Investigation of the effect of quality of life parameters on the housing preferences of uses

Housing mobility caused by housing preferences has a big impact on residential sites and cities. The concept of quality alone is not enough to define criteria to housing preferences. Even though house is a result of sheltering needs it involves different economical, cultural and psychological balances for individuals other than just being a shelter. When defining this multirange relationship, we come across with the concept of life quality. The life quality is a broad and multidisciplinary concept by being individual based and the subject of many fields' researches. With these characteristics, life quality allows determining the parameters for specifying criteria to housing preferences. Life quality parameters are examined under two categories; objective and subjective. Objective parameters define the objective features of physical environment the individual lives in, whereas subjective parameters contain subjective judgements the indivial lands on as a result of its relation with physical environment. The data collected from these two categories gives insights about lifestyle and wellfare level of users in research area. In the scope of this paper, studies about life quality in Turkey and around the globe have been analyzed and parameters spesific to Mersin has been set forth. A field study has been made in Mersin with a scale developed considering defined parameters and life quality parameters' effect on housing preferences has been examined. It has been determined which way life quality parameters affect housing preferences and housing mobility based on data gained through the field study.