Garcia-Mira, R., C. Arce & J.M. Sabucedo, 1997, Perceived quality of neighbourhoods in a city in northwest Spain: an individual differences scaling approac, in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, 17,
- Author : Garcia-Mira, R., C. Arce & J.M. Sabucedo
- Year : 1997
- Journal/Series : Journal of Environmental Psychology
- Volume Number (CONSECUTIVE: Counting all Volumes of this Journal ever published) : 17
- Pages : 243-252
- Abstract in English : The designers and administrators of cities are naturally interested in things which make people happy or unhappy about the places in which they live. However, objective analysis of an individual’s conception of the quality of his environment is clearly a difficult task. This paper reports a method to investigate perceived quality of neighbourhoods in a Coruna. The results of the present study indicate that the most important factor affecting perception of neighbourhood quality is perceived social status; furthermore: quality of planning and maintenance, and the associated factor of safety. The Third most important dimension can be considered to represent spaciousness. Op particular interest is the finding that the factors contributing to the preferences of architects and town planning professionals clearly differ from those affecting the preferences of residents. This finding has important implications for environmental design. Public participation in the process of urban design should be viewed not simply as an exercise in grass-roots democracy, but as a necessary step with clearly beneficial results. The results of this study illustrate the value of individual differences scaling for identification of the environmental characteristics affecting perceived neighbourhood quality.
- Comments/Notes : KEYWORDS: Quality: neighbourhoods, differences