【正文】 ng elderly most often bee part of, can be postponed by active aging.But these studies on active aging tend to focus only on the physical aspects, rather than on the social aspects. This can probably be explained by the fact that few factors contribute as clearly to successful aging as having a physically active lifestyle. But the overlooked social aspects are the ones that often shape the relationship between physical activity and the spatial environment For as such, twenty percent of all activities outside the home apply to the cultivation of personal contacts and social gettogethers Not only in literature, but also in most policy debates the concern is on the physical part of aging, while the social part tend to be ignored . The world population is aging rapidly. Not only are more people surviving to old age, but once there, they tend to live longer. And now, with so many baby boomers at the brink of retirement and a financial and economic crisis to overe, the growth of the aging population will require farreaching economic and social adjustments. To reduce public expenditure on the growing amount of elderly and to enhance their quality of life the European Union including the Netherlands , is adapting more towards an aging society. Primary concepts are active aging and aging in place.The EU has declared the year 2012 as the year of ‘Active aging’ the desire and ability of older adults to integrate physical, social and economic activity into daily routines. Active aging, as studies demonstrate, results in greater quality of live and positive health outes, postponing admission to an institution and even death .Social activity:The public space is an area that follows for different types of activities, each containing social aspects. A social activity takes place every time two people are together in the same place: To see and hear each other and to meet, is in itself a form of contact. Putnam distinguishes between doing things together productive activities and activities that involve just watching or experiencing consumptive activities, figure 1. The benefits of the consumptive activities on elderly include increased socialization and environmental stimulation . According to Putnam the productive activities create stronger ties. They offer feelings of usefulness and productivity, opportunities for selfexpression and personalization and physical activity. 1Sugiyama and Ward Thompson explain that social ties among neighbors grow initially through repeated visual contact, followed by greeting and short conversation and may grow into social networks. They continue that these interactions mostly occur outside and that social interaction fostered by the use of open space can enhance people’s sense of munity safety. Both resulting in the likelihood of more outdoor participation among elderly, since social contacts potentially shape the relationship between outgoing behavior and the spatial environment.Attractive public places：The creation of appropriate outdoor environments is vitally important in encouraging and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle for older adults. Of all age groups, the elderly stay the most in their direct environment. Therefore the quality of public space is of great importance to them.The term attractive, or the ability to draw, is based upon personal preferences and therefore not unambiguous to interpret. Though, Whyte and Carmona et that the most successful places are the places that are simply used people attract people. They are used by a wide range of users, which is also preferred by elderly. Elderly, who are pretty much like the rest of us and like to be treated that way. An attractive place should thus facilitate and stimulate the elderly to use it, without being obviously monotonous or elderly specific.Safety and security:For paths to be safe for elderly it is important that the pavement is smooth, level, and non slippery to prevent tripping. The paths in park De Wegwijzer are therefore materialized with colored concrete tiles, figure 129, and the lawns meet the pavement at grade. And as discussed before, the active frontage of the new built onto the place adds interest and provides a sense of human activity, thereby it contributes to social control. All factors adding to feelings of security for elderly.Places to rest:Besides the formal seating in the place, the planters of the gardens add informal places to sit, figure 2 . Together providing the park with frequent and varied opportunities to rest for frail elderly, but also extending leisure time for all participants within the park. Additional interventions in park De Wegwijzer.2The design of the park is sensitive to older adults’ perception. The aroma of the plants and herbs stimulate smell and they can be touched by elderly because of the difference in height of the planters. The plants attract birds and bees and other insects which stimulates hearing thereby they provide vivid colors which stimulates sight. The color scheme of the place is natural/warm, figure 3, this makes the place feel smaller, more intimate.3The interventions in the park are selected and embedded to create a design which represents an urban backyard with an intimate social space. Here elderly are stimulated and facilitated to spent a considerable amount of time and opportunities are created for them to maintain or increase their social connectedness within the neighborhood.