IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v174y2024i3d10.1007_s11205-024-03423-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are Cities Decisive for Life Satisfaction? A Structural Equation Model for the European Population

Author

Listed:
  • Catalina Nicolás-Martínez

    (Universidad de Murcia)

  • María Concepción Pérez-Cárceles

    (Centro Universitario de la Defensa, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena)

  • Prudencio José Riquelme-Perea

    (Universidad de Murcia)

  • Carmen María Verde-Martín

    (Universidad de Murcia)

Abstract

The growth of cities is an unstoppable phenomenon that began in the last century and will undoubtedly be one of the challenges of the current century. It is not only a question of urbanization; its implications and consequences extend to the economy, society, culture and the environment. The capacity of cities as engines of change and progress cannot be questioned, and its consequences will alter the lives of their citizens, who will search, in a more liquid world, for the best places to live. Therefore, this study aims to examine the influence of perception of urban quality (PUQ) and social trust and security (STS) on the life satisfaction (LS) of European citizens to find out if these variables are essential for the population living in Europe. The data were selected from the European Urban Audit survey, which covers 40,597 people living in 80 European cities. The analysis in this study is carried out at the city level. The partial least squares structural equation modelling approach was applied to verify the hypotheses. The findings reveal a positive correlation between PUQ and STS with LS, with STS being a mediator between PUQ and LS. These results underline that improving the perception of the urban environment can significantly increase well-being, contributing more than 70% to citizens' life satisfaction. This multidisciplinary analysis highlights the importance of considering various urban dimensions in planning and public policies to foster prosperous and satisfactory urban development.

Suggested Citation

  • Catalina Nicolás-Martínez & María Concepción Pérez-Cárceles & Prudencio José Riquelme-Perea & Carmen María Verde-Martín, 2024. "Are Cities Decisive for Life Satisfaction? A Structural Equation Model for the European Population," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 1025-1051, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:174:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-024-03423-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-024-03423-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-024-03423-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-024-03423-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhen Zhang & Jianxin Zhang, 2015. "Social Participation and Subjective Well-Being Among Retirees in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 143-160, August.
    2. Luisa Blanco & Isabel Ruiz, 2013. "The Impact of Crime and Insecurity on Trust in Democracy and Institutions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 284-288, May.
    3. Eziyi O. Ibem & Pearl A. Opoko & Egidario B. Aduwo, 2017. "Satisfaction with Neighbourhood Environments in Public Housing: Evidence from Ogun State, Nigeria," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 733-757, January.
    4. Mouratidis, Kostas & Yiannakou, Athena, 2022. "What makes cities livable? Determinants of neighborhood satisfaction and neighborhood happiness in different contexts," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    5. Niclas Berggren & Andreas Bergh & Christian Bjørnskov & Shiori Tanaka, 2020. "Migrants and Life Satisfaction: The Role of the Country of Origin and the Country of Residence," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 436-463, August.
    6. Deirdre Pfeiffer & Scott Cloutier, 2016. "Planning for Happy Neighborhoods," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 82(3), pages 267-279, July.
    7. Dickason Koekemoer & Z Munyai & L. S. Ferreira S. J, 2019. "Income and Subjective Financial Well-Being as Determining Factors of Life Satisfaction," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 11(1), pages 122-128.
    8. repec:cup:judgdm:v:3:y:2008:i::p:111-120 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Felix Bittmann, 2022. "How Trust Makes a Difference: The Impact of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life Satisfaction in Germany," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 1389-1405, June.
    10. Matt Twyman & Nigel Harvey & Clare Harries, 2008. "Trust in motives, trust in competence: Separate factors determining the effectiveness of risk communication," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 3, pages 111-120, January.
    11. Camilla Lenzi & Giovanni Perucca, 2018. "Are urbanized areas source of life satisfaction? Evidence from EU regions," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(S1), pages 105-122, March.
    12. Lincoln R Larson & Viniece Jennings & Scott A Cloutier, 2016. "Public Parks and Wellbeing in Urban Areas of the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Claudia Fongar & Geir Aamodt & Thomas B. Randrup & Ingjerd Solfjeld, 2019. "Does Perceived Green Space Quality Matter? Linking Norwegian Adult Perspectives on Perceived Quality to Motivation and Frequency of Visits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-16, July.
    14. Camilla Lenzi & Giovanni Perucca, 2016. "Life Satisfaction across Cities: Evidence from Romania," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(7), pages 1062-1077, July.
    15. Clara Viñas-Bardolet & Monica Guillen-Royo & Joan Torrent-Sellens, 2020. "Job Characteristics and Life Satisfaction in the EU: a Domains-of-Life Approach," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1069-1098, September.
    16. Néstor Gandelman & Giorgina Piani & Zuleika Ferre, 2012. "Neighborhood Determinants of Quality of Life," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 547-563, June.
    17. Peng, Xinyuan & Tang, Pengcheng & Yang, Shuwang & Fu, Shuke, 2020. "How should mining firms invest in the multidimensions of corporate social responsibility? Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    18. Clara Viñas-Bardolet & Monica Guillen-Royo & Joan Torrent-Sellens, 2021. "Correction to: Job Characteristics and Life Satisfaction in the EU: a Domains-of-Life Approach," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(5), pages 2283-2286, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu-Chuan Chen & Yung-Ho Chiu & Tzu-Han Chang & Tai-Yu Lin, 2023. "Sustainable Development, Government Efficiency, and People’s Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1549-1578, April.
    2. Fredrik Carlsen & Stefan Leknes, 2022. "For whom are cities good places to live?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2177-2190, December.
    3. Dominik Buttler, 2022. "Employment Status and Well-Being Among Young Individuals. Why Do We Observe Cross-Country Differences?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 409-437, November.
    4. Oliveira, Alessandro V.M. & Oliveira, Bruno F. & Vassallo, Moisés D., 2023. "Airport service quality perception and flight delays: Examining the influence of psychosituational latent traits of respondents in passenger satisfaction surveys," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Želinský, Tomáš & Hudec, Oto & Mojsejová, Alena & Hricová, Silvia, 2021. "The effects of population density on subjective well-being: A case-study of Slovakia," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Navarro, María & D'Agostino, Antonella & Neri, Laura, 2020. "The effect of urbanization on subjective well-being: Explaining cross-regional differences," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    7. Kędra, Arleta & Maleszyk, Piotr & Visvizi, Anna, 2023. "Engaging citizens in land use policy in the smart city context," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    8. Fazeelat Masood & Naveed R. Khan, 2023. "The More I Have Fun, the More I Experience Life Satisfaction: Gender Moderated and Engagement-mediated Model of Life Satisfaction," Paradigm, , vol. 27(1), pages 60-77, June.
    9. Jia, Jia & Zhang, Xiaoqing & Zhang, Wenzhong, 2025. "Between place attachment and urban planning in Jinan: Does environmental quality affect human perception in a developing country context?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    10. Sehoon Kim & Dae Seok Chai & Junhee Kim & Sewon Kim & Youngsoo Song, 2022. "Between Work Conditions and Job Outcomes: Testing a Nomological Network of Life Satisfaction," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 1407-1431, June.
    11. Zachary P Neal & Brian Brutzman, 2023. "The role of personality in neighborhood satisfaction," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(3), pages 1-17, March.
    12. Hongjik Kim & Chihiro Shimizu, 2022. "The Relationship between Geographic Accessibility to Neighborhood Facilities, Remote Work, and Changes in Neighborhood Satisfaction after the Emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Alessandro V. M. Oliveira & Bruno F. Oliveira & Moises D. Vassallo, 2024. "Airport service quality perception and flight delays: examining the influence of psychosituational latent traits of respondents in passenger satisfaction surveys," Papers 2401.02139, arXiv.org.
    14. Gabriele Prati, 2025. "Is Job Satisfaction Related to Subjective Well-being? Causal Inference from Longitudinal Data," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 20(1), pages 133-160, February.
    15. Nahed T. Zeini & Ahmed E. Okasha & Amal S. Soliman, 2023. "Exploring and Measuring Quality of Life Determinants of Wage Workers in Egypt: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 339-374, November.
    16. Jiang, Ying & Xie, Yong & Shao, Qinglong, 2024. "How did Internet usage affect life satisfaction before and after COVID-19? Mediating effects and heterogeneity analysis," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    17. Winda Widyanty & Dian Primanita Oktasari & Sugeng Santoso & Sik Sumaedi & Medi Yarmen & I Gede Mahatma Yuda Bakti & Mochammad Fahlevi & Mohammed Aljuaid & Sebastian Saniuk, 2024. "The Model of Worker’s Quality of Life During Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role of Perceived Organizational Support (POS), Digital Literacy, Covid-19-Related Workplace Policy, Quality Culture, and Safety C," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, April.
    18. Chongxian Chen & Weijing Luo & Ning Kang & Haiwei Li & Xiaohao Yang & Yu Xia, 2020. "Study on the Impact of Residential Outdoor Environments on Mood in the Elderly in Guangzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    19. Marwan Elmubarak & Naeema AlHosani & Mohamed Yagoub & Amar Khamis, 2023. "The Effects of Objective and Perceived Neighborhood Amenities on Youths’ Wellbeing: The Case of the City of Al Ain, UAE," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Qikang Zhong & Bo Li & Tian Dong, 2024. "Building sustainable slow communities: the impact of built environments on leisure-time physical activities in Shanghai," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:174:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-024-03423-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.