Exploring physical-spatial dimensions of sustainable housing affordability: Insights from planned neighborhoods in Khulna, Bangladesh

Existing multidimensional housing affordability assessments have yet to adequately explain how neighborhood physical-spatial conditions, residents' priorities, and residential satisfaction are interrelated. This study investigates the sustainability of housing affordability by developing an integrated conceptual framework that recognizes financial affordability and neighborhood livability as two interrelated dimensions of sustainable housing affordability. Grounded in housing affordability, neighborhood design, and residential satisfaction scholarship, the framework integrates six criteria and twenty-four indicators. Employing a mixed-methods comparative approach, the research examines two planned neighborhoods in Khulna, Bangladesh, through morphological mapping and built-environment analysis, 200 semi-structured household interviews, Residents' Preference and Satisfaction Indices (RPI and RSI), and separate multiple linear regression models. The physical-spatial analysis reveals contrasting neighborhood qualities: mixed land use and interconnected streets support accessibility and social interaction but are constrained by congestion, inadequate pedestrian infrastructure, and limited public spaces; conversely, more controlled residential layouts provide spatial order and greenery but restrict access to everyday services and informal social spaces. Residents assigned high importance to housing price/rent in both neighborhoods, alongside differing priorities concerning walkability, infrastructure connectivity, and environmental quality. Overall residential satisfaction with neighborhood livability varied between the neighborhoods, with contrasting patterns across income groups. The regression models exhibited substantial within-sample explanatory fit, identifying significant associations between neighborhood satisfaction and the perceived importance of commuting-related attributes, natural elements, social space, sense of place, and crime rates. By integrating physical-spatial evidence with residents’ priorities and satisfaction, the study advances multidimensional housing affordability assessment and provides an empirical basis for context-sensitive neighborhood design and planning guidelines that promote neighborhood livability and sustainable residential development.