What is on the ground in a city linked inequality in life satisfaction

Cities which have a balance between facilities, housing and natural green spaces have lower levels of socio-economic inequality in the life satisfaction of its residents, according to new research. ‌ In a European-wide study, led by the University of Glasgow MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit and published today in Social Science & Medicine, scientists found links between urban design and levels of inequality in life satisfaction. The study looked at 66 cities across Europe and found that life satisfaction of their residents varied a great deal. Residents of Zurich reported the most satisfaction and the residents of Athens the least. The study looked at the city environment, including how much green space the city had, how much of the city was tarmacked and how much dense housing there was. Cities with an even distribution of facilities, housing and green space were linked with lower levels of inequality between residents' life satisfaction levels, suggesting that more equal access to a range of facilities and types of land may help reduce the gap in life satisfaction between the most economically-deprived and most affluent residents of a city. The study also found that there was a strong link between higher life satisfaction and living in cities with homes surrounded by natural green space.