Quantifying intergenerational differences in community public space perception: a multimodal Electroencephalography-eye tracking study

Against the dual backdrop of global aging and urbanization, the design of community public spaces for intergenerational integration has become a crucial approach to enhancing the quality of life for children and the elderly. However, existing studies mostly rely on subjective questionnaires and interviews, which struggle to reveal the potential intergenerational neurocognitive differences—particularly lacking quantitative analysis of the subconscious mechanisms in spatial perception between the elderly and children. This study aims to construct a multimodal evaluation system by integrating electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking technology to uncover the differences in neurobehavioral responses between the elderly and child groups in community public spaces. In this study, stratified random sampling was adopted to select community samples and collect spatial images. Based on computer vision (Segment Anything Model), spatial element identification and classification were conducted. Through controlled experiments, EEG and eye-tracking data of 40 participants (25 elderly and 15 children) were synchronously collected to reveal intergenerational differences in spatial cognition. The results show that the elderly and children exhibit significantly different “neuro-behavioral response patterns” in area typologies such as Community Service Areas and Leftover Areas. For instance, the elderly present a “high emotional arousal—high functional attention” pattern in Community Service Areas, while children demonstrate “high exploration—high dynamic attention” characteristics in Leftover Areas. These findings provide empirical evidence for the design of spaces for intergenerational integration from the neurocognitive perspective and offer scientific support for the refined and human-oriented construction strategies of community public spaces.