Uhills Residents Who Know Their Neighbors Report Greater Satisfaction

While resident satisfaction is not related to how long respondents have lived in UHills or the age of their house, residents who know their neighbors generally tend to be more satisfied, and residents who are more satisfied tend to know their neighbors better. That's according to an analysis of the 2022 Community Survey by Ken Chew, Professor Emeritus, Urban Planning and Public Policy. Other findings:
  • The degree to which residents express general satisfaction (or lack of it) is unrelated either to how long they've lived in UHills or the age of their house.
  • The degree to which residents know their neighbors (or don't) is unrelated either to their length of residence or when their house was built.
A Strong Survey Response Rate Means a Strong Community Sample. Thank you, Participants!
  • 493 survey responses received from homeowners; 160 responses received from renters.
  • All areas are well-represented in the sample.
  • All rental complexes are also well-represented in the survey.
  • The sample skews somewhat toward respondents with greater length of residence.
University Hills Micro-Neighborhoods
A 10-minute walk in University Hills reveals dramatic differences in the ages and styles of housing. These differences reflect 12 "phases" of construction and many changes in housing design across nearly four decades. These micro-neighborhoods also reflect differences in ages and duration of residence. 
  • Among Phase 1 respondents (Los Trancos, Alcott, Blake, Curie, Dickens, Gibbs, Harvey west side, Locke), 74% had lived in UHills for over 20 years.
  • Among Phase 8 respondents (Twain, Frost, Fuertes, Murasaki), only 24% had lived in UHills for over 20 years; 63% had lived in UHills for 11-20 years.
  • Among Phase 11 respondents (Coltrane, Angelou, Turing, Graham, Ride, Truth), 64% had lived in UHills for 3-5 years. Phase 11 residents made up 75% of those who had lived in UHills for 1-2 years.
Fun Pet Facts
  • Among all households, 46% own pets
  • Households with dogs slightly outnumber households with cats.
  • Households with multiple cats outnumber households with multiple dogs.
  • About 9% of cat-or-dog-owning households have both dog(s) and cat(s).
  • 16% of households have pets other than felines or canines. Most numerous: fish; reptiles and amphibians; and guinea pigs, hamsters, and rats.
Q: Do pet owners differ from non-owners on the degree to which they know their neighbors, or to which they are satisfied with life in U Hills?
A: No. Pet owners are equally plugged-in (or not) and equally satisfied (or not) as their non-pet owning neighbors.

Ken Chew, Professor Emeritus, Urban Planning and Public Policy (Contact: Chew@uci.edu).