Using emotion to evaluate our community: exploring the relationship between the affective appraisal of community residents and the community environment

Communities generate stimuli that elicit emotional reactions from residents. The purpose of this research is to elicit resident perceptions of their community environments and to identify the set of key factors that are perceived as constituting this environment. These factors mainly refer to the outdoor environment, as many studies have found that indoor living conditions do not factor significantly into resident perceptions of their community environment. The method comprised a survey and analysis of 473 residents based in 5 communities in southern Taiwan. The results indicated a positive effect of the community environment on the affective appraisal of community residents. The results also indicated that both the material and perceptive environments should be considered when planning and creating happy communities. Impact of the context aspect was found to predominate when the effect sizes for the physical environment and service function aspects were similar. Green space, layout, aesthetics, and streetscape in the aspect of physical environment; and transport service, social welfare service, and recreational service in the aspect of service function were all correlated with affective appraisal. Effect sizes ranged from small to medium. Similarly, physical environment evaluation, social environment, and time in the aspect of context were all correlated with affective appraisal, with medium effect sizes. Furthermore, the four factors of layout, traffic function, social environment, and time respectively influenced the participants’ affective appraisals of pleasure, arousal, and control. These findings provide important new insights that urban and architectural professionals may use to create communities that are more livable and attractive for their residents.