Marie Geraldine Herrmann-Lunecke

El crecimiento y envejecimiento de la población urbana en América Latina plantean desafíos para el diseño de espacios públicos. Debido a que realizan menos desplazamientos diarios y prefieren recorridos más cortos, las personas mayores suelen ser especialmente sensibles a su entorno cercano. Aunque se reconoce la influencia del espacio urbano en su bienestar subjetivo, existe escasa investigación sobre el impacto de los colores de espacios públicos exteriores para este grupo etario, particularmente en lo que respecta a la saturación cromática. Esta investigación explora la experiencia emocional inmediata de personas mayores frente a la atmósfera cromática del parque Rodolfo Beckdorf, en Valdivia (Chile), mediante Caminatas Cromáticas-Emocionales, permitiendo captar en tiempo real la percepción del color y las emociones asociadas, en un contexto urbano específico. Los hallazgos evidencian niveles de saturación del color que tienden a favorecer emociones positivas, y se formulan recomendaciones para el diseño de espacios públicos cromáticamente inclusivos, subrayando la importancia de mejorar la experiencia del color en el entorno urbano, promoviendo un mayor bienestar subjetivo en la vejez.

The world’s population is aging rapidly, and in Chile, it is foreseen that one in three people will be 60 or over in 2050. In this context, a key challenge of urban and architectural design is promoting built environments that are friendly for old age. In general, research on built environments and old age has tended to focus on neighborhood public spaces and the accessibility of homes and residences for older adults, paying little attention to the common spaces of collective housing, which can be important places for the daily activities of older people. In this framework, this research aims to analyze the extent to which regulatory and indicative instruments in Chile consider older people in the design of collective housing common spaces. 3 treaties and conventions, 10 regulatory instruments, and 7 indicative instruments were reviewed for this, using the qualitative analysis software atlas.ti. The results show that common spaces are not conceived for purposes beyond people’s circulation in the regulatory instruments. These are spaces that must be obstacle-free and whose features do not involve daily practices that entail social interaction or remaining in these. The analysis also shows that older people are absent from regulatory instruments. On the other hand, indicative instruments recognize and look to safeguard their rights and diversity. Finally, the findings indicate that efforts are needed so that the requirements of older people, which have been included in indicative instruments, are also integrated into regulatory instruments. This would promote active aging and allow older people to remain in their homes and neighborhoods.

Las áreas verdes urbanas son esenciales para la salud y el bienestar en entornos urbanos. Sin embargo, la evidencia directa sobre su impacto en el bienestar subjetivo, especialmente en ciudades latinoamericanas, es limitada. El objetivo de esta investigación es evaluar cómo los pequeños verdes en calles y espacios públicos mejora o disminuye el bienestar subjetivo en una zona céntrica de la ciudad de Valdivia, Chile, basándose en las percepciones de los peatones. Se realizaron 56 entrevistas a pie utilizando la técnica Natural Go-Along para analizar las percepciones de los peatones sobre su entorno de movilidad. Para categorizar las emociones reportadas en las entrevistas, se utilizó el Modelo Circunflejo del Afecto para organizar y clasificar las emociones declaradas. Los resultados muestran una prevalencia de emociones positivas de baja intensidad, como la tranquilidad y el disfrute, en calles con una alta diversidad de vegetación en platabandas y antejardines. Por el contrario, emociones negativas de alta intensidad, como el miedo y el estrés, se vinculan a calles con arbustos descuidados y falta de vegetación en platabandas. Se concluye con la elaboración de un mapa emocional de experiencias momentáneas, identificando lugares de bienestar y malestar en los espacios públicos, sirviendo como herramienta para orientar inversión pública en la promoción de entornos peatonales más saludables en ciudades del sur de Chile.

The aim of this article is to assess which elements of street design impact subjective well-being in the central area of a city in southern Chile, based on residents’ perceptions. Fifty-six semi-structured walking interviews were conducted to obtain records of pedestrians’ self-reported perceptions of their environment. To categorize the emotions reported in the interviews, the Circumplex Model of Affect was used to organize and classify the declared emotions. The results revealed that street design elements such as heritage buildings with well-maintained facades with intense colors in their coatings, spacious front gardens, wooden facades, low fences, wide sidewalks, soft or rubberized floors, and trees with colorful fruits and leaves promote a greater dominance of high-intensity positive emotions such as enjoyment, joy, happiness, liking, and pleasure. In contrast, neglected or abandoned building facades, blind fronts with graffiti or murals, high fences, tall buildings, treeless or vegetation-free sidewalks, untrimmed bushes, and narrow and poorly maintained sidewalks promote negative emotions of both high and low activation such as fear, anger, dislike, rage, unsafety, discomfort, and stress. The article concludes with the development of an emotional map of momentary experiences, identifying places of well-being and discomfort in public spaces. The value of this map is discussed as a tool to inform urban design in the promotion of healthier pedestrian environments in Latin American cities.