Abstract：Shopping is one of the most regular activities of the elderly, and the study on the elderly daily shopping activity space is the key to understand the reciprocity operating between the aged and the built environment. Behavior geography began this study as early as 1970s in the west countries, and they have accumulated plentiful valuable experiences. It indicates that daily shopping activity spatial patterns are diverse for the elderly living in different locations and with different attributes. So it is necessary to learn the elderly daily shopping activity space when we want to improve the life quality of the elderly or we do a commercial planning for an area. However, geographical study on the elderly shopping activity in China is just begin, and the studies already done always overly stressed the importance of the elderly's subjectivity, neglected the progressive constrictions of the commercial environment context with advancing years. In this background, scholars in Peking University made a questionnaire survey in Shanghai city. Five communities were chosen as surveyed objects according to the characteristics such as location of the community, social and economic characteristics of the residents and so on. This survey got an approving outcome, 500 pieces of questionnaire were sent out and 417 pieces could be well used in this study.Based on the questionnaire surveys and field investigation, this article first analyzes the generic characteristics of the elderly daily shopping activity. It could be summarized as follows:1)The frequency of the elderly shopping activity is quite high, they almost do it everyday; 2) Most of the shopping activities take place around the neighborhood, and supermarket is the most popular retailing format in the elderly daily shopping activity; 3) The elderly prefers to do daily shopping in morning, as that is the time for exercising and they could shopping incidentally, and usually the commodities are much cheaper in morning; 4) Walking is the most common moving method in the elderly daily shopping activity. However the shopping buses of the General Merchandise Store, which take consumers to and fro free of charge, are becoming more and more popular in the elderly daily shopping activity. And then the article emphasize particularly on the special distribution patterns of elderly shopping activity, it shows that daily shopping activity of the elderly living in different residences have diversity spatial patterns. The daily shopping activity space of the elderly living in suburb is much extensive and dispersive than that of the elderly living in the inner city. Finally from three facets, transform of the commercial space and the retailing formats in Shanghai, accessibility of the commercial facilities, and elderly's decision-making process, the author made an explanation about the diversity of the elderly's daily shopping activity special patterns.
曹丽晓, 柴彦威. 上海城市老年人日常购物活动空间研究[J]. 人文地理, 2006, 21(2): 50-54.
CAO Li-xiao, CHAI Yan-wei. DAILY SHOPPING ACTIVITY SPACE OF THE ELDERLY IN SHANGHAI CITY. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, 2006, 21(2): 50-54.
