Neighborhood characteristics, neighborhood satisfaction, and well-being: The links with neighborhood deprivation

Abstract

It has been argued that the residential environment could play a role in the lower health and well-being commonly found in deprived areas. Yet, more knowledge is needed on how residential environmental quality together with neighborhood satisfaction relate to neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation. This paper explores the links between neighborhood deprivation and neighborhood characteristics, neighborhood satisfaction, and well-being, using survey and geospatial data from Oslo. Findings on physical neighborhood characteristics show that deprived neighborhoods are not underprivileged in terms of green space, public transport, and local amenities. However, perceived neighborhood characteristics – evaluated by their residents – were found to be negatively associated with neighborhood deprivation. These results suggest that deprived neighborhoods have higher perceived noise and lower perceived safety, cleanliness, aesthetic quality, reputation, and place attachment. Neighborhood satisfaction and emotional response to neighborhood were found to be lower in deprived neighborhoods. Overall, evidence from this study suggests that even when green space, public transport, and local amenities are evenly distributed, residents of deprived neighborhoods may still experience lower levels of neighborhood satisfaction and lower emotional response to neighborhood due to differences in neighborhood qualities such as perceived safety, noise, and place attachment.