Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Publication
    Multifamily Housing and Resident Life Satisfaction: Evidence from the European Social Survey
    (University College Dublin. Geary Institute, 2015-08-12)
    Much of the literature on sustainable communities and compact cities calls for higher density housing including multifamily dwellings. Some case studies suggest problems with such dwellings. However, rigorous comparative research on this topic has not been conducted to date. This paper draws on a high quality, comparative dataset, the European Social Survey, to analyse a) the quality of multifamily dwellings in European urban areas, b) the characteristics of residents of these dwellings, c) their life satisfaction compared with those living in detached housing and d) the relative importance of built form in explaining life satisfaction. One of the main findings from the multivariate analyses is that built form, including residing in multifamily housing, is not a statistically significant predictor of life satisfaction when you control for standard predictors of life satisfaction (e.g. health, employment and income) and housing and neighbourhood quality.
      319
  • Publication
    Sustainable communities? A comparative perspective on urban housing in the European context
    (ENHR, 2012-06)
    This paper examines the sustainability of urban housing in the European Union. It outlines a number of key criteria for assessing the sustainability of urban housing including mixed use developments, higher residential densities, high quality dwellings and neighbourhoods, affordability and food production. Utilising the 2007 tranche of the European Quality of Life Survey, it finds significant variations between countries in the sustainability of urban housing and communities and highlights the leaders and laggards in this regard. The relative success of urban areas in Denmark and Finland deserves some additional research, although there is scope for considerable improvement even in these ‘leader’ countries. The paper highlights significant problems with housing and communities in some Southern and some Eastern European urban locations, in particular Portugal, Hungary and Poland and Greece.
      661
  • Publication
    Dwelling type and quality of life in urban areas: evidence from the European Social Survey
    (2014-11)
    Much of the literature on sustainable communities and compact cities calls for higher density housing. However, case studies suggest that there can be problems with multi-unit dwellings. Problems identified include inadequate space, noise pollution, suitability for families and children, and a lack of personal green/outdoor space. These studies raise questions about the quality of life, life satisfaction and liveability for its residents. Some suggest that residing in these dwellings is likely to be short-term, that those who can do so relocate to lower density housing over time. However, rigorous comparative research on this topic has not been conducted to date. This paper draws on comparative data from the European Social Survey to analyse: the quality of multi-family dwellings in European urban areas; the characteristics of residents of these dwellings, and their quality of life compared with those living in detached housing.
      462