Author(s)

Meiling Qu, Junyi Meng, Tianzhu Gu, Jiahui Dong

Corresponding Author

Tianzhu Gu

Abstract

This paper uses the China City Statistical Yearbook and the CLDS database to explore the mechanisms by which urban population size, population density, and land area affect residents’ happiness. The findings reveal that the happiness of male residents is higher than that of female residents in China due to differences in personality and the pressure of the employment situation; the happiness of urban residents is higher than that of rural residents due to income change expectations and differences in living standards; and the happiness of residents in the eastern region is higher than that in the central and western regions, mainly due to the expansion of urban scale brought about by population agglomeration, which helps to the construction of urbanization and the level of urban economy. In addition, the size of the urban population is conducive to the development of new urbanization, and the increase in urban population density has a more significant effect than expanding the land area. In conclusion, the country should pay attention to urbanization construction and development quality. At the same time, it needs to overcome the unbalanced urban-rural relationship and inadequate regional development brought about by urban development.

Keywords

Shared prosperity, Urbanization, Residents’ well-being, Gender differences, Urban-rural development