Abstract
Population ageing and the deterioration of old residential communities have created interconnected environmental and governance challenges for ageing in place in Chinese cities. This study examines the relationship among the physical environment, everyday community management, and elderly residents’ needs in Liujiaying Residential Complex, Kunming, China. A mixed-method case-study design was adopted. Field observations were conducted to assess roads, parking, public activity spaces, greenery, accessibility, facilities, sanitation, and maintenance conditions. In-depth interviews were carried out with 10 long-term elderly residents and 10 community or property-management staff, followed by group interviews and a questionnaire survey of residents aged 60 years and above. Of the 328 questionnaires collected, 310 valid responses were retained for analysis. Descriptive statistics, preliminary scale-adequacy checks, thematic coding, non-parametric paired comparisons, SWOT/TOWS synthesis, and a Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) implementation framework were employed. The findings reveal a substantial mismatch between elderly residents’ management needs and their satisfaction with existing community conditions, particularly in relation to safety, parking management, environmental maintenance, and management responsiveness. Field observations and interviews further identified blocked fire routes, inadequate pedestrian–vehicle separation, uneven maintenance, insufficient greenery management, and unclear responsibilities among community and property-management actors. The study concludes that ageing-friendly renewal should integrate maintainable physical improvements with clearer responsibility allocation, resident participation, routine monitoring, and adaptive management. The findings provide a governance-oriented approach for improving ageing-friendly renewal in old work-unit residential communities characterized by limited resources and uneven post-renewal management.