Unfulfilled urban housing preferences: All about a lack of green space and connectivity?

Tetiana Dovbischuk, University of Hamburg

With increasing urbanisation and the advocacy of high-density development in cities, it is important to examine whether urban dwellers prefer this type of housing. This study challenges the concept of revealed housing preferences, suggesting that urban dwellers often live in unfulfilled housing that does not match with their true preferences. Using data from a representative survey of 1,768 respondents in two major German cities, we explore the factors influencing why city dwellers might prefer a different type of housing than their current one. The results show that housing preferences for flats and houses are relatively balanced in urban areas. However, a considerable proportion of urban dwellers experience unfulfilled housing preferences. Specifically, a lack of green space tends to make residents of high-density buildings to prefer living in houses, while good access to public transport encourages those living in houses to favour high-density urban developments.

Keywords: Internal Migration and Urbanization, Population, Environment, and Climate Change, Spatial Demography, Mixed methods research

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