Householder Satisfaction in Apartment Block Neighborhoods: Case of Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

In Turkey, the satisfaction of households with their neighborhoods has never been an explicit concern of policymakers. Multistory apartment buildings dominate the urban environment, and they lack, in most cases, any significant social and physical infrastructure. This has raised questions of how the neighborhood satisfaction of households can be measured and understood. This study investigates the neighborhood satisfaction of households in apartment buildings in the case of urban Ankara. The Ankara Survey reveals that households are mostly satisfied (68%) with their neighborhoods, while the results of a multivariate analysis pinpoint locational concerns are the leading factor in neighborhood satisfaction in Ankara, with no socioeconomic factors emerging as significant. Among the sociodemographic variables, only tenure displays significant results. The study concludes that the dual consumption/investment role of housing for owner-occupiers differentiates their satisfaction levels. Furthermore, where environs and dwellings offer similar spatial attributes to both tenants and owner-occupiers, the households’ individual perceptions become a more determining factor.