《How does growing city size affect residents’ happiness in urban China? A case study of the Bohai rim area》

打印
作者
Yunxiao Dang;Li Chen;Wenzhong Zhang;Dan Zheng;Dongsheng Zhan
来源
HABITAT INTERNATIONAL,Vol.97,P.102120
语言
英文
关键字
City size;Happiness;Satisfaction;Income;Bohai rim area;China
作者单位
Land and Urban-Rural Development Research Institute, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China;College of Applied Arts and Science, Beijing Union University, Beijing, 100191, PR China;Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, PR China;School of Economics and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, PR China;College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310023, PR China;Land and Urban-Rural Development Research Institute, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, 310018, PR China;College of Applied Arts and Science, Beijing Union University, Beijing, 100191, PR China;Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, PR China;School of Economics and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, PR China;College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310023, PR China
摘要
In China, rapid and extensive urbanization has brought not only benefits due to urban agglomeration but also various urban problems; both affect residents' happiness. Previous studies have emphasized the direct impacts of growing city size on happiness, and few have addressed the indirect effects of city size on happiness through subjective evaluations in developing countries. Based on an extensive questionnaire survey conducted in 44 cities in the Bohai rim area in 2014, this paper establishes a theoretical framework to explore both the direct and indirect effects of city size on residents' happiness by applying subjective measurements in urban China. City size is found to have a nonlinear correlation with happiness. Individual satisfaction with both urban life and income mediate the relationship between urban objective attributes and happiness. House price has a positive impact on urban satisfaction, while the influences of haze pollution and traffic congestion are negative. Income positively affects happiness at the individual level. However, the city-level average wage has little relationship with happiness. These findings provide insights for deeply improving citizens’ quality of life under rapid urbanization and designing urban construction in developing countries.