The Role of the Residential Environment in Defining Quality of Life
Edwards, Hazel Ruth
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/71894
Description
Title
The Role of the Residential Environment in Defining Quality of Life
Author(s)
Edwards, Hazel Ruth
Issue Date
1993
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Weidemann, Sue
Department of Study
Urban and Regional Planning
Discipline
Urban and Regional Planning
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, General
Urban and Regional Planning
Abstract
Quality of life is a concept that has been the center of debate for many decades. This debate has involved many domains of life and has included the residential environment. The residential environment is important in the analysis of quality of life because of the role it plays in the human experience. It is presumed to be the primary arena in which quality of life is facilitated because it is the center of familial activity, a place where many people realize their dreams, and the grounding point within the larger community in which it is located. This research builds upon previous quality of life and resident satisfaction research.
A conceptual model was developed to illustrate potential relationships between characteristics of the physical and social environments, the individual, the intermediate outcome of residential satisfaction, and the general outcome of quality of life. The primary objective of this research was to determine what role the residential environment has in defining quality of life by examining the causal relationships of the model. Multivariate analytical procedures were used to determine which of these aspects of the model were direct and indirect predictors of the two outcomes.
Much of the research on resident satisfaction has been conducted in lower quality settings, and the relationship between resident satisfaction and quality of life warranted study. Therefore, the choice of Reston, Virginia--a higher quality new town developed in the 1960s--as the community from which the sample was chosen, was opportune. That it had been the focus of previous quality of life research was also important.
Multiple regression analysis determined that quality of life is directly predicted by three issues for this group: satisfaction with accomplishments and economic freedom, satisfaction with living in the neighborhood, and a degree of optimism about one's life. Resident satisfaction for this group was directly predicted by six issues: satisfaction with Reston provided fulfillment and positive outcomes, Reston being an ideal place to live, feeling a part of the community, Reston meeting expectations of a community, the perception that Reston is not artificial, and the perception that management is effective.
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