Renovation priorities for old residential districts based on resident satisfaction: An application of asymmetric impact-performance analysis in Xi’an, China

China is currently designing a regional economic layout for high-quality urban development, shifting its focus from the primary stage of beautifying cities to the next stage of profound urbanization aiming at strengthening industry. This is of high importance given that the urbanization rate of permanent residents by the end of 2019 was 60.60%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. In the face of various factors such as the need to economize the intensive use of resources, urban stock development, and the need for urban constructions to maintain harmony with the surrounding ecosystem, regeneration has emerged as an efficient means to repurpose old residential districts. It conforms to the policy of stock planning and is one of the important methods to ensure the sustainable development of a city. Prioritizing the right attributes in renovation is one of the critical steps in the regeneration of old residential districts—instead of merely focusing on their selection and scoring by experts, more attention should be paid to the resident satisfaction (or the lack thereof) arising from them. Therefore, in this study, we have proposed a collaborative approach that requires communities to prioritize the appropriate aspects in urban renewal. This study employed the three-factor theory of customer satisfaction, to investigate the five attributes namely geographical location, infrastructure, traffic, residential management, and living facilities, of satisfaction and dissatisfaction of residents in the old city. This includes 327 samples based on the residents of Yanta old town in Xi’an. The asymmetric impact-performance analysis technique was used to explore, and quantify the asymmetric relationship between the attributes of old residential districts, and residents’ satisfaction. The results proved that attributes were divided into three: excitement factors, performance, and basic factors, based on the asymmetric influence of attributes on residents’ satisfaction. Residential management was into excitement factors, living facilities were categorized into basic factors, and the remaining three attributes were categorized into performance factors. The satisfaction of the residents regarding the renovation was maximized by comprehensively considering the performance of given attributes, adjusting the improvement strategies of each attribute, and further determining the focus of the renovation of the old residential districts. Simultaneously, it helped planners make more rational choices in urban renewal and sustainable development.

Residents’ Sustainable City Evaluation, Satisfaction and Loyalty: Integrating Importance-Performance Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling

There has been an increase in research on sustainable urban development, especially in recent years, and importance-performance analysis (IPA) is one of the popular methods applied in sustainable development research. However, few have integrated IPA with structural equation modelling (SEM). This study developed and tested an integrated IPA and SEM approach to measuring the effects of the perceived importance of sustainable city dimensions and the perceived performance of a city on resident satisfaction and loyalty. A total of 388 survey responses were collected from the residents of Shanghai and analyzed using the integrated IPA-SEM approach. The results show that resident satisfaction mediates the relationship between overall perceived performance and resident loyalty, while the relationship between overall perceived importance and resident loyalty is mediated by both overall perceived performance and resident satisfaction. The findings from the SEM are in line with the IPA’s concept in that, to ensure resident satisfaction and loyalty, the quadrant that requires the most attention is Q1, while Q2 stands as the target quadrant. Implications and future research directions are proposed based on the findings.

Systematic Review on the Attributes of Resident Satisfaction Measurement in the Facility Management Context

Resident satisfaction with the building maintenance services rendered by the property management company is vital to the quality of people's life in the residential buildings. Resident satisfaction measurement generally depends on the service quality of the building maintenance services offered by the property management company. However, there were too many attributes that have influenced resident satisfaction, as highlighted in previous research. In fact, some of them were duplicated and redundant. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify and simplify the attributes that contribute to resident satisfaction in the building maintenance services. For this purpose, the researchers carried out a systematic review of the most recent articles from 2009 to 2019. Researchers also have considered a few articles before 2009 with the opinion that articles were useful to support the present study. Researchers conducted content analysis by systematically analysing and reviewing previous research publications on service quality dimensions used for users' satisfaction measurement in the facility management context. Past researches have reported on 45 service quality dimensions that have been considered for users' satisfaction evaluation in the facility management field. The findings showed that the identified attributes suggested in the previous works in the facility management field were for a specific and different types of building. In this paper, the researchers suggest a comprehensive range of 18 service quality dimensions including cleanliness, general maintenance and assurance service quality dimension that are useful for measuring resident satisfaction with building maintenance services of the high-rise residential buildings. This finding will benefit the property management companies with valuable information on the attributes that they could rely on to measure resident satisfaction towards building maintenance services. In fact, it provides a clear understanding of service quality dimensions and facilitates future researchers on the appropriate attributes to be considered in evaluating resident satisfaction with the high-rise residential building maintenance services in their future research.

Quality of place and resident satisfaction in a historic – religious urban settlement in Iran

Purpose Given its ineffective urban control strategies, Iran’s urbanisation experiences indicate highly rapid migration, horizontal expansion, spatial inequality and an imbalanced distribution of public services. Considering the significance of historic fabric for the spatial continuity of neighbourhoods and the formation of the physical identity of cities, this study aims to evaluate the impact of quality of place (QoP) on resident satisfaction in a historic – religious settlement of Sari, a provincial capital city in the north of Iran. Design/methodology/approach Various studies have evaluated resident satisfaction in the old urban fabric, but scarce investigations have focussed on the impact of QoP on resident satisfaction at historic-religious settlements. Conceptually, this research extends theory by reframing QoP as a reflective, hierarchical construct and modelling its impact on satisfaction. A sample of 227 residents was analysed via structural equation modelling. Findings Understanding the contribution of QoP to residential satisfaction is a key element in facilitating sustainable neighbourhood development so as to improve the condition of a historic neighbourhood. QoP is a second-order construct with four dimensions, namely, public facilities, sense of belonging, perception of safety and environmental quality, and is highly reflected by public facilities, followed by perception of safety, environmental quality and sense of belonging. The objective characteristics of the environment and subjective wellbeing perceived by residents play significant roles on resident satisfaction, especially in historic neighbourhoods. Originality/value Analysis of the structural model supports the theoretical findings in the literature that associate high QoP with high satisfaction. The model of this work can be applied for a wide range of human settlements.