Social Factors and Residential Satisfaction under Urban Renewal Background: A Comparative Case Study in Chongqing, China

Abstract

This study measured the residential satisfaction of residents in six urban renewal projects in Chongqing, China with the aim of determining which social factors should be prioritized during urban renewal. Based on an analysis of 1,086 responses to a questionnaire survey conducted among residents at different stages of the urban renewal process, multilevel linear models were used to examine the determinants of residential satisfaction after urban renewal; model results showed that 49 predictor variables explained 32.29% of residential satisfaction values in the hierarchical regression latent models. Two findings from the empirical analysis are: (1) “Social networks and social protections” represented the strongest predictor of residential satisfaction, followed in order of strength by “social reciprocity and trust,” “community participation and accessibility,” and “sense of community and community cohesion”; and (2) keeping all five social factors balanced is essential for urban renewal projects, since having only one or two strong social factors will not contribute to higher residential satisfaction if the other factors are weak. Urban renewal studies of this kind are essential for monitoring trends in residential satisfaction.