Examining contextual and nonlinear associations between the living environment and life satisfaction

Abstract

Planners have long sought to reveal how the living environment, including housing and neighborhood, influences individuals’ satisfaction with life and other domains. Despite the great contribution made by planning scholars, the literature falls short in several major topics. This dissertation addresses these issues with three empirical studies. The literature implies that the same living environment elements could have distinctive associations with different types of satisfaction outcomes (e.g., life satisfaction vs. neighborhood satisfaction). However, most studies examine the correlates of only one type of satisfaction and do not compare those of multiple types of satisfaction. Chapter 2 fills this gap and compares neighborhood associates of neighborhood satisfaction and life satisfaction. Many features show different relationships with the two types of satisfaction. Specifically, neighborhood satisfaction reacts more strongly to physical features and appearances of the neighborhood, whereas life satisfaction has stronger associations with social cohesions and leisure amenities. Moreover, the correlates of life satisfaction tend to differ across contexts, but the discussion on contexts is severely lacking in related research. Chapters 3 and 4 add to the understanding of the role contexts play. Chapter 3 compares neighborhood correlates of life satisfaction in higher-income and lower-income neighborhoods. In general, residents of lower-income neighborhoods value attributes related to basic needs (such as safety and air quality) more, whereas access to leisure and educational facilities carries more weight in higher-income neighborhoods. Chapter 4 compares the relationships of a set of living environment variables with life satisfaction in the Twin Cities, U.S. and Guangzhou, China. The findings show that the living environment has a substantially larger association with life satisfaction in Guangzhou than in the Twin Cities. Compared with Guangzhou residents, residents living in the Twin Cities associate life satisfaction more with socioeconomic status and their defining characteristics. Finally, many studies are built on the assumption that living environment attributes are linearly correlated with life satisfaction. An increasing number of empirical findings have implied that satisfaction may react to its correlates in a nonlinear manner. This nonlinearity is still in need of discussion. This dissertation tests the presence of nonlinearity and all three empirical studies show prevalent nonlinear relationships between living environment attributes and satisfaction. Based on the empirical results, this dissertation highly recommends that researchers establish a holistic conceptual framework to connect the living environment, life satisfaction, and relevant domain satisfaction, conduct mixed-method studies, and test the generalizability of specific findings in future studies. It also encourages planners to consider nonlinearity in practice and make policy decisions based on localized evidence instead of predetermined standards.