Is compact city livable? The impact of compact versus sprawled neighbourhoods on neighbourhood satisfaction

• Published in: Urban studies (Edinburgh, Scotland) Vol. 55; no. 11; pp. 2408 - 2430
• Main Author: Mouratidis, Kostas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England Sage Publications, Ltd 01.08.2018; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Access; Accessibility; Cities; Community satisfaction; Density; Land use; Measurement methods; Metropolitan areas; Neighborhoods; Population density; Public lands; Public transportation; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative research; Quality of life; Regression analysis; Residential density; Residents; Satisfaction; Smart growth; Sociodemographics; Urban areas; Urban growth; Urban planning; Urban sprawl; Urbanization; 紧凑型城市; population density; urban sprawl; 人口密度; 可持续性; compact city; livability; 城市蔓延; sustainability; 宜居性
• ISSN: 0042-0980; 1360-063X
• DOI: 10.1177/0042098017729109

Low-density urban forms are often considered more livable than compact ones. Yet, studies investigating the relationship between compact cities and livability do not take into consideration the importance of public transport, accessibility and mix of land uses along with high densities. Moreover, direct comparisons of livability between the compact city and its alternative, urban sprawl, are scarce, and even more so in a European context. Investigating the metropolitan area of Oslo, which encompasses both compact and sprawled areas, this study examines the impact of the compact city on livability by employing neighbourhood satisfaction as a livability measure. Three different methods are used: cross-sectional regression analysis, longitudinal comparisons and qualitative analysis. Cross-sectional results indicate that compact-city residents are significantly more satisfied with their neighbourhood than those who live in sprawled neighbourhoods, even after controlling for sociodemographic and other variables. Longitudinal analysis based on residents who have lived in both neighbourhood types confirms this finding. This study also examines the impact of compactness within a wider range of urban form typologies and finds that the higher the density, the higher the neighbourhood satisfaction. Important components of the compact city – public transport, accessibility to city centre and land use mix – demonstrate a positive association with neighbourhood satisfaction. Findings from this study suggest that, when common urban problems are addressed, and when planned to integrate all its essential characteristics, the compact city has a positive influence on livability. 低密度城市形式通常被认为比紧凑城市更宜居。然而，考察紧凑型城市与宜居性之间关系的研究并没有在高密度之外考虑公共交通、通达性和混合土地利用的重要性。此外，直接比较紧凑型城市与其替代模式即城市蔓延之宜居性的文献稀缺，在欧洲的情况中更是如此。本研究考察了奥斯陆的大都市区（包括紧凑型和蔓延型的地区）；我们以居住区满意度为宜居指标，研究了紧凑型城市对宜居性的影响。我们使用了三种不同的方法：横断面回归分析、纵向比较和定性分析。横截面分析结果表明，即使在假定社会人口学变量和其他变量不变的情况下，紧凑型城市居民也比居住在蔓延型居住区的居民更加满意。我们对曾在这两种居住区都住过的居民做了纵向分析，结果证实了上述发现。本研究还在更广泛的城市形式类型中考察了紧凑性的影响，发现密度越高，居住区满意度越高。公共交通、城市中心通达性和土地混合利用是紧凑型城市的重要组成部分，都与居住区满意度呈正相关。这项研究的结果表明，在应对共同的城市问题以及规划整合城市问题的所有本质特征时，紧凑型城市对宜居性有积极的影响。