Community Priorities and Satisfaction in a Healthy City: A Living Lab in Wonju
Abstract
Background: As an urban–rural complex WHO Healthy City, Wonju likely experiences disparities in living conditions and service accessibility, contributing to variation in community satisfaction. Therefore, as community satisfaction is a key determinant of individuals’ quality of life, this study aims to explore how residents’ perceptions of community problems are associated with satisfaction.
Methods: Data were collected in 2026 from 2,500 residents in Wonju City, South Korea, via a living lab at the Regional Crisis Response Collaborative Research Center, G-Lab. Community problem perceptions were categorized into socio-economic, health and welfare, and social-environmental domains. Community satisfaction was measured on a 10-point scale. Generalized linear models examined associations, adjusting for socio-demographic factors and subjective health status.
Results: Individuals who identified health and welfare issues as the primary community concern reported significantly higher levels of community satisfaction compared to individuals who prioritized socio-economic and living environment issues (β = 0.14, p < .05). Additionally, being female, older, longer residence, and better subjective health were significantly associated with higher community satisfaction.
Conclusions: Residents’ perceptions of community problems are meaningful indicators of underlying conditions, supporting their application in community-based approaches such as living labs. In urban–rural integrated settings, such perceptions are likely to capture heterogeneity from coexisting urban and rural characteristics. This study provides evidence to identify diverse community needs and inform context-sensitive interventions bridging resident perceptions and urban policy.
Funding: This research was supported by the Regional Innovation System & Education(RISE) program through the Gangwon RISE Center, funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Gangwon State (G.S.), Republic of Korea. (2025-RISE-10-006)
Key messages: • Residents prioritizing health/welfare issues report higher satisfaction than those focused on economic/environmental problems, showing that problem perception is a vital proxy for community stability.
• In urban–rural complex cities, capturing resident perceptions through living labs reveals area-specific needs, providing essential evidence to align local policy with diverse community characteristics
Related
- Post-2020 conservation priorities are threatened by global mining.
- Coastal Landfills as Emerging and Poorly Quantified Sources of Marine Microplastics: Evidence Gaps, Flux Scenarios and Research Priorities
- Species Inventory in Forest Fragments of the Most Biodiverse Sites in the Upper Guinea Region, West Africa: Priorities for Conservation
- CMIP7 data request: ocean and sea ice priorities and opportunities
- Spatial assessment of blue-green tourism potential and sustainable development priorities in the Central Aran economic region of Azerbaijan
BibTeX
@article{ma2026community,
title = {{Community Priorities and Satisfaction in a Healthy City: A Living Lab in Wonju}},
author = {SJ Ma and MH Heo and YD Kwon and J Kim and JW Noh},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1810},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1810},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Community Priorities and Satisfaction in a Healthy City: A Living Lab in Wonju
AU - SJ Ma
AU - MH Heo
AU - YD Kwon
AU - J Kim
AU - JW Noh
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1810
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1810
AB - Background: As an urban–rural complex WHO Healthy City, Wonju likely experiences disparities in living conditions and service accessibility, contributing to variation in community satisfaction. Therefore, as community satisfaction is a key determinant of individuals’ quality of life, this study aims to explore how residents’ perceptions of community problems are associated with satisfaction. Methods: Data were collected in 2026 from 2,500 residents in Wonju City, South Korea, via a living lab at the Regional Crisis Response Collaborative Research Center, G-Lab. Community problem perceptions were categorized into socio-economic, health and welfare, and social-environmental domains. Community satisfaction was measured on a 10-point scale. Generalized linear models examined associations, adjusting for socio-demographic factors and subjective health status. Results: Individuals who identified health and welfare issues as the primary community concern reported significantly higher levels of community satisfaction compared to individuals who prioritized socio-economic and living environment issues (β = 0.14, p < .05). Additionally, being female, older, longer residence, and better subjective health were significantly associated with higher community satisfaction. Conclusions: Residents’ perceptions of community problems are meaningful indicators of underlying conditions, supporting their application in community-based approaches such as living labs. In urban–rural integrated settings, such perceptions are likely to capture heterogeneity from coexisting urban and rural characteristics. This study provides evidence to identify diverse community needs and inform context-sensitive interventions bridging resident perceptions and urban policy. Funding: This research was supported by the Regional Innovation System & Education(RISE) program through the Gangwon RISE Center, funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Gangwon State (G.S.), Republic of Korea. (2025-RISE-10-006) Key messages: • Residents prioritizing health/welfare issues report higher satisfaction than those focused on economic/environmental problems, showing that problem perception is a vital proxy for community stability. • In urban–rural complex cities, capturing resident perceptions through living labs reveals area-specific needs, providing essential evidence to align local policy with diverse community characteristics
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -