Happy People in Mixed-up Places: The Association between the Degree and Type of Local Socioeconomic Mix and Expressions of Neighbourhood Satisfaction

Abstract

The potential impacts that a range of social, economic, demographic and structural factors have on an individual’s level of perceived satisfaction with their neighbourhood continue to be an important focus of research interest. This paper concentrates on a specific feature of the neighbourhood satisfaction literature by considering the impact of local neighbourhood socioeconomic mix on satisfaction. It suggests that, if neighbourhood satisfaction is associated with strong and sustainable communities, then understanding the drivers of neighbourhood satisfaction remains an important part of the empirical investigation. Using a combination of survey data and aggregate census data, the paper considers how, net of other factors, the socioeconomic mix of the local neighbourhood impacts on satisfaction. It finds that the socioeconomic mix characteristics of the neighbourhood do matter in understanding neighbourhood satisfaction and suggests that this has important implications for polices aiming at strengthening and sustaining local communities.

Individual differences in the neighbourhood level determinants of residential satisfaction

“…Good schools and low crime rates (Harris, 2001;Parkes et al, 2002), accessibility (Baum et al, 2010;Parkes et al, 2002) and high shares of owner-occupied dwellings (Harris, 2001) are found to be related to higher satisfaction with the neighbourhood. Finally variables such as general appearance, noise (Baum et al, 2010;Parkes et al, 2002), dilapidated dwellings (Galster & Hesser, 1981) and deterioration (Harris, 2001) relate to residential satisfaction.…”

“…Parkes et al (2002) find in England that in affluent, predominantly owner-occupied neighbourhoods owner-occupiers are more satisfied than renters, while in poor neighbourhoods with high shares of rented dwellings, renters are more satisfied. Baum et al (2010) study neighbourhood satisfaction in Australia and find that the share of social housing has a stronger negative effect on satisfaction for owner-occupiers than for public tenants. Van Ham & Feijten (2008) study the desire to leave the neighbourhood in the Netherlands and find that, especially home-owners want to leave neighbourhoods with high shares of rented dwellings.…”

“…Therefore, to gain more insight in segregation and selective residential mobility it is crucial KEYWORDS Residential satisfaction; ethnicity; interactions; residential mobility; segregation ARTICLE HISTORY to understand which neighbourhood characteristics affect satisfaction for whom. Also for policy-makers who try to create mixed, stable and attractive neighbourhoods it is important to have insight in which neighbourhood characteristics are important for whose satisfaction (Baum et al, 2010;Gould Ellen et al, 2013;Pinkster et al, 2015).…”

“…Similarly, many researchers have tested the effects of neighbourhood characteristics on satisfaction (Baum et al, 2010;Dekker, 2013;Galster & Hesser, 1981;Parkes et al, 2002). There are only a few studies explaining residential satisfaction from neighbourhood characteristics that look into differences between population groups.…”

“…There are only a few studies explaining residential satisfaction from neighbourhood characteristics that look into differences between population groups. The studies of Baum et al (2010), Friedman (2011), Hipp (2010) and Swaroop & Krysan (2011) analyse differences between racial or ethnic groups in the effects of neighbourhood characteristics on satisfaction, while Baum et al (2010), Greif (2015) and Parkes et al (2002) look into differences between owner-occupiers and renters. This is one of the first studies that, especially focuses on individual differences in the determinants of residential satisfaction.…”