Volume 3, ISSUE1/2012 - Review of Applied Socio-Economic ...

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ISSN: 2247-6172
ISSN-L: 2247-6172
Review of Applied Socio- Economic Research
(Volume 3, Issue 1/ 2012 ), pp.161
URL: http://www.reaser.eu
e-mail: editors@reaser.eu
5. Conclusions
In this paper we presented results obtained from the analysis of neighborhoods ranking in the
metropolitan areas from the US with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Using data from the American
Housing Survey for the year 2000, we estimate an ordered logit model to explain the neighborhood
quality adjustments in the American metropolitan areas and what are the factors that contribute to the
household residential satisfaction. Results show that the neighborhood subjective evaluation varies with
the householder income, sex, age, number of family members and residential location with respect to the
city center, whereas the objective evaluation is explained by the presence of neighborhood amenities
such as green areas and parks, shopping malls, access roads and public transport, medical services,
noisy levels and criminality.
Aesthetic factors contribute to the residential satisfaction as well: the presence of parking lots, the
existence of abandoned buildings or airports. Household characteristics as the number of household
members and their activities, dwelling characteristics such as the year it was built and the quality of the
surrounding environment defined by the presence of shops, access links to the city center, recreational
facilities, low levels of noise, green spaces and the type of surrounding buildings are significant
attributes that influence the ranking of neighborhoods. Their impact on mobility and location of
dwellings is relevant; it can be measured with the scope to obtain reliable recommendations and plan the
community development using efficient methods of public policy and social welfare planning.
6. References
[1] Bayer P., and McMillan R. (2005): “Racial sorting and neighborhood quality,” NBER working paper no. 11813,
December 2005.
[2] Greene W. H., 2009: Econometric Analysis (seventh edition), Prentice Hall, 2009, 736-740.
[3] Greenberg M., Schneider D., and D. Choi (1994): “Neighborhood quality,” Geographical Review, 84(1), p. 1-15.
[4] Kotler P., Haider D., and I. Rein (1993): Marketing places: attracting investment, industry, and tourism to cities,
states and nations. The Free Press – a division of Simon and Schuster, New York NY.
[5] Lu M. (1999): “Residential satisfaction: Ordered logit versus regression models,” Growth and Change, 30(264-
287).
[6] MINNESOTA POPULATION CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTAIPUMS-USA,
http://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/2000pumas.shtml
[7] Rabe, B. & Taylor M. (2010): “Residential mobility, neighborhood quality and life-course events,” Journal of the
Royal Statistical Society Series A Statistics in Society, 173(3), p.531-555.
[8] United States Bureau of the Census, American Community Survey (2003): Public Use Microdata Samples,
Operation Plan, United States Bureau of Census.