Objective As an important part of the rural human settlement environment, public space is a place for the daily social activities of the elderly left behind in the countryside, and it also provides emotional support for these elderly people. In the process of long-term human − land interaction, the less mobile left-behind elderly have formed a stronger attachment to these spaces and environments. However, under the influence of rapid urbanization and tourism, the countryside has experienced rapid transformation and restructuring, facing the double crisis of the demise of the physical environment and the weakening of cultural connotations. Besides, the problems of homogenization and modeling of rural public space are prominent, making the left-behind elderly unable to retrieve their original sense of belonging and identity, and the relationship between people and place is very tense and acute. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the relationship between rural public space and place attachment and its influence mechanism to cope with aging scientifically and enhance the happiness of the left-behind elderly. Methods/process Taking four villages in Beijing as the research object, this research evaluates the characteristics of rural public space based on deep learning, MATLABsoftware, social network analysis, questionnaire survey, etc., carries out spatial visualization analysis of the place attachment of the left-behind elderly in the villages through the Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS), and finally explores the influence mechanism of the characteristics of rural public space on the place attachment of the left-behind elderly through the construction of a multiple linear regression analysis model.

Results The results indicate that the top three sites with the highest average place attachment scores in NanjiaoVillage are the Goddess Temple Square (4.32), the Village Committee Square (4.18), and the Xuandi Temple (3.83). In Heilongguan Village, the highest scores are recorded for the Dayue Platform (4.19), the Open Space in Front of Houses (3.98), and the Dragon God Temple Square (3.87). In Shuiyu Village, the top sites include the Goddess Temple Square (4.23), the Ancient Sophora Tree (4.12), the Grand Stage (3.78), and the East Street Gate Tower (3.78). Finally, in Liulinshui Village, the highest scores are associated with the Area Around the Vegetable Plots (4.13), the Big Millstone Alley (3.93), and the Opera Stage (3.91). In terms of the spatial distribution characteristics of the strength of local attachment, the local attachment of the left-behind elderly shows the “multi-center” distribution characteristics of strong intermittency and high local concentration, and the high value areas of local attachment are mainly concentrated in the spiritual and cultural spaces with rich connotation and daily life spaces that are convenient and easy to reach. Regarding the influence mechanism of rural public space characteristics on the place attachment of the left-behind elderly, on the whole, the cultural and spatial characteristics of rural public space constitute the core dimensions of place dependence and place identity, followed by the influence of artificial characteristics, while the influence of natural characteristics on the place attachment of the left-behind elderly is relatively limited, and only the greening coverage positively contributes to the place dependence by enhancing the ecological comfort of public space, but has no direct influence on the place identity. In terms of specific characteristic indicators, a total of 10 public space characteristic factors significantly affect the place dependence of the left-behind elderly, among which accessibility, activity participation, vegetation coverage and building density are the key factors positively affecting the place dependence of the left-behind elderly, while the negative interference index and the degree of spatial enclosure are the key factors negatively affecting the place dependence of the left-behind elderly. There are eight influencing factors of place identity, among which the degree of neighborhood affinity, the degree of preservation of historical relics, the degree of participation in activities and building density have a greater positive influence on place identity, and the degree of colorfulness has a significant negative influence on place identity.

Conclusion Based on the influence mechanism of rural public space characteristics on place attachment, this research proposes four optimization strategies for rural public spaces. 1) Construct an elderly-friendly spatial network to promote neighborhood social interaction. Specifically, we should create a barrier-free rural public space network integrated with “memory anchor points” to encourage left-behind elderly residents to spontaneously organize traditional festival activities and demonstrations of traditional skills. This approach transforms public spaces into dual carriers of neighborhood collaboration and cultural activities, enhances the participation of the left-behind elderly in activities, and thereby strengthens their sense of place dependence. 2) Safeguard carriers of local memory to reinforce historical identity and emotional connection. Specifically, we should restore and revitalize traditional spiritual and cultural spaces by converting historical memories into perceptible cultural narratives through methods such as displaying old photographs, exhibiting agricultural tools, and screening videos, and at the same time establish rural color management guidelines to preserve the authenticity of the rural human settlement environment. 3) Rationalize control of building density to reduce interference from modern elements. Specifically, we should optimize the architectural layout around public spaces to form a hierarchical transition between “architecture − space − nature”, and appropriately regulate the placement and quantity of modern facilities such as billboards and signages to ensure their style harmonizes with the surrounding environment, thereby minimizing the impact of modern elements on the daily lives and production activities of left-behind elderly residents. 4) Enhance ecological comfort to strengthen the foundation for human − landscape interaction. Specifically, we should focus on increasing green coverage rates to improve the microclimate environment in rural areas and enhance the ecological comfort of public spaces. In addition, we should create diversified elderly-friendly scenarios incorporating natural elements such as water systems and vegetable gardens to foster continuous interaction between left-behind elderly residents and the natural environment. The results of the research can provide scientific guidelines and case studies for building an age-friendly rural human settlement environment.