title: Neighborhood Quality and Attachment: Validation of the Revised Residential Environment Assessment Tool.
abstract: Various studies have shown that neighborhood quality is linked to neighborhood attachment and satisfaction. However, most have relied upon residents' own perceptions rather than independent observations of the neighborhood environment. This study examines the reliability and validity of the revised Residential Environment Assessment Tool (REAT 2.0), an audit instrument covering both public and private spaces of the neighborhood environment. The research shows that REAT 2.0 is a reliable, easy-to-use instrument and that most underlying constructs can be validated against residents' own neighborhood perceptions. The convergent validity of the instrument, which was tested against digital map data, can be improved for a number of miscellaneous urban form items. The research further found that neighborhood attachment was significantly associated with the overall REAT 2.0 score. This association can mainly be attributed to the property-level neighborhood quality and natural elements components. The research demonstrates the importance of private spaces in the outlook of the neighborhood environment.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: Wouter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Poortinga
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Calve
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: Nikki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lannon
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: Tabitha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.affiliation: Swansea University, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Rodgers
authors.affiliation: Swansea University, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: Ronan A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.affiliation: Swansea University, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: Rhodri
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johnson
keywords: audit tool; inter-rater reliability; neighborhood quality; place attachment; validation