Meshing Sustainability with Satisfaction: An Investigation of Residents’ Perceptions in Three Different Neighbourhoods in Chengdu, China

Can sustainability and liveability be simultaneously pursued at the neighbourhood level? Adopting neighbourhood satisfaction as a proxy to indicate liveability at the neighbourhood scale, this paper investigated how the residential subjective perception of sustainability factors interacted with neighbourhood satisfaction in the context of three different neighbourhoods in Chengdu, China. This began with a comprehensive literature review to construct the neighbourhood sustainability framework. Then, a total of 510 cross-sectional questionnaire surveys was conducted in Chengdu. Logistic regression was employed to investigate significant associations. The findings revealed that the ‘sense and habit of energy saving’ is the only sustainability factor that is negatively associated with neighbourhood satisfaction in commodity-housing neighbourhood. Compared with intangible factors, tangible or physical sustainability factors are more likely to contribute to improving neighbourhood satisfaction and suppressing moving intention. The study also evidenced the contextual differences of significant associations among danwei, resettlement, and commodity-housing neighbourhoods coexisting in transitional China. This calls for adaptive and contextual rather than standardized, top-down strategies for developing sustainable neighbourhood planning to simultaneously promote sustainability and liveability in Chengdu, China. Finally, a specific contextual framework was provided as policy implications for developing local and adaptive solutions.

Bird Diversity Unconsciously Increases People’s Satisfaction with Where They Live

There is growing evidence that exposure to nature increases human well-being, including in urban areas. However, relatively few studies have linked subjective satisfaction to objective features of the environment. In this study we explore the links among objective environmental features (tree cover, water, and bird diversity) and subjective judgements of satisfaction. We surveyed residents of Ottawa, Canada (n = 1035) about their satisfaction with their local neighbourhoods. We then compared the survey responses to measures of nature near their homes, including bird diversity (number of bird species), tree canopy cover, and distance to water. After controlling for effects of income and subjective happiness, residents’ neighbourhood satisfaction was positively related to the number of bird species nearby, even before participants were prompted to consider nature. Residents’ appreciation of their local neigbourhood relative to others also increased with tree canopy cover and nearness to water. Unsolicited comments from participants following the survey indicated that while residents consciously appreciate trees and water, the relationship between bird diversity and neighbourhood satisfaction appears to be unconscious; very few of the participants mentioned birds. Based on these results, we speculate that a diverse local bird community may provoke feelings of satisfaction through their presence, activity, and songs. Our results create a compelling argument for city planners and individual residents to maintain bird-friendly spaces in urban areas.

ASSESSMENT OF HOUSING ATTRIBUTES TOWARDS NEIGHBOURHOOD SATISFACTION IN THE KLANG VALLEY

Housing has always been one of the major issues that affect peoples’ quality of life, especially in the urban area. The increased number of population in urban area led to an increase in housing demand in the market. Neighbourhood satisfaction is an important factor of housing demand in urban areas. The objective of this study is to assess the relationship between housing attributes and neighbourhood satisfaction in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Primary data collection through survey on 500 respondents was undertaken and analysed using SPSS and Structural Equation Modelling. The findings revealed that there is positive and significant relationship between housing attributes and neighbourhood satisfaction. The implication of this study found that housing attributes are noteworthy determinants in assessing the significance of neighbourhood satisfaction. The result of this study would assist policy making in proposing actual improvement in sustainable development in neighbourhood area and enhance on the improvement on the housing attributes that focus on providing more affordable housing and housing choice in the Klang Valley.

Does the neighbourhood matter for neighbourhood satisfaction? A meta-analysis

Urbanists are keenly interested in individuals’ satisfaction with their neighbourhoods, and especially in the determinants of satisfaction. To the extent that we all want to be satisfied with our neighbourhoods, this work has an important practical application, providing guidance to planners, developers, local leaders and others on how to build satisfying neighbourhoods. However, do neighbourhoods matter for neighbourhood satisfaction? This study answers that question using a meta-analysis to pool 126 estimates from 27 studies of the association between neighbourhoods and neighbourhood satisfaction. I find that neighbourhoods do matter for neighbourhood satisfaction, but that their direct effect is weak. I consider several possible explanations for this finding, and discuss the practical significance of calling into question whether changes to a neighbourhood’s built or social environment can meaningfully improve residents’ neighbourhood satisfaction.

Compact Urban Form: Neighbouring and Social Activity

Compact urban form has been widely suggested as a more sustainable development pattern that enhances different aspects of social liveability such as social exchange, collective interaction, and outdoor activity. Empirical research, however, challenges proposing a generic and universal understanding of compactness and its social advantages: compactness is perceived and lived differently in different socio-cultural contexts. This paper contributes to the call for gaining a more place-specific understanding from the compact urban form. To do so, it examines the social life of compact neighbourhoods in two study sites in Berlin. Social life is investigated by measuring the two dimensions of “neighbouring” and “social activities”: while the former explores how residents of the neighbourhood perceive different aspects of social life, the latter maps how urban space accommodates different types of social activity. Questionnaires and advanced mapping techniques are the primary sources of research obtained through intensive fieldwork and on-site observation. The research findings challenge some dominant assumptions attributed to the compact urban form orthodoxy: a compact neighbourhood can be perceived as safe, offer acceptable home and neighbourhood satisfaction, and, at the same time, suffer from low social networking and community engagement.