Impact of the built environment and perceived neighborhood characteristics on residents’satisfaction： Evidence from the Shanghai suburbs

With human-centered development as the key principle of urban development in China, urban studies and urban planning are paying more attention to the construction of urban living space and the improvement of residents’ life quality, and the importance of research on residents’ neighborhood satisfaction is increasing. Under the background of rapid suburbanization and the construction of community life circle, this study used primary data on residents’ daily activities and travel behaviors from 10 towns in the Shanghai suburbs to empirically investigate residents’ neighborhood satisfaction. We constructed a theoretical model based on Campbell’s Model, and then examined the interactions between neighborhood built environment, perceived neighborhood characteristics, and residents’ neighborhood satisfaction by combining subjective and objective assessments. A structural equation model was used to verify the impact pathways and mechanisms. The results show that perceived neighborhood characteristics have direct and decisive influences on residents’ neighborhood satisfaction, and residents’ perceptions on the neighborhood situation of health, convenience, safety, and appearance all have significant positive impacts on residents’ satisfaction. Factors of the built environment such as density, accessibility, and facility situation impact residents’ satisfaction indirectly through perceived neighborhood characteristics. Residents’ socioeconomic characteristics have little influence on their neighborhood satisfaction, and the main influencing factors of residents’ satisfaction are neighborhood characteristics.