City versus suburb : the effects of neighborhood location on place attachment and residential satisfaction

Abstract

Affective bonds of individuals to their environment have been investigated and certain terms were studied such as place attachment and residential satisfaction arousing interest especially in environmental psychology. The current study aims to investigate the effects of neighborhood location on place attachment and residential satisfaction. We examined place attachment by conducting a survey comparing two neighborhoods; Ayrancı in the city center, the other Çayyolu, far away from the city center. We also investigated residential satisfaction in these neighborhoods by examining their physical and social features as a measure of residential quality. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between place attachment and residential satisfaction. One hundred thirty-five respondents participated in this research by using snowball sampling. The results of the study implied that there is no difference in terms of neighborhood location between the residents’ level of place attachment. However, there is a difference between two neighborhoods in terms of the level of residential satisfaction. Moreover, in line with the literature, there is a correlation between place attachment and residential satisfaction.