Spatial hierarchies of residential environments and wellbeing in public rental housing: the roles of residential satisfaction and generational differences

Purpose Housing environments affect residents' quality of life, yet research across spatial levels in public rental housing remains limited. This study examines how unit-, building- and complex-level environmental attributes relate to residential satisfaction (RS) and subjective wellbeing (SWB) and whether they differ between younger and middle-aged residents. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 334 public rental housing residents recruited through stratified nonprobability procedures within a professional survey agency's opt-in panel. Nine constructs combined three spatial levels (unit, building, and complex) with three environmental dimensions (physical, psychological, and social). Observed-variable path analyses estimated a primary full model and a theory-delimited shared-environment mediation model. Bias-corrected bootstrap intervals and coefficient-difference Z-tests assessed indirect effects and age-group differences, respectively. Findings Unit_Psychological, all three building-level factors, and Complex_Social were positively associated with RS, while all nine factors were positively associated with SWB. The RS → SWB path was nonsignificant, and none of the proposed indirect effects through RS was statistically significant. At the nominal 0.05 level, only the Building_Social–RS coefficient differed between age groups, with a stronger association among middle-aged residents; without adjustment for multiple comparisons, this result is exploratory. Originality/value This study uses a crossed 3 × 3 framework to estimate physical, psychological, and social relationships across unit, building, and complex levels within one model. It distinguishes direct SWB associations from the proposed RS pathway and compares structural coefficients across age groups. Its contribution lies in spatial and pathway differentiation rather than in SEM or three spatial labels alone.