Physical Form and Neighborhood Satisfaction: Evidence From the American Housing Survey

Author: Yizhao Yang

Dissertation School: Cornell University

Pages: 233

Publication Date: January 2007

Availability:
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Access Number: 10819

Abstract:

This research investigated the link between neighborhood satisfaction and characteristics of the built environment. Adopting multivariate statistical methods and on the basis of individual-level data from the 2002 American Housing Survey, this research used ratings of neighborhood as a place to live to assess the relative importance of various factors involved in neighborhood satisfaction. Particularly, it examined the degree to which characteristics of the built environment relevant to traditional physical form (that is, higher density, mixed land uses, and mixed housing types) associate with neighborhood satisfaction for different kinds of people.

This study reveals that neighborhoods with traditional characteristics generally received lower neighborhood ratings than low-density, homogenous neighborhoods. After other neighborhood characteristics and household sociodemographic characteristics are controlled for, the research indicates that the higher density and mixed tenure features in the built environment area were associated with lower satisfaction levels, but diversity in terms of land use mix and housing structure mix associated with higher satisfaction levels to some degree. Further analysis shows that the single-mother headed households derived more satisfaction from living in a more mixed environment than other household types when other factors are controlled for. However, compared to such factors of housing quality and neighborhood maintenance and safety, the effects of physical form characteristics are fairly weak.

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