The positive influence of accessibility and visitation frequency to places on social and neighborhood satisfaction for individuals living with disabilities

Individuals with disabilities often face barriers to participating in activities of daily living and maintaining social connections. Community integration, defined as active engagement in daily activities such as work, recreation, and social life, plays a crucial role in improving mental health, reducing loneliness, and fostering a sense of belonging. While previous research shows that access to some amenities offers improvements in satisfaction, empirical evidence remains limited on how accessibility and visitation patterns to places of work, religious institutions, and leisure facilities relate to subjective well-being among individuals with disabilities. This study examines how proximity and frequency of visits to various types of places are associated with neighborhood satisfaction, social life satisfaction, and place attachment among individuals living with disabilities. To answer the question, a survey was conducted with 262 individuals living with disabilities in Utah, USA. Ordinal logistic regression and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) were used to explore the relationships among demographic and independent variables and the level of satisfaction and attachment among individuals with disabilities. The results indicate that more frequent visits to places of worship and indoor and outdoor recreation positively predict social and neighborhood satisfaction. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of community amenities, the value of accessibility, and their role as third places in shaping social experiences and the well-being of individuals with disabilities.