Neighborhood satisfaction in large housing estates of Central and East European cities: insights from Novi Sad, Serbia

There is an extensive body of literature exploring the changes that large housing estates (LHE) in Central and East European (CEE) cities have undergone since the beginning of the post-socialist transition. Although some studies discussed residents’ satisfaction with the transformed neighborhood environment within these estates, analyzing differences at the national, CEE and pan-European levels, they have primarily focused on cities in fast-track reforming countries, leaving the non-EU context unexplored. In addition, more recent analyses are generally scarce, while little is known about how LHEs, particularly unrefurbished ones, compare to newer housing types of similar densities in these terms. The paper aims to contribute to filling these research gaps by investigating neighborhood satisfaction in two unrefurbished LHEs and one recently built residential district in Novi Sad, the second largest city in Serbia. The research data was collected from 162 structured ‘traditional’ (in-person) face-to-face interviews involving a Likert-type questionnaire supplemented with open-ended questions. It was processed in the SPSS 23.0 software package. ANOVA and Scheffe post-hoc tests were used to determine differences and Chronbach’s Alpha to measure internal consistency. Through a series of descriptive comparative analyses, the paper examines the variations in evaluations of specific neighborhood features and the correlation between residents’ satisfaction, their potential mobility and the housing market position of the studied areas. The research results indicate that the majority of LHE residents are satisfied with their neighborhood environment, live in the neighborhood of preference and do not feel ‘trapped’, while the situation in the newly built residential district is somewhat different, revealing the shortcomings of post-socialist urbanism. The concluding section discusses the research results against the backdrop of previous studies, questions the stability of neighborhood satisfaction in unrefurbished CEE LHEs, highlights the importance of regeneration, and proposes directions for future investigations.