Alternative for building social connection: coexistence of elderly people and others in outdoor common spaces of residential areas in China

China is undergoing rapid population aging, with nearly 90% of older population expected to age in place. Residential areas therefore play a crucial role in sustaining their post-retirement social networks. To explore the potential of maintaining meaningful social connections of community-dwelling elderly people, this study examined their activity patterns across 16 community common spaces by site observation in three communities in Zhengzhou City, statistics of visitor counts and activity participation primarily by elderly people were collected. The result shows that some spaces were predominantly visited by elderly people, while others attracted by mixed generations, giving rise to spatial and interactive coexistence. Activity analysis further showed that inaction and chatting were the most frequent and persistent activities by elderly people, while other activities often occurred simultaneously, creating conditions for coexistence characterized either by direct or indirect interactions. Shared activity interests and supportive spatial settings were found to facilitate these interactions. These findings underscore the importance of individual visitors, intergenerational interactions, and their coexistence, while emphasizing the value of outdoor common spaces in fostering such coexistences. Overall, this study adopts a “coexistence” perspective to explore elderly individuals’ daily social connections, thereby enhancing the discussion regarding their social presence within physical environments.