Across the city boundaries: Exploring the impact of neighborhood environment on intercity commuters’ life satisfaction

Abstract

The relationship between the neighborhood environment and life satisfaction has long been studied. However, few studies have examined the association between intercity commuters who reside and work in different urban areas. This paper identifies how physical and social environmental elements affect life satisfaction through residential, travel, and leisure satisfaction using data collected among intercity commuters within the Great Bay Area in China. The results suggest that high density and mixture level in the neighborhood are positively related to their daily experience with residence and travel, but the higher density in workplace negatively influents residential satisfaction. Social environment is of great significance to intercity commuters. Life domain satisfaction (including travel, leisure, and residential satisfaction) mediates the relationship between the neighborhood environment and life satisfaction. Travel and leisure satisfaction affect residential satisfaction, which in turn affect life satisfaction. Although travelling across city boundaries is part of intercity commuters’ daily practice, neighborhood environment still plays an important role in shaping their life domain, and further contribute to overall satisfaction.