Community Priorities and Satisfaction in a Healthy City: A Living Lab in Wonju

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