How Does Increasing Population and Diversity Affect Resident Satisfaction? A Small Community Case Study

Abstract

This study examines the quality of life in Crete, Nebraska, with the specific purpose of identifying the factors that play the largest role in determining residential satisfaction. The survey asks a number of questions pertaining to different aspects of living in Crete. The survey is adapted from a survey previously used for a similar study in Schuyler, Nebraska. Focus groups are used to identify key issues in Crete and make adjustments to the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha is used to test the reliability of the topical variables, and index variables are created, which are used in the subsequent analysis. Using residential satisfaction as the dependent variable, stepwise multiple linear regressions are performed independently for the total population, the new arrivals, and the long-time resident groups. The findings of this study indicate that stressors and sociocultural issues are the significant contributors to the overall community's residential satisfaction.

Residential Satisfaction and Civic Engagement: Understanding the Causes of Community Participation

“…For example Seguin and Germain (2000) found that neighborhoods with better social amenities or places facilitating community interaction prompted higher levels of tolerance and participation in multiethnic neighborhoods. These findings were also supported in other research studies which demonstrated that places with better social amenities had less instances of intergroup conflict and higher levels of participation by residents (Goudy 1977;Francescato et al 1987;Howarth 2001;Potter and Cantarero 2006).…”

The Impact of Green Open Space on Community Attachment—A Case Study of Three Communities in Beijing

“…The green open space is an important part of the community, and the residents' satisfaction is their subjective perception of the quality of the community environment [42]. The residents' satisfaction with the green open space reflects their satisfaction with the community to some extent [43], while the residents' satisfaction with the community were greatly correlated with their community attachment [44]. Therefore, there is a positive correlation between the residents' satisfaction to the green open space and their community attachment.…”

Housing satisfaction in medium- and high-cost housing: The case of Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

“…Location of housing is also an important factor contributing to housing satisfaction among households. Favorable locational attributes generally refer to accessibility to central business district, local amenities such as shopping centers, schools and transportation centers (Gibson, 2007;Potter & Cantarero, 2006;Tan, 2011). Thus, housing developers to provide quality self-containing housing projects within a functional residential development in the location where households can find the place within the neighborhood to work and fulfill recreation needs.…”