The effect of housing and neighborhood satisfaction on perception of happiness in Bursa, Turkey

Abstract

This study aimed to correlate happiness with housing, housing area and neighborhood satisfaction based on the results of different studies that have shown that satisfaction with housing and the neighborhood affects residents’ perceptions of happiness. Unlike the related researches in the literature, this study controls for the negative consequences arising from financial concerns in its examination of the effect of housing, housing area and neighborhood satisfaction on happiness. The Balat neighborhood in Bursa, Turkey, which is popular with high-income residents, was selected for this study considering these issues. The participants were asked to indicate the importance they attribute to and their satisfaction levels with their housing estates, residences and neighborhood. Data were collected from 217 residents of 6 sites in the neighborhood who were selected using stratified sampling. Reliability analysis, frequency distributions, descriptive statistics and Chaid analysis were used to evaluate the data. The analysis found that the variable that most affected perceptions of happiness was housing estate satisfaction. According to the results obtained from the second stage of the analysis, satisfaction with the residence increased satisfaction with the housing estate, and therefore positively affected happiness. The third stage of the analysis indicated that the importance of the properties of the residential area on the housing site affected satisfaction with housing. This study discusses its results, the factors that determine housing and housing estate satisfaction and the relationship of the properties of the residential area with the happiness of residents.