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Retrospective and prospective evaluations of environmental quality under urban renewal as determinants of residents’ subjective quality of life

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Abstract

Claims about the impacts of environmental quality associated with urban renewal on the resident’s subjective quality of life are more speculative than empirically grounded. To clarify the impacts of environmental quality under urban renewal, this study surveyed 876 residents living in housing surrounding seven urban renewal sites in Hong Kong. It shows that environmental quality, both perceived (retrospectively) during and expected (prospectively) after urban renewal, exhibited positive effects on the resident’s subjective quality of life. Furthermore, it reveals that the subjective quality of life of the resident with higher education was less responsive to environmental quality perceived during urban renewal. The findings imply that more measures to mitigate the adverse social impact of urban renewal are preferably available to residents with less education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, HKSAR, China

    Chau-kiu Cheung & Kwan-kwok Leung

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  1. Chau-kiu Cheung
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  2. Kwan-kwok Leung
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Correspondence to Chau-kiu Cheung.

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Cheung, Ck., Leung, Kk. Retrospective and prospective evaluations of environmental quality under urban renewal as determinants of residents’ subjective quality of life. Soc Indic Res 85, 223–241 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9088-4

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