Governments increasingly seek to improve subjective wellbeing (SWB) because of its strong link to overall health and life satisfaction. SWB measures, such as the Global Life Satisfaction (GLS) and Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), assess how people self-rate the quality of their lives or specific aspects of their life. Though evidence suggests that built and social environment features in local communities may influence SWB levels, the findings are inconsistent. This thesis identifies which built and social environment indicators are associated with high SWB, for whom, and under what conditions. Using data from the ‘Living Well in the ACT Region’ survey and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, we derived built environment (BE) indicators and a neighbourhood social fragmentation index. Multilevel logistic regression and Geographically Weighted Regression methods were used to answer our research questions. Results show that while individual BE indicators had weak associations with the odds of high SWB, they collectively explained a substantial proportion (27.7% to 84.4%) of the variation in high SWB between neighbourhoods (at the SA2 level). Neighbourhood social fragmentation was significantly associated with lower odds of high PWI across socioeconomic context. GWR revealed significant clusters of high SWB in specific neighbourhoods, with residential density and the Index of Local Living showing significant spatially varying relationships with high SWB. These findings highlight the differential impacts of individual- and neighbourhood-level factors on high SWB. The empirical evidence from this study can help guide urban planning and policies aimed at enhancing life satisfaction and personal wellbeing.
Investigating the impact of the built and social environment on high subjective wellbeing in adults living in Canberra, Australia
Anumba, J. (Author). 2025
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis