Looking through the Models: A Critical Review of Residential Satisfaction

Abstract

The study of residential satisfaction has gained importance mainly for its recognition as an important constituent of quality of life. Several studies have investigated the cognitive and behavioural characteristics of inhabitants or the physical and social characteristics of residential environments to understand and evaluate residential satisfaction. However, only a small number of researchers have structured these variables into models to study and analyse the relationships among them. This paper reviews residential satisfaction through the primary models used to study residential satisfaction in order to critique their strengths and weaknesses. The majority of the models discussed in this paper employ subjective and objective attributes to evaluate residential satisfaction. The paper also points out that researchers should clearly define the physical limits of proposed models and the relationships between residents and their residential environments when developing a residential satisfaction model to avoid conceptual ambiguity. The findings of this paper could contribute to a conceptual and theoretical framework of current research on residential satisfaction, as well as providing suggestions for using models in practice and recommendations for future research.