Relation residential satisfaction - community facilities

The focus of this study was the acceptance of community facilities and residential satisfaction in three residential complexes of subsidized housing.

The aim of the study was to find out whether and how residential satisfaction is influenced by the utilisation and the assessment of community facilities, which effects they have on residential experience and which suggestions can be concluded from these findings for the design of community facilities. By comparison of the residential complexes, factors were identified, which can explain the differences in the acceptance respectively in the satisfaction with community facilities. The perspectives of representatives of the property managements were also included: which experiences have they made with the management of community facilities?

Advantages and disadvantages of different forms of management, access, cost calculation models, participation and design options shall be discussed and described from the perspectives of residents, experts, representatives of the property managments and on the basis of already existing studies concerning these issues.

Following residential complexes were chosen: the “Kabelwerk” in the 12th Viennese district, a building in the Wienerberg City (Familienwohnbau) in the 10th Viennese district and the residential complex Kaiser-Ebersdorfer-Straße 79/85 in the 11th Viennese district. The housings differ in their size, their construction method, their composition of residents, and partly in the forms of their community facilities.
Also, they possess different types of access, cost calculation and management systems for the community facilities. The residents’ move-in occurred in the last five years.

Methods

In the framework of this study, quantitative and qualitative empirical methods were used. On one hand, in all residential complexes the residents had access to an online survey (in one housing, due to a low return rate of answers, also a paper questionnaire was distributed), on the other hand, semi structured interviews were conducted with residents of all residential complexes, representatives of the property managements and with experts.

The return rates of the surveys were high. In the residential complex Kabelwerk, the return rate amounts to 43,4% (356 returned surveys), in the housing Kaiser-Ebersdorf 50% (125 returned surveys) and in the residential complex Wienerberg 49,5% (60 returned questionnaires).

The quantitative Data was analysed by the construction of indices, frequency analysis and correlations. The qualitative data was interpreted thematically.
Preceding the empirical phase studies and theories regarding residential satisfaction,
community facilities and innovative examples of community facilities were studied and
described.

Results of the study

The data of the online survey showed considerable differences between the residential complexes regarding the utilisation, the assessment and the subjective relevance of the community facilities as well as regarding the evaluation of diverse aspects of residential satisfaction. In the qualitative interviews some explanations could be found for the low acceptance of community facilities in one residential complex: lacking furniture, high costs, only few organised activities in the community facilities, no participation opportunities for the residents or a budget for the design or the furnishing of the facilities. The importance of the property management becomes apparent: especially in the initial move-in phase, it has to point out actively the utilisation and design opportunities of the community facilities to the residents and offer participative structures and a budget. The different social composition of the residents doesn’t seem to account for these findings: there were no correlations found with the utilisation intensity, the assessment or the relevance of community facilities. The most important influencing factors on the acceptance and utilisation of community facilities will now be presented.