The social context in question The context of overall human interactions and relationships The general setting where people interact The environment encompassing societal norms and behaviors The sphere of relationships, customs, and networks people have - Berliners express high levels of discontent in city survey.
Based on a recent survey, it turned out that Berlin residents are among the least content in comparison among Germany's urban areas. In a ranking of the 40 most populous cities with over 200,000 people, this German capital only secured the 37th spot. Cities like Kassel emerged as the happiest, with Erfurt and Aachen taking the top two spots, as per the "Happiness Atlas" of the South German Lottery (SKL). Rostock, Karlsruhe, and Wiesbaden were at the very bottom.
The authors of the study were quite disappointed to find Berlin at the 37th spot, as the same poor ranking has been recurring in the annual surveys of the Happiness Atlas and is now evident in the 2024 City Happiness Ranking as well.
To arrive at this ranking, the Institute for Demoscopy Allensbach surveyed a total of 25,557 people across these cities between January 2021 and April 2024. The authors made sure to survey all cities during the same time period, so there's no impact from the Coronavirus situation on the results. The evaluation was based on how the respondents perceived their quality of life without taking into consideration factors like income, infrastructure, or the presence of green spaces.
According to Raffelhüschen, the leader of the survey at the University of Freiburg, the lower position of Berlin in the ranking is quite bittersweet. The study discovered that people in the more content cities feel significantly happier despite their cities having fewer resources than indicated by the 'Happiness Atlas' objective criteria.
Raffelhüschen elaborated further, saying that these content cities typically have a small-town, family-friendly atmosphere, often with a university setting, are quite quiet, have numerous green spaces, and are blessed with good air quality. At the same time, cities with high "Happiness Atlas" criteria such as Munich, Freiburg im Breisgau, and Karlsruhe didn't perform so well in the rankings. The researchers established that factors like family-friendly policies, education, healthcare, purchasing power, and environmental quality had the strongest effect on life satisfaction, with GDP, culture, leisure, and better transportation infrastructure being less relevant.
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- The survey results reveal that Berlin, despite being one of Germany's largest cities, ranked 37th in terms of resident satisfaction in the "Happiness Atlas" of the South German Lottery (SKL).
- Contrastingly, cities like Kassel, Erfurt, and Aachen, located in Hesse and other regions, ranked higher, with Kassel emerging as the happiest city in the study.
- The study, conducted by the Institute for Demoscopy Allensbach, surveyed a total of 25,557 individuals from these 40 cities between January 2021 and April 2024, ensuring no bias from the Coronavirus situation.
- According to Raffelhüschen, who led the survey at the University of Freiburg, the happiest cities tend to have a small-town atmosphere, family-friendly settings, and abundant green spaces, despite having fewer resources by objective criteria.
- Interestingly, cities with high "Happiness Atlas" criteria, such as Munich, Freiburg im Breisgau, and Karlsruhe, did not necessarily rank higher in the study, indicating that factors like family-friendly policies, education, healthcare, purchasing power, and environmental quality are more influential in determining life satisfaction.
- This research highlights the importance of municipalities focusing on social affairs to improve their citizens' well-being, which could be particularly relevant for cities like Berlin, aiming to improve their ranking in future studies.
- The implications of these findings could extend beyond Germany, as other countries may also gain insight from this study to shape their own social policies to enhance their citizens' overall happiness.
Source: www.stern.de
