Abstract
The effects of neighborhood environments on satisfaction with the neighborhood among Japanese were investigated. Multilevel analyses were used to predict the effects of individual-level evaluations of neighborhood environments including social cohesion, neighborhood disorder, and perceived crime victimization, as well as community-level evaluations that aggregated survey responses for neighborhoods (cho-chomoku). Data were obtained from a probability sample survey of 4,676 men and women aged 25 years and older living in 30 municipalities of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures of Japan. The results indicated the following. (1) At the individual-level evaluation of neighborhoods, respondents perceiving high social cohesion showed significantly higher satisfaction with the neighborhood. At the community-level, high aggregate social cohesion was associated with higher levels satisfaction with neighborhood. (2) At the individual-level evaluation of neighborhoods, respondents perceiving high neighborhood disorder showed lower satisfaction with neighborhoods. A significant cross-level interaction effect between individual and community-level evaluation of neighborhood disorder was observed, suggesting that effect of individual-level evaluation on satisfaction was greater for neighborhoods with higher disorder. (3) At the community-level, high aggregate perceived crime victimization was associated with lower levels satisfaction with neighborhood.
