Urban residents score the lowest in social and economic satisfaction and wellbeing

A new study conducted by the Amsterdam Centre for Urban Mental Health finds that, in a sample of 156,000 UK residents aged 40 and up, urban living is linked to lower levels of wellbeing, social satisfaction, and economic satisfaction. Urban residents also exhibit greater psychological inequality. The study identifies a ‘Goldilocks zone’ between cities and rural areas, where the highest satisfaction and most equal scores are observed.

The percentage of people living in cities has surged from 10% in the 1910s to a projected 68% by 2050. This shift means that cities are increasingly shaping our psychological lives, making it crucial to understand urban wellbeing. This popularity of cities is largely driven by the abundance of social and economic opportunities. In response to this observation, the researchers investigated whether the popularity of cities makes sense from a psychological perspective. In other words, does the abundance of economic opportunities translate into higher urban economic satisfaction? Does the wealth of people lead to urban social satisfaction? Do urban residents experience higher wellbeing compared to those living farther from cities?

The study aimed to answer these questions by comparing urban and rural areas using large samples ranging from 40,000 to 156,000 individuals aged 40 to 70 from the UK Biobank.

What the researchers say: “A central challenge in urban psychology is defining urban, suburban, peri-urban, and rural areas,” the lead author told us. “To address this problem, we propose a novel measure of urbanicity based on the distance between individuals and their nearest city centre. This measure also accounts for the fact that living 15 km from London differs from living 15 km from Leeds—one is still urbanized while the other is countryside.”

The study finds that while urban residents have the highest incomes, this does not translate into psychological advantages. On the contrary, residents in highly urban areas score worse on all eight measures covering wellbeing, social satisfaction, and economic satisfaction. The researchers conclude that there exists a conundrum, which they term the ‘urban desirability paradox;’ highlighting the contrast between the popularity of cities and the psychological state of their residents.

The study also finds increased inequality in satisfaction, particularly regarding income and financial satisfaction, with the highest satisfaction inequality near city centres. “This increased social and economic satisfaction inequality aligns with theories that suggest cities disproportionately benefit the already advantaged,” the researchers note.

Finally, the novel measure of urbanicity allowed the researchers to examine the effects between highly urban and highly rural areas. They identified optimal distances for five variables: meaningful life, family satisfaction, friendship satisfaction, loneliness, and financial satisfaction.

“Areas near cities but beyond their boundaries, the hinterlands, show the highest and most equal levels of psychological satisfaction,’ the lead author explained. “These optimal distances might result from happy individuals moving there rather than the locations themselves enhancing individual wellbeing. Thus, our findings do not imply that anyone will benefit psychologically from moving to these areas.”

So, what? The study’s findings are not that surprising. Many studies have shown that the closer one is to nature the less likely one is to be seriously depressed. But that ‘nature’ need not be the countryside.

On the other hand one of the most serious problems we have is that of loneliness and social isolation. Living in rural areas increases loneliness, as does, paradoxically, living in modern cities.

It is hardly surprising that those living in areas relatively close to centres of economic opportunity would get some satisfaction from that. If they can also have the sense of community that exurban life often affords, they can have the best of both worlds and therefore greater life satisfaction.