Changes in residential satisfaction and place attachment over time

Abstract

Residential satisfaction is an antecedent to perceived quality of life. Physical and social factors help to explain residential satisfaction as a dynamic process of interaction which the individual constructs in relation to their surroundings. Furthermore, some of these factors condition place attachment. This study aims to analyze the relations and differences between residential satisfaction and place attachment in a sample of 704 people living in a university city, approximately half of whom are living in student flats. Participants completed a survey to rate their level of satisfaction with various characteristics associated with the place in which they live. The findings show that both groups of residents provide the same explanatory model of residential satisfaction, in which neighbourly relations, quality of housing and the intention to move home act as predictors. Residential satisfaction and place attachment are positively correlated; however, quality of housing does not have a direct effect on place attachment. Length of residence has a positive effect on place attachment