Residential satisfaction among low-income single-mother households: the case of residential welfare facilities in South Korea
ISSN: 2631-6862
Article publication date: 4 June 2020
Issue publication date: 11 November 2020
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines residential satisfaction in welfare housing facilities exclusively built for low-income single-mother households in South Korea. The main objective is to identify predictors from among various domains such as sociodemographic and psychological characteristics of residents, as well as objective and subjective characteristics of their residential environment.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method field study evaluates data obtained via structured questionnaires administered to 233 low-income single mothers in 23 residential welfare facilities across South Korea, supplemented by facility observations and interviews with housing staff from 16 facilities.
Findings
Residential satisfaction was found to be a multidimensional construct predicted by a number of variables, with psychological characteristics being dominant. Significant predictors were also identified among physical and sociospatial environmental characteristics, such as plan type, management and service and personal space.
Practical implications
The results of this study highlight the significance of the human aspects of management and the sociospatial quality of housing unit spaces to provide a sense of protection and privacy for the residents, which emphasizes the importance of management, design and policy improvements to increase satisfaction in welfare facility residents.
Originality/value
Currently, data for special housing conditions of female-headed households in unstable housing affordability are relatively few and outdated. A critical examination of the physical and sociospatial quality of short-term subsidized public housing for low-income single-mother households in South Korea expands the current knowledge in this field to various sociodemographic and cultural contexts.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Kilsam Kim, Jihyun Cho, and Sukyoung Kim (the students at the Department of Architecture in Inha University) for their helpful assistance in collecting data for this research.Funding: This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2014R1A1A1008406).
Citation
Cho, M. (2020), "Residential satisfaction among low-income single-mother households: the case of residential welfare facilities in South Korea", Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 359-378. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-09-2019-0218
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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