Abstract
Using survey data collected from households living in the Brisbane South East Queensland region, a rapidly growing metropolis in Australia, path analysis is used to test links between urban residents’ assessment of various urban attributes and their level of satisfaction in three urban domains: one’s own housing, their neighborhood or local area and the wider metropolitan region. The analysis also shows the relative contribution of those urban domains to overall life satisfaction. Neighborhood satisfaction is shown to be much less important in predicting overall life satisfaction than is satisfaction with housing and the region. More specifically, neighborhood satisfaction impacts indirectly on overall life satisfaction mediated by regional satisfaction and housing satisfaction. In predicting regional satisfaction, the cost of living and government service provision are shown to be most important. Neighborhood satisfaction is best predicted by neighborhood interaction and perceived crime. In contrast, access to facilities is a less important predictor of neighborhood satisfaction. Satisfaction with housing is shown to be best predicted by housing age, temperature, and home ownership. While material concerns like the cost of living and the provision of services are shown to be primary factors underlying overall satisfaction with urban living, the importance of environmental issues and demand for smaller homes might be expected to increase over time.
1With kind permission from Springer Science + Business Media, this chapter is a condensed version of a paper by McCrea, R., Stimson, R. and Western, J. (2005) Testing a moderated model of satisfaction with urban living using data for Brisbane-South East Queensland, Australia, Social Indicators Research, 72, pp. 121–152.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Audirac, I., Shermyen, A. H., & Smith, M. T. (1990). Ideal urban form and visions of the good life – Florida growth management dilemma. Journal of the American Planning Association, 56(4), 470–482.
Baldassare, M., & Wilson, G. (1995). More trouble in paradise – Urbanization and the decline in suburban quality-of-life ratings. Urban Affairs Review, 30, 690–708.
Boyer, R., & Savageau, D. (1981). Places rated almanac. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Brotchie, J., Newton, P., Hall, P., & Nukamp, P. (1985). The future of urban form. London: Coom, Helm, and Nichols.
Bruin, M. J., & Cook, C. C. (1997). Understanding constraints and residential satisfaction among low-income single-parent families. Environment and Behavior, 29, 532–553.
Campbell, A., Converse, P., & Rodgers, W. (1976). The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations and satisfaction. New York: Russell Sage.
Cicerchia, A. (1999). Measures of optimal centrality: indicators of city effect and urban overloading. Social Indicators Research, 46, 273–299.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.
Glaeser, E., Kolko, J., & Saiz, A. (2000). Consumer city (Working Paper 7790). Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Grayson, L., & Young, K. (1994). Quality of life in cities. London: British Library.
Greenberg, M., Schneider, D., & Choi, D. W. (1994). Neighborhood quality. Geographical Review, 84, 1–15.
Jeffres, L. W., & Dobos, J. (1995). Separating peoples satisfaction with life and public perceptions of the quality-of-life in the environment. Social Indicators Research, 34, 181–211.
Joreskog, K., & Sorbom, D. (1996). LISREL8: User’s reference guide. Chicago: Scientific Software International.
Kahneman, D. (1999). Objective happiness. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schawrz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Russell Sage.
Keeble, D. (1990). Small firms, new firms, and uneven regional development in the United Kingdom. Area, 22, 234–245.
Kemp, D., Manicaros, M., Mullins, P., Simpson, R., Stimson, R., & Western, J. (1997). Urban metabolism: A framework for evaluating the viability, livability and sustainability of South East Queensland. Brisbane: The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
Lance, C. E., Mallard, A. G., & Michalos, A. C. (1995). Tests of the causal directions of global life facet satisfaction relationships. Social Indicators Research, 34, 69–92.
Ley, D. (1996). The new middle class and the remaking of the central city. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Liaw, K. L., Frey, W. H., & Lin, J. P. (2002). Location of adult children as an attraction for black and white elderly primary migrants in the United States. Environment and Planning A, 34, 191–216.
Lu, M. (1999). Determinants of residential satisfaction: Ordered logit vs. regression models. Growth and Change, 30, 264–287.
Marans, R. W. (2002). Detroit area study: Presentations and selected findings. http://www.tcaup.umich.edu/workfolio/DAS2001/findings/WebDistributionbyCty.html
Marans, R. W., & Rodgers, W. (1975). Toward an understanding of community satisfaction. In A. Hawley & V. Rock (Eds.), Metropolitan America in contemporary perspective. New York: Halsted.
Michalos, A. C. (1985). Multiple discrepancies theory (MDT). Social Indicators Research, 16, 347–413.
Parkes, A., Kearns, A., & Atkinson, R. (2002). What makes people dissatisfied with their neighborhoods? Urban Studies, 39, 2413–2438.
Pierce, R. M. (1985). Rating America’s metropolitan areas. American Demographics, 7, 20–25.
Rogerson, R. (1999). Quality of life and city competitiveness. Urban Studies, 36(5), 319–328.
Schawrz, N., & Strack, F. (1999). Reports of subjective well-being: Judgmental processes and their methodological implications. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schawrz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Russell Sage.
Sirgy, M. J., & Cornwell, T. (2002). How neighborhood features affect quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 59, 79–114.
Sirgy, M. J., Rahtz, D., Cicic, M., & Underwood, R. (2000). A method for assessing residents’ satisfaction with community-based services: A quality-of-life perspective. Social Indicators Research, 49, 279–316.
Taylor, R. B. (1995). The impact of crime on communities. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 539, 28–45.
Turksever, A. N. E., & Atalik, G. (2001). Possibilities and limitations for the measurement of the quality of life in urban areas. Social Indicators Research, 53, 163–198.
Acknowledgments
The survey data on which the analysis in this study is based was collected in 1997 with funding support from the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Treasury and the Queensland Department of Local Government and Planning through Australian Research Council Collaborative Project #C595301132. The analysis undertaken for this study has been made possible through funding for Australian Research Council Discovery Project #DP0209146.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McCrea, R., Western, J., Stimson, R. (2011). Modeling Determinants of Subjective QOUL at Different Geographic Scales: The Case of the Brisbane-SEQ Region. In: Marans, R., Stimson, R. (eds) Investigating Quality of Urban Life. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 45. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1742-8_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1742-8_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-1741-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1742-8
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)