Many factors may account for community-level differences in life satisfaction, and there is a growing body of international and Canadian research in this domain. This includes work that examines the role played by the physical characteristics of geographic areas, such as urban size and population density, natural endowments, economic opportunity or deprivation, and access to, and quality of, infrastructure, amenities and services (see Ballas [2013] and Schwanen and Wang [2014] for reviews). The social dimensions of geographic areas are also being explored. For example, using GSS data, Helliwell and Wang (2011) find evidence t
hat the life that matters most to people is local, reflecting the levels of trust and the quality of social connections in their neighbourhoods and workplaces.
Note 14 Studies have also considered the importance of social comparisons within areas, such as income relative to one’s neighbours and levels of inequality (e.g., Luttmer [2005], Hou [2014]). Furthermore, analyses of life satisfaction are being done at various levels of geography—across neighbourhoods, communities, provinces and states, and countries.