Sara Manca

Perceived Residential Environment Quality Indicators and neighborhood attachment: A confirmation study on a Chinese sample in Chongqing.

This paper concerns peoples assessment of their neighborhood of residence in a Chinese urban context. The aim of the study was to verify the factorial structure and the reliability of two instruments originally developed and validated in Italy (the full versions of the Perceived Residential Environment Quality Indicators [PREQIs] and of the Neighborhood Attachment Scale [NAS]) in a different cultural and linguistic context. The instruments consist of 11 scales measuring the PREQIs and one scale measuring neighborhood attachment (NA). The PREQIs scales include items covering four macroevaluative domains of residential environment quality: architectural and urban planning aspects (three scales: Architectural and Town-planning Space, Organization of Accessibility and Roads, Green Areas), sociorelational aspects (one scale: People and Social Relations), functional aspects (four scales: Welfare Services, Recreational Services, Commercial Services, and Transport Services), and contextual aspects (three scales: Pace of Life, Environmental Health, Upkeep and Care). The PREQIs and NAS were included in a self-report questionnaire, which had been translated and back-translated from English to Chinese, and was then administered to 340 residents in six districts (differing along various features) of a highly urbanized context in China, the city of Chongqing. Results confirmed the factorial structure of the scales and demonstrated good internal consistency of the indicators, thus reaffirming the results of previous studies carried out in Western urban contexts. The indicators tapping the neighborhoods contextual aspects (i.e., pace of life, environmental health, and upkeep) emerged as most correlated to NA.

Healthy Residential Environments for the Elderly

This chapter focuses on the role of the spatial-physical dimensions of the residential environment in influencing the psychological wellbeing and the overall quality of life of the elderly population.

Visitors’ satisfaction and perceived affective qualities towards museums: the impact of recreational areas

This study investigates the role played by environmental factors on users’ evaluation of a museum visit. An empirical research was carried out to detect visitors’ satisfaction and assessment of museum experience, with a special focus onto its recreational areas (i.e., gift shop and restaurant/cafeteria). A sample of 160 visitors of two museums of Rome (50% Italians and 50% English mother tongue) completed a questionnaire including scales on affective qualities of places (Russell & Pratt, 1980), satisfaction towards the visit, and motives for the visit. Results showed the relevance of recreational areas, especially the gift shop, in facilitating the creation of a positive relationship between the visitor and the museum environment. Users’ assessment was also associated to differences in visitors’ mother tongue, age, educational level and motives underlying the visit.