Objective  In recent years, population aging has become increasingly deepening in China and the number of elderly care facilities has increased significantly. However, the outdoor environment design of elderly care facilities typically ignores the real needs of users. There is a strong practical demand and urgency for in-depth research on the outdoor environment of elderly care facilities.

Methods/process  Based on the field research on domestic and foreign elderly care facilities, and the interviews with the elderly living in elderly care facilities and their visiting relatives and friends as well as the operating personnel of such facilities, this research understands the facility usage requirements of these elderly people and their evaluation of the existing outdoor space environment. In addition, the research lists and summarizes the activity characteristics and needs of users (mainly the elderly and caregivers) of four types of important spaces (collective activity square; activity site in front of building; intergenerational activity site; garden for elderly people with dementia) and, on this basis, analyzes the common problems in space design.

Results/conclusion  Combined with examples, the research, from the perspective of design optimization and operation practice, studies and discusses some problems existing in the construction of elderly-oriented outdoor environment for elderly care facilities in China and, in view of the four types of important spaces mentioned above, proposes some feasible suggestions for elderly-oriented design, in hope of providing guidance for elderly-oriented design of future elderly care facility projects, and providing reference for the formulation of relevant industry standards.