Abstract
The elderly population is relatively vulnerable to air pollution and thermal stress due to their low mobility and high prevalence of chronic disorders. Appropriate green infrastructure (GI) deployment can improve both the indoor and outdoor air quality and thermal environments of elderly care centres (ECCs), yet a systematic review on this topic area is lacking. This review aims to fill this gap by investigating the impacts of GI on ECC building environment and presents the approaches for integrating GI into the building environment design. We discussed the significance of linking air quality with the thermal environment to ECCs and the effects of GI on the elderly's physical health. We investigated the key design considerations for GI in ECC buildings (e.g., spatial layout, species, aesthetics and fire prevention). Also, the diversity of monitoring and modelling approaches for evaluating the benefits of GI in indoor and outdoor environments was assessed. Finally, we evaluated the associated challenges and provided design recommendations for improving the environments in and around the ECC buildings (e.g., bedrooms, indoor gardens, green roofs and courtyards). The quantitative evidence for linking GI with indoor and outdoor air pollution and extreme heat around the ECC buildings are limited. However, this evidence-base is important for providing generic advice to the building designers and the elderly. Further studies such as the evaluation criteria and monitoring standard are required to develop holistic design recommendations for ECC buildings. The empirical research about the social and economic impacts is also necessary to facilitate the sustainable development of the ageing societies.