Developing Age-Friendly Built Environments through Universal Design: A Case Study of Wat Phleng Community, Ratchaburi Province

Abstract

The demographic transition toward an aging society necessitates the development of built environments that respond to changing needs. This research aimed to: (1) analyze physical factors affecting older adults in the Wat Phleng community, Ratchaburi Province; (2) propose design guidelines and prototypes based on Universal Design (UD) principles; and (3) evaluate user satisfaction. The study employed a case study approach with purposive sampling of 128 participants (116 quantitative and 12 qualitative). Data were collected through field surveys, behavioral mapping, and user walk-through audits.

 The findings indicated that existing public spaces and waterfront residential areas have limitations in safety, inadequate facilities, inefficient circulation, and poor accessibility, which do not comply with Universal Design principles. These issues lead to unequal spatial use. In response, a development framework was proposed by integrating the seven UD principles into physical indicators aligned with international standards and ministerial regulations. This framework guided the design of public spaces, floating market areas, and five residential prototypes tailored to local contexts. Design evaluation focused on perceived usability in terms of safety, convenience, and accessibility.

The satisfaction results from 116 participants showed a high overall level ( = 4.21, S.D. = 0.65). Among the dimensions, safety scored the highest ( = 4.24, S.D. = 0.65), followed by development worthiness (  = 4.21, S.D. = 0.68) and compatibility with local architectural context (  = 4.19, S.D. = 0.61).