Urban–rural human settlements in China: Objective evaluation and subjective well-being

Abstract Human settlements have an important impact on human health, livability, and the economy, which has attracted widespread concern worldwide. Few studies have, however, paid attention to a comprehensive evaluation of urban and rural areas, as well as subjective and objective aspects. This paper evaluates four dimensions of urban–rural settlements in China, including environmental health, environmental tidiness, environmental amenity, and environmental support, from both subjective and objective perspectives. The findings are summarized as follows: (1) The quality of urban–rural human settlements in China has significantly improved over the last 20 years, and it shows a significant decreasing tendency from the southeastern coastal area to the northwestern inland area spatially. (2) The national average score of subjective estimation of human settlement is at the level of “Satisfied”, and it displays significant disparities in terms of residents’ attributes, such as occupation, age, education, and habitation. (3) The subjective evaluation and subjective well-being have a positive correlation regarding the comprehensive assessment of urban–rural human settlements, but there are significant differences in objective estimation to different sub-dimensions. Long-term follow-up investigation and evaluation should be the focus of future research. Findings provide scientific guidance for the optimization and improvement mechanism of urban–rural human settlements.