The diverse influences of local landscapes on life satisfaction

The natural environment is widely recognized as beneficial for human well-being. Limited research, however, has examined the combined influence of both biophysical and experiential measures related to the natural environment on subjective well-being. This study investigates how multiple environmental attributes including air quality, recent land cover change, biodiversity, extent and diversity of natural areas, psychological restoration, and outdoor recreation, relate to life satisfaction in the Puget Sound region, Washington, USA. We used linear models built on data from a regional survey (n = 1,372) to assess the direct and indirect effects of environmental features and demographics on life satisfaction. We found that psychological restoration and frequency of outdoor recreation had significant positive effects on life satisfaction. Of the biophysical attributes, recent increases in forest cover had significant positive effects on life satisfaction, particularly for long-term residents. While biodiversity and natural area characteristics had no significant effects on life satisfaction, they did have significant effects on psychological restoration and outdoor recreation, indicating indirect pathways of influence. Specifically, bird species richness and the proportion of natural area within the nearby landscape had significant positive effects on both psychological restoration and outdoor recreation. The diversity of natural habitats within the nearby landscape also had a significant positive effect on psychological restoration. These findings highlight the importance of integrating structural and experiential dimensions of nature in well-being research and underscore the need for equitable access to environments that support both recreation and psychological restoration.