Multidimensional determinants of urban satisfaction: a structural equation modeling approach

This study investigates how government performance, welfare services, public safety, and environmental conditions collectively shape life satisfaction in urban contexts, using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with data from 10,207 residents of Seoul, South Korea. Findings indicate that environmental quality has the strongest influence on life satisfaction, followed by welfare services, perceived safety, and government performance, reflecting both material and experiential aspects of urban living. Welfare, environmental quality, and safety also significantly affect residents’ satisfaction with government, highlighting the mediating role of institutional evaluation. By integrating these domains within a single SEM framework, the study uncovers the structural pathways through which urban conditions and public policies influence subjective well-being. The results suggest that policymakers should adopt coordinated strategies that simultaneously enhance environmental quality, social welfare, public safety, and governance effectiveness to maximize residents’ life satisfaction. This approach provides empirical evidence for prioritizing targeted, context-sensitive interventions over broad, undifferentiated policies, and contributes to the literature by demonstrating the interdependent and hierarchical relationships among key urban determinants of well-being.