Microsoft Word - How does urban neighbourhoods matter
NJSR
NORDIC JOURNAL of
SOCIAL RESEARCH www.nordicjsr.net
NJSR – Nordic Journal of Social Research
Vol 11, 2020
How Do Urban Neighbourhoods Impact
Parents’ Subjective Well-being?
Jaana Poikolainen*
Youth Research and Development Centre Juvenia
South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences
Email: jaana.poikolainen@xamk.fi
*corresponding author
Kati Honkanen
The School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education
University of Eastern Finland,
Email: k.honkanen@dnainternet.net
Abstract
Introduction: In this paper, parents’ well-being is examined from their subjective
point of view of their living experiences in a certain residential area. The subjective
viewpoint is relevant as the focus of the research is interlinked with residential
areas.
Aims: The research aims to determine what meaning parents ascribe to their
residential area (suburb or city centre) as a space for physical, social and
psychological well-being. It also aims to discover whether there are qualitative
differences between the given meanings of parents living in different areas.
Methods: The data were acquired through semi-structured interviews with
parents who live in a suburb or the city centre of Lahti, Finland. Data analysis was
conducted using abductive thematic analysis.
Results: The results revealed that physical, social and psychological spaces
were experienced differently depending on the residential area in question. In
parents’ narration about the physical space, in both areas the basic services were
defined as valuable for well-being. Parents living in the suburb experienced the
natural environment as an important source of well-being. When talking about the
social space, the parents living in the suburb emphasised social networks and the
importance of building well-being bridges in their neighbourhood, unlike the city
dwellers. The psychological space was connected to the reputation and security
of the residential area. An important well-being factor for all parents was the well-
being of their children, with an emphasis on the safety of the residential area.
Discussion: Subjective assessments of neighbourhood attributes are more
important in explaining neighbourhood satisfaction than any perceived reputation.
Parents’ ways of thinking and acting in certain residential areas appear to tie in
with the social capital that forms social resources. Almost all parents who
participated in this research estimated their well-being as rather high, irrespective
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of their socioeconomic status, but the city centre residents rated their well-being
even higher.
Keywords: Parents, neighbourhood, subjective well-being, place, space
In this paper, well-being is examined from a subjective point of view based on
parents’ living experiences in a certain residential area. Parents often think
about their neighbourhood context through parenthood (Cuellar, Jones, &
Sterrett, 2015). Using a subjective viewpoint has proved to be relevant when
the focus of research is interlinked with residential areas and their meaning to
residents (Clark, 2009; Clark & Lisowski, 2018; Honkanen & Poikolainen, 2014;
Koistinen, Peura-Kapanen, Honkanen, & Poikolainen, 2017; Permentier, Bolt,
& van Ham, 2011). Well-being is often approached through risks, insecurities,
shortcomings and social problems, but a positive, empowering approach is also
needed. A positive notion of well-being is based on the strengths and
capabilities needed for human growth, especially when facing unpleasant
episodes (e.g., Clark & Lisowski, 2018; Luhmann, Hawkley, & Cacioppo, 2014;
Luhmann, Hofman, Eid, & Lucas, 2012).
Well-being is based on individual experiences (Kroll, 2011) and therefore
subjective well-being (SWB) indicators have been used in research in many
countries for decades (e.g., Pontin, Schwannauer, Tai, & Kinderman, 2013). In
these studies, the core idea is to study the respondents’ views on, for example,
life satisfaction and happiness. Variance can be explained by personal traits
and specific life circumstances such as employment, income and meaningful
social relationships, which are the factors that have been reported as scoring
highly when people feel positive about their well-being (Luhmann, Hawkley, &
Cacioppo, 2014). Background variables are supposed to correlate with
subjective well-being, and the statistical conclusions are drawn from these
correlations (Diener, Inglehart, & Tay, 2013; Pontin et al., 2013). However, there
is variance in such influences depending on individual differences and coping
strategies (Hofman, Eid & Lucas, 2012).
Well-being is experienced in certain neighbourhoods (Mellander, Florida, &
Stolaric, 2011) and where possible, parents decide where they live with their
children. A neighbourhood is a place where everyday life is lived with children
and therefore it is an important research context (Cuellar, Jones, & Sterrett,
2015). A deprived neighbourhood is supposed to lead to negative well-being
outcomes (Garvin et al., 2012). Parents experience their well-being uniquely
and also assign their own meanings to their residential area as a well-being
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environment (Koistinen et al., 2017). For example, parents attribute different
meanings to social resources in their neighbourhood context, and therefore it is
reasonable to examine such nuances (Coleman, 1988; Cuellar, Jones, &
Sterrett, 2015; Kleinhans, Priemus, & Engbersen, 2007). More research is
needed on the meaning of a residential area as a well-being environment.
Therefore, the research questions are the following: What kind of meanings do
parents ascribe to their residential area (suburb or city centre) as a physical,
social and psychological well-being space? Are there qualitative differences
between the given meanings of parents living in different areas?
Significance of the Residential Area as a Source of Well-
being
During recent years, research has pointed to the effects of the residential area
on well-being. It has been stated that geographical or political dimensions and
political decisions affect well-being (Bernini, Guizzardi, & Angelini, 2013). For
example, housing policy directs housing choices—where and how citizens live
(Rasinkangas, 2013). Of course, during the course of life different issues are
important such as income, health and family (e.g., Koistinen, et al., 2017;
Margolis & Myrskyla, 2013).
Suburbs and the lives of their inhabitants have been studied for a few decades
in Finland, but so far the research is scant. Often the focus has been on housing
preferences in the Helsinki metropolitan area (Kemppainen, Lönnqvist, &
Tuominen, 2014; Vilkama & Vaattovaara, 2015), place attachment (Koistinen et
al., 2017; Seppänen, 2012), social segregation (Rasinkangas, 2013) and the
spatial nature of urban well-being (Ala-Mantila, Heinonen, Junnila, & Saarsalmi,
2018). Lately, the experiences of the middle class living in socioeconomically
disadvantaged areas have been in focus in the Helsinki metropolitan area
(Vilkama & Vaattovaara, 2015). Our focus is also on disadvantaged areas, but
we concentrate more on the working class or parents who are not working at
the moment, and examine how they define the issues that are important to their
well-being.
Parents live in different physical, social and psychological spaces, and define
the contents and meanings of those according to their own preferences.
Parental well-being is shaped by a combination of spaces constructed in
different dimensions. The first dimension, physical space, consists of the
physical residential area and its services, the transportation network (Cuellar,
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Jones, & Sterrett, 2015) and the natural environment (Carter & Horwitz, 2014),
for example. The importance of green space usability to the well-being of
individuals and communities has been proved (Carter & Horwitz, 2014; Völker
& Kistemann, 2015), as have the health effects of water, or blue space (Völker
& Kistemann, 2015). Nearby nature appears to “buffer” the effect of a lack of
social connectedness on well-being (Cartwright, White, & Clitherow, 2018) and
the presence of nature in cities can support recovery from stress (Taylor, Hahs,
& Hochuli, 2017). The experiences of the physical environment affect well-
being; for example, unbuilt vacant land is seen as frightening and unattractive
(Garvin et al., 2012). Bell, Phoenix, Lovell, and Wheeler (2014) and Ala-Mantila,
Heinonen, Junnila, and Saarsalmi (2018) have stated that we still know
relatively little about the meaning of the local environment for well-being as
defined by the inhabitants. The key idea in this article is that parents define for
themselves which issues in their residential area are meaningful for their well-
being.
The second dimension, the social space, refers to how inhabitants value their
social relationships in the residential area (Runge, 2018). A neighbourhood is a
potential space for creating social relationships, if these are seen as valuable
(Benson, 2014; Coleman, 1988). The place of residence and family stage play
a role in the style of community involvement (Hofmaister & Edgell, 2015;
Strange, Fisher, Howat, & Wood, 2014). Social resources are linked to the
social climate of the neighbourhood, as people generally place importance on
the feeling of belonging to a group and place (Strange et al., 2014).
When studying the connection between social relationships and well-being
(Honkanen & Poikolainen, 2014), we adopt the classical division of social capital
defined by Coleman (1988; Kleinhans et al., 2007), who divides social capital
into different dimensions according to the form and solidity of the social
relations. These relations in certain social spaces in certain neighbourhoods are
an important interest of this study. The first dimension is bonding social capital,
which refers to a rather tight-knit group consisting of, for example, family
members, relatives and close friends. This capital produces the feeling of
solidarity, as the members involved in the relationships share similar norms.
The second dimension is bridging social capital, which is built between different
groups, for example, friends and neighbours. The members of these groups
often have a similar background in terms of social status, beliefs and
appreciation. The third dimension is linking social capital, which operates
vertically, combining bonding and bridging capital. The divisions are used here
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to describe the importance of parents’ social networks to their well-being in
certain residential areas. For example, Clark and Lisowski (2018) showed in
their study that social capital has strong associations with subjective well-being
when the individuals evaluated their community and neighbourhood
relationships. Also, local social capital is strongly associated with place
satisfaction and modestly associated with life satisfaction.
The third dimension, the psychological space, relates to how inhabitants feel
about living in the neighbourhood, and the issues that are important for well-
being in that neighbourhood (Cuellar, Jones, & Sterrett, 2015), such as whether
they define the area as a safe place to live (Kemppainen et al., 2014). Unbuilt
vacant land is a problem for the economy of many cities, and can be a
frightening place according to inhabitants’ opinions, as Garvin et al. (2012) have
shown.
Research Context, Data and Analysis
Suburb and City Centre
The research contexts of this study are the Liipola suburb and the city centre of
Lahti, which is situated in southern Finland, 100 km from the capital, Helsinki.
The suburb is located around 3 km from the city centre.
Finland’s urbanisation took place between the 1960s and 1970s. The suburbs
were created as a solution to the needs of industrialised society, with
apartments built in areas near factories with good public transport connections
(Kortteinen, 1982). The number of industrial jobs has decreased, and the
majority of the inhabitants of Liipola are now older people, while the number of
families with children has decreased (Seppänen, Haapola, Puolakka, &
Tiilikainen, 2012). In 2014, when the data were gathered, the population
exceeded 4,400 (Tilda, 2014), and most people were living in houses built
during the 1970s (Seppänen et al., 2012). Services in the area have gradually
reduced, but at that time there was still a grocery store, a library and a church
hall. Furthermore, there was a daycare centre and grades one to four at the
comprehensive school. The education level of the inhabitants was significantly
lower than the average level of the city residents; the employment rate was also
much lower than the average in Lahti (Tilda, 2014). The reputation of the suburb
has been poor (Seppänen et al., 2012).
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Around 15,500 people live in the city centre, but mobility is constant. The
densely populated area consists mainly of new and older blocks of flats, but
there are also a few parks. All services are easily reachable by foot, such as
schools, shops, malls and healthcare (Honkanen & Poikolainen, 2014;
Koistinen et al., 2017). Most of the interviewed parents had lived in Lahti before
moving to their current neighbourhood. All of the families had lived in the
residential area for at least two months, with some having lived there for 20
years. Most had lived in the area for several years, and some had even been
born there. Eight interviewees lived in the suburb and seven in the city centre.
The aim was to reach parents with different socioeconomic positions. We
recruited the interviewed parents, 13 mothers and two fathers, from schools’
parental evenings, a settlement house and using the snowball method. We tried
to reach more fathers, but we did not succeed. Earlier studies have also shown
that fathers are not so interested in participating in this kind of research (e.g.,
Gabb, 2010).
Three parents were immigrants from Russia, Egypt and Thailand, while the rest
were native Finnish. The language spoken at home was Finnish for 11 parents;
the other languages were Russian, Arabic and Thai. Most interviewees (10/15)
were homeowners. Most parents (10/15) had vocational or basic education as
the highest education level: university (1), polytechnic education (4), vocational
(8) and basic education (2). Their labour market positions were: working (6),
(unemployed) housewife (4), part-time work (2), entrepreneur (1), student (1)
and disability pension (1). Four of the highly educated parents were either
retired or housewives. The basic statistics of the residential areas and their
inhabitants are presented in Table 1.
The parents were 29 to 60 years old and the children who still lived at home
varied in age from 1 to 14. The interviewed parents had altogether 32 children
living at home. The number of children per household were: parents 3, 4, 5, 10
and 12 (1), parents 8, 13, 15 and 18 (2), parents 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17 (3) and
parent 2 (4) (parents 1 and 14 no longer had children living at home). The aim
was to capture the thoughts of those parents whose children lived at home.
Eleven of the parents were in a relationship, while four lived alone with their
children.
Suburb Year of
statistics
City
centre
Year of
statistics
Inhabitants N 4,419 2014 15,482 2014
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- Families N
- Families with children %
1,099
49
2014
2014
3,441
30
2014
2014
Education (only basic) % 43.3 2013 31 2013
Native language Finnish
%
86 2014 97 2014
Unemployed % 30 2012 7.8 2013
Block of flats N
%
2,764
97.3
2014
12,293
94
2014
Homeowner % 31.8 2013 34 2013
Rental apartment % 62.5 2013 49 2013
Table 1: Statistics of the Suburb and City Centre. (Source: Tilda, 2015; Statistics Finland,
2015a)
Data and Analysis
The research interviews were conducted using a thematic interview form. The
basic themes were well-being in the physical, social and psychological spaces
(Carter & Horwitz, 2014; Cuellar, Jones, & Sterrett, 2015; Völker & Kistemann,
2015), which framed the conversation but did not direct it. The form of the
interview was constructed based on earlier research; therefore, familiarity with
it was a precondition for the interviewer to be able to lead the themed interview
according to the interviewee’s answers (Madill, 2011; Roulston, 2011). The
parents used their own concepts, and also brought their own significant
experience to the discussion. In addition to background questions, an interview
form usually involves basic themes and, if necessary, supplementary questions
can be used to assist in the completion of the interview (Roulston, 2011). The
interview extracts were translated from Finnish into English for this article. The
semi-structured interview data consist of knowledge about the factors significant
to the parents from the point of view of their own well-being and in relation to
where they live. The aim was to be sensitive to parents’ stories. Open questions
were used such as, ‘If you think about your neighbourhood, which issues are
important to you?’ and ‘What kind of meaning does the residential area have for
your well-being?’ The thematic interview form also involved a figurative (ladder)
well-being scale (1–10), which was used as a tool to stimulate discussion and
get general information about the subjective well-being of parents.
The more familiar the interview environment is to the interviewee, the more
natural the interview situation becomes (Madill, 2011). Therefore, the interviews
were performed in places that were most suitable for the parents, such as
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workplaces, cafés and researchers’ offices. The interviews took an hour each
on average, and the transcribed data corpus takes up 219 pages (Calibri, 12 pt
font, single line spacing).
The recorded interviews were analysed using thematic analysis, a method that
provides useful tools for organising interview data without losing the core
meaning (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). The analysis followed an abductive form.
According to Gläser and Laudel (2013), the basic idea of coding interview data
is that the transcribed text material is marked according to codes, which can be,
for example, keywords or sentences that indicate the occurrence of the
information in separate segments of the text.
First, the data of the interview were classified according to the well-being
dimensions: physical, social and psychological spaces. The second step was to
analyse the contents and themes of the dimensions, and the third step was to
find out the meanings the parents attributed to the themes when talking with the
researchers. During the third phase, a thematic map was generated and the
designation of the themes and interpretation were re-evaluated (Vaismoradi et
al., 2013). The examination focused first on the parents living in the suburb, and
after that, the researchers analysed whether there were differences between
this group and the parents living in the city centre.
Research ethics were addressed during the entire process according to
scientific guidelines. The anonymity of the respondents was guaranteed
following the general rules and best practices of research ethics, as well as
national laws and policies (see Carusi & Jirotka, 2009). We committed to
complying with responsible research conduct and adhering to the guidelines of
the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity (2016). All the participants
were informed about the research and its purpose. Because of the sample size
of this research, instead of the generalisation of the research results, the
portability of experiences can be used, meaning that there is possible
compatibility with previous studies in different contexts (Metteri, 2012). By
comparing results, the interpretations of the data can be confirmed, or it can be
stated that something new has been found. In qualitative research,
generalisability is not concerned with the collection of representative data;
instead, the focus is on the researcher’s analysis and interpretation of contexts
(Delmar, 2010).
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Findings
The factors supporting the well-being of parents in the residential area were
divided into three dimensions according to the themes (Table 2). The first theme
was physical space, which the parents defined as the availability of basic
services and the importance of the natural environment. The second theme was
social space, which indicated parents’ valuation of the balance between privacy
and communality. The third theme was psychological space, which to the
parents meant a safe environment for children, an area with a good reputation
and the possibility of choosing a residential area.
The residential area as a well-being space was defined differently depending
on where the interviewed parents live. Inhabitants of the suburb valued sufficient
services and the natural environment that surrounds their neighbourhood. The
natural environment was an important well-being factor for many parents; they
appreciated good outdoor recreation possibilities in the immediate natural
environment. The parents living in the city centre appreciated the ease of
mobility, nearby services and available hobbies. While the parents living in the
suburb appreciated communality, it was avoided in the city centre. Those living
in the suburb mainly estimated their well-being as lower than those living in the
city centre.
Residential
area
Physical
space
Social
space
Psychological
space
Subjective
well-being
Suburb Sufficient
basic
services,
area
surrounded
by natural
environment
and easy
habitation
Large
bonding
resources
are strong,
more
bridging
communality
is hoped for
Better
reputation and
security are
hoped for
10 [2], 5 [3],
8-9 [7], 8 [8],
7 [9], - [12],
- [17], 7 [18]
City centre Good
services,
enjoyable
natural
environment
sites within
the city
Restricted
bonding
resources
are strong,
communality
is avoided
Urban
environment
with adequate
security and
reputation
9 [4], 9-10
[5],
9 [6], 9 [10],
9 [11], 9
[13],
- [15]
Table 2: Physical, Social and Psychological Spaces and Well-being
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Physical Space: Services, the Natural Environment and Housing
Sufficient services are available for parents living in the suburb, such as a
grocery shop, and many social services, such as a child welfare clinic, are
located nearby. As previously mentioned, services are part of physical space
(Cuellar, Jones, & Sterrett, 2015). The parents were satisfied with the services,
which were, in their opinion, reachable by walking or using public transportation.
Koistinen et al. (2017) found that family-centred residents appreciate services
above all, such as social and health services, their availability and quality.
The parents discussed many issues regarding the well-being of their children.
The area was criticised as being depressing due to its external reputation,
suggesting an idea of a reputation without an individual experience. In general,
the parents were satisfied with the suburb and had no plans to move out. The
natural environment and good facilities for outdoor recreation, both for adults
and children, were seen as attractive. According to previous research, an urban,
green, natural environment is an important factor of well-being (see Carter &
Horwitz, 2014; Cartwright, White, & Clitherow, 2018; Honkanen & Poikolainen,
2014; Völker & Kistemann, 2015).
We had a dream that we would buy a bigger flat than those in our previous
apartment building. We wanted to live in this house because we like it that
much. I like to exercise, and here we have good roads and trails, and there
are good places for children to play. It is very easy to be outdoors with
them. We do not have to go near the road if we do not want to. We can
walk through the forest. So I like this very much. (Mother 2, four children—
8, 6, 3 and 1 year old, polytechnic bachelor’s degree, housewife, suburb,
swb 10)
Parents living in the city centre valued easily accessible services and versatile
possibilities for hobbies. The inhabitants living in a block of flats in the city centre
particularly appreciated the handiness of living near services. In addition, the
natural environment located nearby was appreciated, although the parents
emphasised its significance for well-being less than the parents living in the
suburb.
Everything is near in Lahti—forests and outdoor recreation areas. We
have to go only 500 metres and we can ski and skate. There is a lot of
everything for younger children, such as playgrounds. And there is a
library, which has been very much in use, and a theatre; these are the
most important ones. (Mother 4, one child—13 year old, polytechnic
education, secretary, city centre, swb 9)
Many parents living in the suburb stated that they were thus far satisfied with
the range of services, but if the school—which had already been downsized—
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and the shop closed, this would cause difficulties in everyday life. Greater
significance was placed on staying in the residential area because of the quality
of the area than, for example, because of economic factors. The most important
factors were the beauty of the area and the physical environment (see also
Mellander et al., 2011). Nature has the potential to support well-being,
especially in urban environments (Taylor et al., 2018). In the city centre there
are several schools and all the necessary services, and the parents were
satisfied with those.
Social Space: Resources and Communality
Communality and social resources were appreciated by parents living in the
suburb. The parents participated in events that support communality, and they
found it important to have manifold friend and kin networks. Communality was
mostly supported by people who shared similar life situations—parents who had
either created bonding or bridging capital or were working towards doing so.
The uniting factor was children; parents found it easier to interact with people
who shared the same norms (see also Hofmeister & Edgell, 2015; Kleinhans et
al., 2007).
Well, we have regular friends who visit the place [playground]. I think it
was me who suggested, ‘What if we do some voluntary work and take
rakes and gather the garbage and afterwards have juice?’ It is so fun, even
in the children’s opinion. (Mother 3, one child—4 year old, comprehensive
school, cleaner, suburb, swb 5)
A vital entrenching factor was that the inhabitants could build and maintain
friendships in the area (Mellander et al., 2011). Active inhabitants wanted to
invest time and effort for the sake of the neighbourhood.
Some parents said they wanted to keep their distance from neighbours, and
instead continue with active, pre-established friendships. As Kleinhans et al.
(2007) have noted, newcomers in a neighbourhood can be more active in
searching for social networks than long-term residents. Some parents
mentioned that forming and sustaining social networks had proved difficult, even
though they wished to participate in the social networks of the neighbourhood.
However, the concrete methods and actions required to strengthen
communality were often missing.
The parents also discussed cultural differences; for example, native Finnish
people are used to exercising outdoors, but parents from many other cultures
are used to staying indoors. There are no tempting communal meeting points,
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with the exception of playgrounds. However, inhabitants born outside Finland
liked their Finnish neighbours, and said that they received help when needed.
A multicultural neighbourhood was seen as a positive.
Well, Finnish people are very friendly. My neighbour has many children
and they talk with us; our children exercise outdoors and walk to school
together. (Mother 9, three children—13, and two 9 year olds, polytechnic
bachelor’s degree, unemployed, suburb, swb 7)
Despite the poor reputation of the residential area, it was described as a good
neighbourhood—one that is approving and tolerant. The social environment
was seen as responsive, with children who could be defined as “different” easily
able to make friends.
Where we lived previously, Aku was in kindergarten half the day, and he
never got any birthday invitations. We tried every children’s club, but
because he could not speak, no one invited us. It was terrible; we were
very lonely. And when we moved here, Aku fitted in at the kindergarten
just like that. He made friends immediately; they did not mind his
disabilities and they asked him to their homes to play. (Mother 7, five
children—10, 8 and 6 year old, and two children aged 19 and 21 who do
not live at home, vocational education, housewife, suburb, swb 8-9)
The social environment has become individualised in the city centre, and there
are no collective obligations. The parents living in the apartment block
purposefully kept their distance from their neighbours. They did not feel the
need for communality, as those living in the suburb did, but they were committed
to keeping in touch with relatives living near or far. Bonding capital was linked
only to relatives; there was no room for others.
Unfortunately, there are people who live here who make a lot of trouble.
As my uncle used to say, the neighbours are only for greeting. But oh well,
we get along and we used to participate in voluntary work, but nowadays
the maintenance man takes care of that too. (Mother 4, one child—13 year
old, polytechnic education, secretary, city centre, swb 9)
Those parents living in terraced or detached houses took care of their own
regional communality, although there were also territorial battles related to
privacy.
We have had some disagreements with the neighbour; he has been
against everything. We have even been to court. (Father 15, two
children—14 and 12 year old, vocational education, entrepreneur, city
centre, no swb)
Social space was regarded as positive for the children living in the suburb. They
have friends who live in the same area and meet them, among other places, at
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an adventure playground. The children’s social environment was experienced
as pluralistic and tolerant of differences. Most of the parents have connections
to other parents in the residential area and the community was appreciated. In
terms of developing the area, there was a feeling that there is a need to increase
communality.
Psychological Space: Reputation and Security
The poor reputation of the suburb appears to matter little to almost all parents
(see also Garvin et al., 2012; Permentier et al., 2011). However, a clear division
between better and poorer areas, based on street addresses, was expressed.
The geographically defined lower part of the suburb was characterised as
peaceful, while the upper area was defined as a place where parents do not
willingly walk around with their children. This division is maintained by the
parents using the playground of the area with the better reputation. Feelings of
insecurity with regard to surroundings impacted the parents’ feelings of well-
being, while the behaviour of some intoxicated people had driven away potential
customers from the local shopping centre. Parents found the environment to be
unsuitable for children, as these drinkers are negative role models for children.
This [part of the suburb] is a very good district. My experiences are limited
to down here and halfway to the hill, but overall I would say this is a very
good place for families with children. I do not want to go up the hill when it
is dark, and I do not find the surroundings of the shopping centre safe. The
customers of the bar make me shudder. It does not feel safe with the
children. So we do not visit the area around the shopping centre much.
(Mother 3, one child—4 year old, comprehensive school, cleaner, suburb,
swb 5)
Most of the parents had not experienced criminal activity that had targeted their
homes or belongings in the neighbourhood. The few who had did not view it as
a serious problem. In the city centre, the psychological environment was
described as quite secure, but the parents set strict limits on their children’s
walks in the evenings.
During the daytime, I feel that walking is totally safe, as there are so many
people walking. When it is darker, we do not let the children walk home
from friends’ houses. We do not trust that it would be safe. We strive to
pick them up or meet them. (Mother 6, three children—13, 8 and 4 year
old, polytechnic bachelor’s degree, salesperson, city centre, swb 9)
The parents also tried to protect their children from negative temptations. The
mall, which is located in the city centre, was defined as a negative environment
for children and young people. Because of the high crime rate, the city has been
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called the ‘Chicago of Finland’. However, the parents living in the city centre did
not find that the city’s reputation matches its reality.
When we moved here in 1994, people asked why we were moving to the
criminal city, and I wondered what they meant. In the 1980s, the city had
a reputation of being like Chicago, but the crimes were solved very well.
Really, if we consider the statistics, there is crime in other places too. For
some reason, the city got that reputation. (Mother 4, one child—13 year
old, polytechnic education, secretary, city centre, swb 9)
The reputation of the area was significant for living satisfaction, and thus also
for well-being (see Permentier et al., 2011). Kullberg et al. (2010) found that
residents’ perception of area reputation was strongly associated with
environmental well-being; however, residents expressed their happiness about
living in their dwelling, irrespective of area. An area’s reputation is based on
historical events and it changes slowly even if, for example, the physical
conditions are altered through renovation work or other innovations.
With regard to psychological space, the reputation of the suburb was significant,
especially from the point of view of feeling safe when walking in the area. The
women discussed feelings of insecurity (see Kemppainen et al., 2014). The
parents who live in the suburb were generally attached to the area despite its
reputation. According to them, the reputation was created years or decades
ago, and is not valid anymore. The willingness to move was not strong, except
if the current apartment became too small for the needs of the family.
Discussion and Conclusion
Welfare-state regimes differ between countries and regions in terms of how they
take care of social inequality (Samuel & Hadjar, 2015). In Europe, there has
been increasing debate about the rising differences between inhabitants’
subjective well-being and living environments. Neighbourhood has an important
meaning in life satisfaction (Clark & Lisowski, 2018). In Finland, similar results
have recently been reported. The well-being of the Finnish population is
examined by The National Institute for Health and Welfare in annual reviews.
The latest review shows that there are clear differences between the various
population groups in terms of well-being and neighbourhood (see Ilmarinen,
Kauppinen, & Karvonen, 2019). In Finland, over the last 20 years, the
disadvantage has begun to accumulate in some areas, and there are several
areas of the metropolis where the number of unemployed and low income
households has grown (Vaattovaara & Kortteinen, 2012, 2015). Almost all the
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parents who participated in this research estimated their well-being as rather
high, irrespective of their socioeconomic status, but the city centre residents
rated their well-being even higher. However, we are aware that recruiting and
interviewing more fathers could present a different set of experiences and
challenges compared to those of the mothers.
For parents’ residential well-being, there were three important themes or topics:
services, natural environment and housing, social resources and communality,
and neighbourhood reputation and security.
In both the suburb and the city centre, the parents often rated their residential
area and its significance for well-being from the point of view of their children’s
growth environment. The family was considered a protective factor if the
neighbourhood was seen as unsheltered. The interviewees who live in the
suburb had clearly mentally bound themselves to their residential area despite
the criticism that it receives. The safety and peacefulness of the residential area
were considered important for well-being, irrespective of the dwelling place. No
one was considering moving from their residential area, as they were satisfied.
Permentier et al. (2011) found that subjective assessments of neighbourhood
attributes are more important in explaining neighbourhood satisfaction than any
perceived reputation.
Parents use places for different reasons and purposes. Urban places are set
aside for certain activities and furnished with spatial borders, which are implicit
structures of power (Dean, 1999). In the suburb there are no places for, for
example, the disadvantaged population, so they linger in public places that
families with children now avoid as far as possible, as a few of the interviewed
parents mentioned. There is a need for spaces for all citizens without
segregation (see Honkanen & Poikolainen, 2014), especially in the suburb.
Even though the suburb largely became their place of residence for economic
reasons, the parents adapted to the residential environment and, despite
criticising it, emphasised the strengths of the area more strongly than its
weaknesses. All of the interviewed parents stated that they had freely chosen
where they live and their type of housing. They did not point out any particular
reason to move out, such as to gain supplementary social capital for their
children. The reasons for living in a certain area were often practical, but it was
possible to identify a relationship between well-being and the residential area.
People’s valuations depended on individual differences, such as their
personality, cultural values and other factors (see also Diener et al., 2013).
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The parents living in the suburb were satisfied with the services on offer, which
they felt were accessible by walking or using public transport. Parents
mentioned the importance of green space for their well-being, as has been
noted in earlier studies (Carter & Horwitz, 2014; Völker & Kistemann, 2015).
Parents’ ways of thinking and acting in certain residential areas appear to tie in
with the social capital that forms social resources. Social capital is also
associated with both place satisfaction and life satisfaction (see Clark &
Lisowski, 2018). The parents living in the suburb enthusiastically talked about
the importance of the social network and the need for communality, but the
activities, especially those designed to strengthen communality, varied.
Bridging capital was more important for parents living in the suburb. There is a
need for opportunities to interact (see Strange et al., 2014). Some of those living
in the suburb were in need of tighter communality. The concrete methods and
means of adding to the communality and building social bridges between
inhabitants are missing, despite continued attempts to develop them by the
communal developers of the city.
As Hofmaister and Edgell (2015) found, the place of residence and family stage
play a role in the style of involvement in the community. Parents living in the
suburb with small children created social networks, for example, by using the
local settlement house. Parents of older children did not have the same
aspiration for communality, and this could be because of the older children’s
ability to network more independently. Social status and its creation did not
seem to be important, contrary to, for example, Benson’s (2014) results. Of
course, people tend to understate this kind of factor when talking about
preferences. Some parents living in the suburb defined the strict borders of their
neighbourhood; they outlined some parts of the area that they believed were
home to people with social problems. They did not construct a class division, as
the middle-class participants in Benson’s (2014) research did, but there was a
clearly defined attitude: some people are like us and others are not like us. The
residents of the suburb, unlike the city dwellers, did not construct distinctions
according to the social statuses of ‘us’ and ‘them’.
There have been several attempts to develop residential areas to be more
inhabitant-friendly, and such development projects have also been a focus in
other European countries, as Wouter et al. (2009) report. Therefore, the local
decision makers and designers of residential areas need information about the
factors that increase feelings of well-being in different areas. How do the
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satisfaction and dissatisfaction of inhabitants construct well-being? By studying
subjective factors and gaining knowledge about the issues that stimulate
inhabitants’ well-being and satisfaction, it is possible to develop better
residential areas (Bernini et al., 2013). Subjective indicators that describe
satisfaction offer a view of people’s experiences, both positive and negative,
which matters in society (Diener et al., 2013). The results of our research
highlight that the meanings parents attribute to their residential area as a
physical, social and psychological well-being space reveal valuable knowledge
that cannot be obtained through merely examining residential areas according
to socioeconomic indicators. It is important to be aware of parents’ ways of
thinking; for example, how mental bonds to residential areas are constructed
and how residential areas affect subjective well-being in many positive ways.
Author Note
This research was supported by the Housing Finance and Development Centre
of Finland [Grant 8987/828/13] and University of Helsinki Centre for Continuing
Education HY+
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