Residents' satisfaction with public housing: The case of Buraidah public housing development in Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The Villa Prototype Campaign, sponsored by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing and managed by the Real Estate Development Fund in Saudi Arabia, will house more than 15,000 families by its completion date of 1997. This study investigated the success of the only occupied development in the campaign, Buraidah Public Housing Development (BPHD), through a post-occupancy evaluation representing the residents' perspective and focusing on their perceptions and attitudes toward the setting. Six months of residency were spent in the development. Two of these months were spent gathering data for an informal reconnoitering study, during which research expectations were revised and the appropriateness of the survey methods were examined. The latter four months of residency were devoted to collecting data for the formal study. The principle data source was a self-administered questionnaire distributed to heads of households living in the development for more than six months. Out of 613 eligible households, 549 participated in the study. The questionnaire was designed to ascertain the degree to which the literature-identified satisfaction predictors contributed to residents overall satisfaction with BPHD. To better understand the reasons and motives behind residents' perceptions and assessment of housing conditions, the survey questionnaire was supplemented by in-depth interviews, participant observations, and an archival search. All data sources consistently revealed that the overwhelming majority of BPHD residents were satisfied with their housing. Several factors contributed to residents' positive assessment of the development including improvements in tenure status and construction quality over previous housing; optimism about the development's future, especially regarding provision of public facilities and services; and approval of neighborhood social climate, particularly homogeneity and cooperation among neighbors. The study concluded that adapting research methods to the context and circumstances of the study participants is essential to the evaluation process. It also confirmed the significance of the housing policies that offer residents the opportunity to own their own dwellings and which provide a choice in the selection of dwelling and neighbors.