a b s t r a c tAlthough Durkheim, Simmel, and other early social theorists posited causal links between urban life and individual despair or distrust, most contemporary analyses of subjective well-being attribute variations primarily to individual characteristics. However, China's recent warp-speed urbanization requires a more dynamic and multi-level analysis that simultaneously models individual and geographic attributes. Using a representative survey conducted in 2011 of adults living in urban China, we find that, while age, marital status, and household wealth have an impact on life satisfaction, the characteristics of the surrounding county or city district, the size of the city, as well as the route by which an individual became an urban resident, often have an independent impact. Our results indicate that after controlling for individual socio-demographic characteristics, health status, and household wealth, the new urbanites (rural-to-urban migrants and in situ urbanized rural residents) who settle in cities with urban populations between 200,000 and 500,000 are more satisfied with their lives than those who settle in either larger or smaller cities. We argue that in China, where urban centers vary greatly in size, research on individual life satisfaction should factor in the characteristics of the urban location and the means by which individuals become urban residents. Our work suggests a new research and policy direction for small cities undergoing urbanization and their future trends.

Researchers have widely discussed the key role of having a spouse and proximity of family in the provision of elder care, but the relationship between kinship and living arrangements in primary caregiver selection has not been fully examined. Based on the 2011–2012 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, multinomial logistic regression models were built to test the effects of kinship and living arrangements on primary caregiver selection. This study found that spouses were most likely to assume the primary caregiver role, even when the elderly couple lived with their adult children. This study suggests that more social services should be provided to support spousal caregivers, and that the different needs of spouse and adult child caregivers should be considered in interventions. Practitioner points Be mindful that the prevalence of non co‐residence between aging parents and adult children affects the provision of elder care Support programmes should be developed for spousal caregivers Be aware of the different needs of spouse and adult child caregivers when designing family interventions for them

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