The Effects of Objective and Perceived Neighborhood Amenities on Youths’ Wellbeing: The Case of the City of Al Ain, UAE
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Why Study Al Ain’s City Neighborhoods and Why Youths?
2. Wellbeing and the Environment
2.1. Ingredients of Wellbeing
2.2. Urban Design and Wellbeing
2.3. Definition of Amenities
2.4. Conceptual Framework
3. Methodology
3.1. Data Collection
3.2. Data Analysis
3.3. Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
4. Results
4.1. Validity and Reliability Analysis
4.2. Rating Neighborhood Amenities (Table 3)
Individual Item | Mean (SD) b | % Mean | Categories |
---|---|---|---|
Amenities (10 Items) | 30.1 (8.3) | 60.2 | N |
Satisfied with the number and types of amenities in our neighborhood | 3.0 (1.3) | 60.0 | N |
The presence of certain amenities in my neighborhood makes walking purposeful | 3.5 (1.3) | 69.6 | N–Ag |
My neighborhood has all the important amenities that I personally care about | 2.8 (1.3) | 56.6 | Dis–N |
I use the amenities in my neighborhood more than once a week | 2.9 (1.2) | 58.4 | Dis–N |
There may be suitable amenities to use in my neighborhood, but I hardly use them | 3.5 (1.2) | 63.0 | N–Ag |
The daily-use stores in my neighborhood are important, and I use them often | 4.0 (1.1) | 80.8 | A |
My neighborhood has sport facilities, and I use them often | 2.5 (1.2) | 54.4 | Dis–N |
My neighborhood has bike lanes | 2.6 (1.3) | 52.0 | Dis–N |
I love biking, and I bike often | 2.7 (1.3) | 53.0 | Dis–N |
Perceptual (8 items) | 28.1 (6.0) | 70.2 | N–Ag |
My neighborhood is walkable because it is safe and has safe and comfortable sidewalks | 3.9 (1.2) | 77.4 | N–Ag |
The quality of the park in my neighborhood is adequate, and I use it often | 2.9 (1.4) | 58.4 | Dis–N |
I find my neighborhood attractive because it is green, well shaded, and comfortable | 3.1 (1.3) | 62.0 | N–Ag |
My neighborhood is quiet and safe both during the day and at night | 4.1 (1.0) | 81.2 | A |
The presence of people in my neighborhood streets during the day is noticeable, and this brings a sense of liveliness and vitality | 3.7 (1.1) | 73.4 | N–Ag |
My neighborhood is quiet, and its streets are walkable at night | 3.9 (1.1) | 78 | N–Ag |
I like my neighborhood the way it is, and if I needed something else, I would use amenities available in my city | 3.5 (1.3) | 70.8 | N–Ag |
I am satisfied with the distribution and quality of youth amenities in my city | 3.2 (1.3) | 64.6 | N–Ag |
Socialization (4 items) | 12.2 (3.9) | 61.1 | N–Ag |
My neighborhood is very social. I know most of my neighbours | 3.4 (1.3) | 67.4 | N–Ag |
My neighborhood layout/design makes it easy for me to socialize with neighbours | 3.3 (1.2) | 66.6 | N–Ag |
I sometimes volunteer in social activities that promote innovation and neighborhood improvement | 2.7 (1.2) | 54.2 | Dis–N |
The types of activities that I do in my neighborhood are mostly social | 2.9 (1.2) | 58.8 | Dis–N |
Accessibility and Linkages (7 items) | 23.8 (4.5) | 67.9 | N–Ag |
My neighborhood youths have access to the gym and the cultural amenities in one or all of the local schools in or near the neighborhood | 3.3 (1.2) | 66.0 | N–Ag |
I prefer to walk to my neighborhood amenities | 3.6 (1.2) | 71.4 | N–Ag |
I have access to youth centers in my city, and I use them often | 3.0 (1.2) | 60.8 | N |
If I use the mosque in my neighborhood, I often go there walking, especially when the weather is moderate | 3.8 (1.1) | 75.8 | N–Ag |
If I need to use amenities in the city, I usually use public transportation to get there | 2.7 (1.5) | 53.2 | Dis |
My satisfaction with my neighborhood is really related to how connected it is to other parts of the city, especially shopping centers, and malls | 3.9 (1.1) | 77.4 | N–Ag |
It does not matter to me really where my neighborhood is in relation to city amenities if it is safe clean and attractive. I can reach any other parts of the city using my own vehicle | 3.8 (1.1) | 75.2 | N–Ag |
Overall perception (items) | 94.1 (20.0)) | 64.9 | N–Ag |
4.3. Rating the Perceptual Qualities of Neighborhood (Table 3)
4.4. Rating the Socialization-Enabling Spatial Qualities (Table 3)
4.5. Rating Access to Neighborhood Amenities and Overall Qualities of Linkages (Table 3)
4.6. Demographical Factors and Their Impact on the Four Components (Amenities; Perceptual; Socialization-Enabling Qualities; Linkages) (Table 4)
Variables | Categories | Amenities | Perceptual | Socialization | Access |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Male | 31.6 (8.3) | 28.7 (6.6) | 12.9 (4.1) | 24.3 (5.1) |
Female | 29.7 (8.2) | 27.9 (8.2) | 12.0 (3.8) | 23.6 (4.4) | |
p-value | 0.167 | 0.102 | 0.133 | 0.065 | |
Age | 16–22 | 30.8 (8.4) | 28.0 (6.1) | 11.9 (4.1) | 18.9 (2.5) |
23–30 | 29.5 (8.2) | 28.2 (6.0) | 12.5 (3.7) | 18.9 (2.3) | |
p-value | 0.918 | 0.242 | 0.777 | 0.705 | |
Type of Residence | Apartment | 30.6 (9.0) | 27.0 (7.2) | 11.7 (4.0) | 23.4 (4.0) |
Villa/Home | 30.0 (8.2) | 28.1 (5.9) | 12.3 (4.0) | 23.8 (4.7) | |
p-value | 0.491 | 0.586 | 0.587 | 0.799 | |
Marital Status | Single | 30.1 (8.4) | 27.7 (6.1) | 11.9 (3.9) | 23.5 (4.8) |
Official married | 30.1 (8.0) | 29.1 (5.6) | 13.3 (3.6) | 24.6 (4.4) | |
p-value | 0.110 | <0.001 | 0.048 | 0.111 | |
Education | Graduate | 30.0 (8.2) | 27.9 (5.9) | 12.1 (3.9) | 23.7 (4.6) |
Postgraduate | 30.5 (8.3) | 28.6 (6.6) | 12.7 (4.0) | 23.8 (5.2) | |
p-value | 0.458 | 0.299 | 0.998 | 0.574 |
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Demographic Characteristics | No. of Participants (%) |
---|---|
Gender | |
Male | 92 (24.5%) |
Female | 284 (75.5%) |
Age (Years) | |
16–22 | 180 (47.7%) |
23–30 | 197 (52.3%) |
Nationality | |
Emirati | 338 (89.9%) |
Expatriate | 38 (10.1%) |
Marital Status | |
Single | 282 (74.6%) |
Married | 87 (23.0%) |
Divorced | 9 (2.4%) |
Education | |
Graduate (Bachelors) | 307 (81.9%) |
Postgraduate (Masters) | 68 (18.1%) |
Results of Exploratory Factor Analysis and Reliability of an Instrument Measuring Satisfaction with Neighborhood and Urban Amenities | |||
---|---|---|---|
Items in Each Category | Factor Loading | KMO b and Bartlett | Cronbach’s Alpha c (%) |
A. Rating Neighborhood’s Amenities: (% of cumulative variance-load 52.65) | |||
Response effort by the GoB: (% of cumulative variance load 55.92) | |||
I am satisfied with the number and types of amenities in our neighborhood | 0.761 | ||
The presence of certain amenities in my neighborhood makes walking purposeful | 0.570 | 0.863 d | 0.85 |
My neighborhood has all the important amenities that I personally care about | 0.820 | ||
I use the amenities in my neighborhood more than once a week | 0.750 | ||
There may be suitable amenities to use in my neighborhood, but I hardly use them | 0.561 | ||
My neighborhood has a park | 0.557 | ||
The daily-use stores in my neighborhood are important, and I use them often | 0.400 | ||
My neighborhood has sport facilities, and I use them often | 0.804 | ||
My neighborhood has bike lanes | 0.688 | ||
I love biking, and I bike often | 0.592 | ||
B. Rating the Perceptual Qualities of Neighborhood | |||
My neighborhood is walkable because it is safe and has safe and comfortable sidewalks | 0.635 | ||
The quality of the park in my neighborhood is adequate, and I use it often | 0.616 | ||
I find my neighborhood attractive because it is green, well shaded, and comfortable | 0.735 | ||
My neighborhood is quiet and safe both during the day and at night | 0.694 | 0.636 b | 0.60 |
The presence of people in my neighborhood streets during the day is noticeable, and this brings a sense of liveliness and vitality | 0.676 | ||
My neighborhood is quiet, and its streets are walkable at night | 0.717 | ||
I like my neighborhood the way it is, and if I needed something else, I would use amenities available in my city | 0.688 | ||
I am satisfied with the distribution and quality of youth amenities in my city | 0.647 | ||
C. Neighborhoods’ Amenities and Socialization | |||
My neighborhood is very social. I know most of my neighbors | 0.801 | ||
My neighborhood layout/design makes it easy for me to socialize with neighbors | 0.771 | 0.824 d | 0.76 |
I sometimes volunteer in social activities that promote innovation and neighborhood improvement | 0.742 | ||
The types of activities that I do in my neighborhood are mostly social | 0.840 | ||
D. Access to Neighborhood Amenities and Overall Quality of Linkages | |||
My neighborhood youths have access to the gym and the cultural amenities in one or all of the local schools in or near the neighborhood | 0.624 | ||
I prefer to walk to my neighborhood amenities | 0.483 | 0.698 d | 0.61 |
I have access to youth centers in my city, and I use them often | 0.660 | ||
If I use the mosque in my neighborhood, I often go there walking, especially when the weather is moderate | 0.502 | ||
If I need to use amenities in the city, I usually use public transportation to get there | 0.594 | ||
My satisfaction with my neighborhood is really related to how connected it is to other parts of the city, especially shopping centers and malls | 0.384 | ||
It does not matter to me really where my neighborhood is in relation to city amenities as long as it is safe, clean, and attractive. I can reach any other parts of the city using my own vehicle | 0.528 |
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Elmubarak, M.; AlHosani, N.; Yagoub, M.; Khamis, A. The Effects of Objective and Perceived Neighborhood Amenities on Youths’ Wellbeing: The Case of the City of Al Ain, UAE. Sustainability 2023, 15, 3550. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043550
Elmubarak M, AlHosani N, Yagoub M, Khamis A. The Effects of Objective and Perceived Neighborhood Amenities on Youths’ Wellbeing: The Case of the City of Al Ain, UAE. Sustainability. 2023; 15(4):3550. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043550
Chicago/Turabian StyleElmubarak, Marwan, Naeema AlHosani, Mohamed Yagoub, and Amar Khamis. 2023. "The Effects of Objective and Perceived Neighborhood Amenities on Youths’ Wellbeing: The Case of the City of Al Ain, UAE" Sustainability 15, no. 4: 3550. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043550