Physical Environment, Socio-Psychological Health, and Residential Satisfaction: A Link across Housing Types in the Unique Chinese Context

Abstract

Housing plays a critical role in health and has real consequences on people’s wellbeing. Numerous studies have provided extensive insights into the housing–health–wellbeing association. However, in the Chinese context, the unique housing allocation system with institutional force may present a distinct picture from that based on international knowledge. Using sample data from housing surveys, this study employs statistical analysis and the Tobit model to explore the links between the physical environment, socio-psychological dispositions, and residential satisfaction at the neighborhood level across different housing types in the unique Chinese context. The analyses reveal that (1) residents’ socio-psychological dispositions and residential satisfaction vary remarkably across different housing types, with residents in replacement housing experiencing particularly low levels of residential satisfaction, presenting a regionalization trend; (2) housing types appear to have a significant effect on socio-psychological dispositions; and (3) physical environment characteristics in conjunction with socio-psychological dispositions significantly affect residential satisfaction. These findings suggest that social housing development should integrate socio-psychological initiatives with physical environment improvement, particularly for disadvantaged groups in public and replacement housing, to achieve more livable communities with better residential satisfaction and higher social resiliency and sustainability.