User Satisfaction with Housing and the Residential Environment in Van, Türkiye: An Empirical Assessment from the Perspective of Sustainable Urban Living
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53463/ecopers.20260491Keywords:
Residential Satisfaction, Neighbourhood Satisfaction, Post-Disaster Housing, Post-Occupancy Evaluation, VanAbstract
This study examines user satisfaction with housing and the housing environment in Van, a city that underwent rapid post-disaster reconstruction following the 2011 earthquakes and the enactment of Law No. 6306 (Bozdağ & İNAM, 2021). Adopting a multiscale framework, the study conceptualises residential satisfaction as a multidimensional construct comprising interconnected yet analytically distinguishable levels: the dwelling unit, the neighbourhood, and the urban living environment. Since satisfaction cannot be adequately captured through a single global question, it is assessed through its constituent dimensions. Accordingly, the research employs a mixed-methods field design to evaluate satisfaction simultaneously in relation to the spatial and structural characteristics of dwelling units, the social and physical components of the housing environment, and the quality of urban services and the broader environment. The study’s principal contribution lies in extending the analysis beyond the demand side by incorporating the assessments of supply-side actors, specifically real-estate agents and contractors. Theoretically, it brings together housing-deficit theory (Abidin et al., 2019), the satisfaction-bundle model (Mohit et al., 2009), multilevel evaluation approaches, and the post-occupancy evaluation literature within the context of post-disaster housing. In doing so, it positions user satisfaction as a fundamental component of sustainable urban development. The findings indicate that satisfaction varies across dwelling units and exhibits more pronounced differentiation at the neighbourhood and urban living environment levels. They further demonstrate that the experience of disaster has reshaped housing-acquisition priorities around structural safety and has challenged institutional trust in the standardised mass-housing typology produced by the state. These findings underscore the need to integrate user knowledge systematically into planning and housing-production cycles in post-disaster reconstruction processes.
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