CSS members Stefanie Kley and Tetiana Dovbishchuk conducted research on the impact of various forms of green space in the residential environment.Greening cities or getting out into the countryside?

13 June 2022, by CSS

Photo: Unsplash (Nerea Martí Sesarino)

CSS members Stefanie Kley and Tetiana Dovbishchuk published a paper in the journal Sustainability. The paper investigates whether various forms of green spaces in the residential environment are associated with city dwellers’ life satisfaction and their willingness to relocate. Previous research on different forms of green spaces in the residential environment as a direct source of life satisfaction is scarce, and we know little about whether green spaces affect the decision to relocate. The authors address these topics with a two-equation model that estimates respondents’ considerations to relocate while accounting for life satisfaction. With this strategy, the authors are able to test which aspects of residential greenery (window view, green environment, green yard, own garden, and balcony) are associated with one or both outcomes, controlling for life-course events and demographic characteristics. The data come from a primary survey conducted in two large German cities, Cologne and Hamburg, in 2020/21. The results show that not having green elements in the window view, not having a green yard, and—exclusively for parents—not having a garden increase the likelihood of considering residential relocation. Not having a balcony and not having a garden are directly associated with decreased life satisfaction, and decreased life satisfaction triggers the willingness to relocate.

You can find the paper here.

You can also read a guest article in the Hamburger Abendblatt by Tetiana Dovbishchuk here.