Perceptions, Determinants and Residential Satisfaction from Urban Open Spaces

摘要

Quality of life as a cross-disciplinary term is explored by the sciences of urban planning and design, geography, and social sciences. The present paper : 1 ) investigates the factors of satisfaction of visitors to the urban open space ; 2 ) highlights complex patterns of residents’ satisfaction from the contribution of a bioclimatic renovation project in this area. For the needs of the present, field research was conducted on the residents of a medium-sized Greek city. The urban open space chosen presents a multi-functional character, consists pole of attraction for visitors based on the variety of its uses, and encompasses a special cultural and historical identity. The methodological approach is initially based on a multi-criteria analysis (Factor Analysis) to capture the characteristics that shape the disadvantages and dynamics of urban open space in order to obtain the factors of residential satisfaction. Based on the evaluation of the satisfaction factors (Principal Components), a hierarchical classification was applied, exploring the main patterns of residential satisfaction regarding the contribution of the bioclimatic regeneration project. The findings show that residents’ satisfaction with urban open space is a function of five factors: the overall operation of the open space, the quality of leisure facilities, the contribution of the bioclimatic design of large scale project, the suitability of infrastructure for children and respect for the cultural identity of the place. The satisfaction based on the acceptance of the project of bioclimatic regeneration showed that only one in four residents is satisfied with the overall contribution of the project, while the vast majority of residents are nonetheless dissatisfied. Finally, there emerge six profiles of residents, in terms of their degree of satisfaction compared to the other interpretive variables.