What shapes a livable city? Subjective and objective determinants of city satisfaction in Romania

Norbert Petrovici, Sébastien Bourdin () and André Torre ()
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Norbert Petrovici: UBB - Babes-Bolyai University [Cluj-Napoca], Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
Sébastien Bourdin: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
André Torre: SADAPT - Sciences pour l'Action et le Développement : Activités, Produits, Territoires - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement

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Abstract: This article examines urban quality of life in 41 Romanian cities by combining survey evidence from the 2020 Urban Barometer (N = 13,380) with a spatially detailed Quality of Life Index (QOLI) derived from OpenStreetMap and census data. Using hierarchical logistic regression, we assess how individual perceptions and city-level conditions shape city satisfaction. Results show that facilities and services, environmental quality, and governance contribute positively to satisfaction, while perceptions of trust and safety are among the strongest predictors. In contrast, the QOLI measuring the objective availability of amenities is negatively associated with satisfaction, indicating that infrastructure provision alone does not ensure well-being. City size is positively related to satisfaction, whereas economic indicators such as unemployment and aggregate turnover per population have little explanatory power. The study shows that urban well-being depends less on material provision and more on governance, trust, and residents' expectations, with implications for cities in Central and Eastern Europe where historical legacies and uneven development continue to shape urban experiences.

Keywords: Urban quality of life; Subjective well-being; Objective well-being; City satisfaction; Quality of Life Index; Post-socialist cities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02
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Published in Cities, 2026, 169 (February), pp.106565. ⟨10.1016/j.cities.2025.106565⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05489016

DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106565

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