The aim of this article is to propose a contextual approach to the study of crowding, taking into consideration the sociophysical unity of the place where crowding occurs. The study presented here is focused on a specific urban place (a neighborhood in Rome) inside a large metropolitan area. Its aim is to investigate the relationship between negative evaluation of social density (crowding) and inhabitants' residential satisfaction. The perception of crowding expressed by the inhabitants was studied in relationship to (a) the patterns of the evaluations involved in the residential satisfaction about the neighborhood, (b) the spatiophysical features of the place considered, and (c) the sociodemographic and residential characteristics of the inhabitants. The results point to the strong saliency of the crowding evaluation within (a) overall residential satisfaction and (b) the inhabitant's concern with the spatiosocial openness-closedness of the neighborhood environment. The findings are discussed, pointing out the interest in a contextual approach to crowding.
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