Identification of factors that assure quality of residential environments, and their influence on place attachment in tropical and insular context, the case of Reunion Island

《Identification of factors that assure quality of residential environments, and their influence on place attachment in tropical and insular context, the case of Reunion Island》

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作者: Junot, Amandine

来源: JOURNAL OF HOUSING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT,Vol.37,Issue3,P.

语言: 英文

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摘要: Environmental quality and place attachment are increasingly gaining attention of researchers and urban planners due to its usefulness in monitoring urban policies. However, little research has explored these concepts in the context of insular society and tropical islands, even though these contexts present some geographical, demographical, cultural and identity specificities. This study is an attempt to develop a method to measure environmental quality and determine factors to create neighborhood attachment in Reunion Island, a French and Tropical Island in Indian Ocean, with creole identity. Exploratory, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to explore the structure of environmental quality and relationship with neighborhood attachment. Data were collected from 348 participants across the island. Twelve principal environmental quality factors were identified (security, housing features, outdoor lifestyle, natural environment, social network, architectural quality, amenity, transports conditions, neighborhood maintenance, neighborhood design, governance and cost of life) and the second order structure of environmental quality was established. In addition, the result revealed that environmental quality was strongly related to neighborhood attachment. This study allows to identify significant elements of environmental quality in an insular and tropical island and those involved in neighborhood attachment. The need for design and planning with the user’s perspective was highlighted to improve environmental quality and neighborhood attachment in Reunion Island and more broadly in insular tropical contexts.