IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v12y2023i4p878-d1122372.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do We Live Where It Is Pleasant? Correlates of Perceived Pleasantness with Socioeconomic Variables

Author

Listed:
  • João Monteiro

    (Research Center for Territory, Transports and Environment (CITTA), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • Ana Clara Carrilho

    (Department of Transportation and Geotechnical Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil)

  • Nuno Sousa

    (Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers of Coimbra (INESCC), 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal
    Department of Sciences and Technology, Universidade Aberta, 1250-100 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Leise Kelli de Oliveira

    (Department of Transportation and Geotechnical Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil)

  • Eduardo Natividade-Jesus

    (Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers of Coimbra (INESCC), 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal
    Department of Civil Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, 3045-093 Coimbra, Portugal)

  • João Coutinho-Rodrigues

    (Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers of Coimbra (INESCC), 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal
    Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3004-531 Coimbra, Portugal)

Abstract

Living in urban areas is the wish of many people. However, with population growth in those areas, quality of life has become a concerning element for achieving sustainable cities. Because quality of life is influenced by the built environment, the state of the latter is a fundamental issue for public policies. This research expands on previous research on the perceived pleasantness of built environments by presenting a large-scale case study of the urban layout pleasantness in the central area of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, a typical global south city, and correlating pleasantness scores with socioeconomic factors to understand whether people do in fact live where the urban layout is more pleasant and how pleasantness and socioeconomic factors relate and contribute to one’s choice of living location. A comparison with the city of Coimbra, Portugal, representative of the global north, was also carried out. The findings showed that pleasantness tended to correlate negatively with urban density and positively with income. Possible explanations for these results and their generality are advanced.

Suggested Citation

  • João Monteiro & Ana Clara Carrilho & Nuno Sousa & Leise Kelli de Oliveira & Eduardo Natividade-Jesus & João Coutinho-Rodrigues, 2023. "Do We Live Where It Is Pleasant? Correlates of Perceived Pleasantness with Socioeconomic Variables," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:878-:d:1122372
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/878/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/4/878/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. D. Walton & S. Murray & J. Thomas, 2008. "Relationships Between Population Density and the Perceived Quality of Neighbourhood," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 405-420, December.
    2. Shuangjin LI & Shuang Ma & De Tong & Zimu Jia & Pai Li & Ying Long, 2022. "Associations between the quality of street space and the attributes of the built environment using large volumes of street view pictures," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(4), pages 1197-1211, May.
    3. Victoria Cramer & Svenn Torgersen & Einar Kringlen, 2004. "Quality of Life in a City: The Effect of Population Density," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 69(1), pages 103-116, October.
    4. Helen XH Bao & Johan P Larsson & Vivien Wong, 2021. "Light at the end of the tunnel:The impacts of expected major transport improvements on residential property prices," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(14), pages 2971-2990, November.
    5. So-Hyun Park & Jun-Hyung Kim & Yee-Myung Choi & Han-Lim Seo, 2013. "Design elements to improve pleasantness, vitality, safety, and complexity of the pedestrian environment: evidence from a Korean neighbourhood walkability case study," International Journal of Urban Sciences, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 142-160, March.
    6. Omar Fassio & Chiara Rollero & Norma Piccoli, 2013. "Health, Quality of Life and Population Density: A Preliminary Study on “Contextualized” Quality of Life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 479-488, January.
    7. Handy, Susan L, 2002. "Accessibility- vs. Mobility-Enhancing Strategies for Addressing Automobile Dependence in the U.S," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt5kn4s4pb, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    8. Anqi Zhang & Weifeng Li & Jiayu Wu & Jian Lin & Jianqun Chu & Chang Xia, 2021. "How can the urban landscape affect urban vitality at the street block level? A case study of 15 metropolises in China," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 48(5), pages 1245-1262, June.
    9. Nij Tontisirin & Sutee Anantsuksomsri, 2021. "Measuring transit accessibility benefits and their implications on land value capture: a case study of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 67(2), pages 415-449, October.
    10. Erlis Saputra & Inge Satna Ariyanto & Rizki Adriadi Ghiffari & Moh Syahrul Irfan Fahmi, 2021. "Land Value in a Disaster-Prone Urbanized Coastal Area: A Case Study from Semarang City, Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Seongkyun Cho & Keechoo Choi & Yongju Yi, 2022. "Proactive and Sustainable Transport Investment Strategies to Balance the Variance of Land Use and House Prices: A Korean Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, October.
    12. Talat Munshi, 2020. "Accessibility, Infrastructure Provision and Residential Land Value: Modelling the Relation Using Geographic Weighted Regression in the City of Rajkot, India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-16, October.
    13. João Monteiro & Nuno Sousa & Eduardo Natividade-Jesus & João Coutinho-Rodrigues, 2022. "Benchmarking City Layouts—A Methodological Approach and an Accessibility Comparison between a Real City and the Garden City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, April.
    14. Feng Hu & Wei Liu & Junyu Lu & Chengpeng Song & Yuan Meng & Jun Wang & Hanfa Xing, 2020. "Urban Function as a New Perspective for Adaptive Street Quality Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    15. Amy Soon & Consilz Tan, 2019. "An analysis on housing affordability in Malaysian housing markets and the home buyers’ preference," International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(3), pages 375-392, August.
    16. John M. Clapp & Jeffrey P. Cohen & Thies Lindenthal, 2023. "Are Estimates of Rapid Growth in Urban Land Values an Artifact of the Land Residual Model?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 373-421, February.
    17. Liqin Zhang & Huhua Cao & Ruibo Han, 2021. "Residents’ Preferences and Perceptions toward Green Open Spaces in an Urban Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-23, February.
    18. repec:eme:ijhma0:ijhma-01-2019-0009 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Kyung-Young Lee, 2021. "Factors Influencing Urban Livability in Seoul, Korea: Urban Environmental Satisfaction and Neighborhood Relations," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, April.
    20. Yijing Wang & Sisi Zlatanova & Jinjin Yan & Ziqiao Huang & Yuning Cheng, 2021. "Exploring the relationship between spatial morphology characteristics and scenic beauty preference of landscape open space unit by using point cloud data," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 48(7), pages 1822-1840, September.
    21. Izutsu, Takashi & Tsutsumi, Atsuro & Islam, Akramul Md. & Kato, Seika & Wakai, Susumu & Kurita, Hiroshi, 2006. "Mental health, quality of life, and nutritional status of adolescents in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Comparison between an urban slum and a non-slum area," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 1477-1488, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. João Monteiro & Nuno Sousa & João Coutinho-Rodrigues & Eduardo Natividade-Jesus, 2024. "Challenges Ahead for Sustainable Cities: An Urban Form and Transport System Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-26, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Talita Greyling & Stephanié Rossouw, 2017. "Non-Economic Quality of Life and Population Density in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 1051-1075, December.
    2. Meryem Hayir-Kanat & Jürgen Breuste, 2019. "Which Natural Areas are Preferred for Recreation? An Investigation of the Most Popular Natural Resting Types for Istanbul," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Omar Fassio & Chiara Rollero & Norma Piccoli, 2013. "Health, Quality of Life and Population Density: A Preliminary Study on “Contextualized” Quality of Life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 479-488, January.
    4. Chun-Hao Li & Ming-Chang Tsai, 2014. "Is the Easy Life Always the Happiest? Examining the Association of Convenience and Well-Being in Taiwan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 673-688, July.
    5. Katharina Schley, 2018. "Health care service provision in Europe and regional diversity: a stochastic metafrontier approach," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Gonzalo Ríos-Vásquez & Hanns de la Fuente-Mella, 2023. "Mathematical Analysis and Modeling of the Factors That Determine the Quality of Life in the City Councils of Chile," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-31, March.
    7. Nuno Sousa & João Monteiro & Eduardo Natividade-Jesus & João Coutinho-Rodrigues, 2023. "The impact of geometric and land use elements on the perceived pleasantness of urban layouts," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(3), pages 740-756, March.
    8. Ferrara, Antonella Rita & Dijkstra, Lewis & McCann, Philip & Nisticó, Rosanna, 2022. "The response of regional well-being to place-based policy interventions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    9. Michèle Baumann & Kénora Chau & Bernard Kabuth & Nearkasen Chau, 2014. "Association Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Being an Immigrant Among Adolescents, and the Role of Socioeconomic and Health-Related Difficulties," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, January.
    10. Wenshi Yang & Fan Chen & Qianqian Wei & Zhenwei Peng, 2024. "Relationships between Resident Activities and Physical Space in Shrinking Cities in China—The Case of Chaoyang City," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, April.
    11. Soo Tan & Siok Tambyah & Ah Kau, 2006. "The Influence of Value Orientations and Demographics on Quality-of-Life Perceptions: Evidence from a National Survey of Singaporeans," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 78(1), pages 33-59, August.
    12. Pierre-André Jouvet & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2010. "Longevity and environmental quality in an OLG model," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 100(3), pages 191-216, July.
    13. Anahita Ali & Santosh Kumar, 2023. "Mediating Effect of Challenges on Demographics and Coping Strategies of Indian Healthcare Workers during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-14, March.
    14. Ana Gil Solá & Bertil Vilhelmson, 2018. "Negotiating Proximity in Sustainable Urban Planning: A Swedish Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, December.
    15. Mizuki Kawabata, 2009. "Spatiotemporal Dimensions of Modal Accessibility Disparity in Boston and San Francisco," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(1), pages 183-198, January.
    16. Jingpeng Duan & Jianjun Liao & Jing Liu & Xiaoxuan Gao & Ailin Shang & Zhihuan Huang, 2023. "Evaluating the Spatial Quality of Urban Living Streets: A Case Study of Hengyang City in Central South China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, July.
    17. Zhonghua Gou & Xiaohuan Xie & Yi Lu & Maryam Khoshbakht, 2018. "Quality of Life (QoL) Survey in Hong Kong: Understanding the Importance of Housing Environment and Needs of Residents from Different Housing Sectors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    18. Jin, Scarlett T. & Sui, Daniel Z., 2024. "A comparative analysis of the spatial determinants of e-bike and e-scooter sharing link flows," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    19. Lucia Petrikovičová & Victoria Kurilenko & Amantius Akimjak & Beáta Akimjaková & Peter Majda & Anton Ďatelinka & Yulia Biryukova & Ľubomír Hlad & Peter Kondrla & Daliborka Maryanovich & Lyubov Ippolit, 2022. "Is the Size of the City Important for the Quality of Urban Life? Comparison of a Small and a Large City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-17, November.
    20. Mondschein, Andrew & Taylor, Brian D & Brumbaugh, Stephen, 2010. "Congestion And Accessibility: What’S The Relationship?," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt8135b0jh, University of California Transportation Center.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:878-:d:1122372. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.