Urban residential preferences and satisfaction in the former Soviet Union: Results from a survey in Ust'-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan

This paper describes and analyses the geography and structure of the neighborhood residential preferences and residential satisfaction of the inhabitants of the medium-sized, post-Soviet city of Ust'-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan (population ca. 300,000). It is based on a questionnaire survey (N = 1516 + 320) conducted by the author in cooperation with the statistical authority of the Eastern Kazakhstan oblast'. At the aggregate level, the evidence that is presented suggests distinct preference patterns, and that the main focus of preference is on the city center. The geography of residential satisfaction is different. Differences in satisfaction have been found between residents of housing built by former high-priority enterprises and those occupying most of the remainder of the housing stock. These differences underscore the pervasive and continuing importance of the legacy of Soviet economic and territorial planning, and the still rather limited changes that the marketization of the economy has been able to produce. [Key words: Residential preferences, residential satisfaction, Kazakhstan, housing, post-Soviet city.]