Neighbourhood Support and Aging-in-Place Preference Among Low-Income Elderly Chinese City-Dwellers

Aging-in-place (AIP) refers to “the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level” ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014 ). Promoting AIP is a policy objective for both developed and developing countries ( World Health Organization, 2007 ). It contributes to the wellbeing of older adults by providing a sense of attachment, connectedness, security and familiarity, identity, independence, and autonomy. Preferences for AIP in rapidly aging Chinese societies are particularly intriguing given the unique cultural and societal background. Traditional values of filial piety and multigenerational family cohesiveness (the ideal of “four generations under one roof”) suggest strong preference for AIP. However, in modern Chinese cities such as Hong Kong, such values have been largely watered do. The emphasis on the cohesiveness of the extended family is declining: the average size of domestic households in Hong Kong has dropped,