Urban Sprawl and Subjective Well-Being: U.S. County-Level Evidence

Yu Wang, Yehua Dennis Wei, Ning Xiong and Simon Brewer

Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2025, vol. 115, issue 5, 1104-1124

Abstract: Subjective well-being (SWB) has recently gained significant attention as an important indicator of measuring quality of life. Based on the Twitter Sentiment Geographical Index, this study analyzes the spatial distribution characteristic of county-level SWB across the United States. We apply multiple linear regression, structural equation modeling (SEM), and geographically weighted SEM to identify the overall effects of urban sprawl on SWB, examine their direct and indirect pathways, and investigate the spatial variations in these pathways. Our results show that SWB is spatially heterogeneous across U.S. counties, with high levels of SWB in inland U.S. counties and low levels of SWB in U.S. counties along the coast, near the Great Lakes, and bordering other countries. Both population and employment sprawl can generally improve SWB. Although population and employment sprawl can directly enhance SWB, they also have contrasting indirect effects: Population sprawl tends to reduce SWB by limiting upward mobility opportunities and potentially increasing violent crime, whereas employment sprawl often mitigates these issues. Additionally, population sprawl increases SWB by mitigating air pollution. Notably, both direct and indirect pathways exhibit significant spatial differences. These findings contribute to a nuanced perspective on the intricate relationships between urban sprawl and SWB, highlighting the need to consider spatial variations.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2025.2472998

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