Perceived Quality of Residential and Institutional Environments

Abstract

For several decades researchers have attempted to identify features which contribute to the success or failure of residential environments, that is, housing and neighborhoods. The community studies of the Chicago-trained sociologists, research on housing attributes associated with residential mobility (Rossi, 1955), and examinations of the effects of housing on health and performance (Wilner & Walkeley, 1963) were in the vanguard of studies leading toward an understanding of some fundamental aspects of the quality of residential environments. Studies of the environmental features of institutions, including Osmond’s (1957) work in psychiatric hospitals, Sommer’s (1969) research in college settings, and Goffman’s (1962) analysis of total institutions, and the hospital research of Ittelson, Proshansky, and Rivlin (1970) have identified some responses to institutional environments. Research on institutional settings, however, has not kept pace with the studies of residential environments; the latter are considerably more numerous and more varied, providing a substantial basis for further research on perceived qualities of housing and neighborhoods. This chapter, therefore, focuses primarily on residential environments. The variety of types and functions of institutional environments and their users make it difficult to generate a meaningful list of research needs in the area of perceived quality which would be applicable to most institutional settings.