Chinese gated community are accepted, utilised and modified by the residents. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by assessing how residents use the common areas within the Future Coast residential development in Xiamen. Specifically, it will improve the understanding of how different groups within the communities contribute to and utilise the outdoor spaces. The research findings help developers to understand differences in the space between design intention and user preferences and requirements. This is case study based research, which utilised a framework of resident surveys, interviews, and an observational study to examine how the outdoor space in Future Coast gated community is designed, used, appreciated and matched with local residents’ needs, and the success of these elements. The investigation covers all types of urban gated communities, ranging from low-rise through to high-rise buildings with the size of outdoor spaces varying to a great degree. The research has taken into account the differences between the residents in these communities in terms of socio-economic status, family size and average age of respondents. The survey results showed that nearly 80% of respondents at Future Coast were satisfied with the overall designed outdoor spaces in the master-planned gated community. However, the low, medium, high-rise and villa communities all were found to have problem areas which affected resident’s complete enjoyment of their environment. Age, gender, occupation, education, income level and lifestyle have various impacts on the selection of outdoor leisure activities, participation frequency and duration in the gated communities. Incorporating findings on residents’ socioeconomic profiles into future developments will reduce chances of design mismatches. The research outcome on outdoor use patterns helps develop effective environmental interventions to promote and support activity and provides valuable information for future improvements to the design of outdoor spaces for gated communities