Residential environment linked to subjective well-being through life-domain satisfaction

New study explores the structural relationship between residential environments and subjective well-being

Keio University Global Research Institute

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Residential environments may be linked to subjective well-being through satisfaction with key life domains

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Credit: Dr. Shun Kawakubo from Keio University, Japan

Well-being is increasingly regarded as an important indicator of societal progress, extending beyond economic growth to capture how people experience and evaluate their lives. It is also closely connected to health, longevity, productivity, and quality of life. It has also been included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as Goal 3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” In this context, the residential environment may play a particularly important role. Housing is where people spend much of their time, rest, interact with others, and experience everyday comfort, safety, and security. However, while residential environments are often evaluated for energy efficiency, physical health, and comfort, their broader relationship with subjective well-being remains insufficiently understood.

To address this gap, Associate Professor Shun Kawakubo and Shiro Arata, a doctoral student at Keio University, explored the association between subjective well-being and the residential environments, focusing on six environmental conditions. “Although housing forms the basis of everyday life and people spend a significant portion of their daily lives in residential environments, the structural relationship between residential surroundings and subjective well-being has not been thoroughly studied. This inspired us to explore the relationship between subjective well-being and various aspects of the residential environment, and whether life-domain satisfaction mediates this relationship,” shares Dr. Kawakubo. The findings were published in the Journal of Happiness Studies on April 24, 2026.

The researchers analyzed responses from 1,001 adult residents in Japan using structural equation modeling, a statistical approach that can examine complex relationships among observed and latent variables. Participants completed an online survey assessing subjective well-being, residential environment, life-domain satisfaction, demographic factors, and personality traits. The residential environment was evaluated across six components: thermal, acoustic, lighting, hygiene, safety, and security conditions.  Life-domain satisfaction was represented by satisfaction with health, personal relationships, time spent on things one likes, the quality of the local environment, and residence.

The model showed that the residential environment was linked to subjective well-being through life-domain satisfaction. Better residential environments were linked to higher satisfaction with important life domains, which in turn was associated with greater subjective well-being. The estimated association between the residential environment and subjective well-being was comparable in magnitude to the association observed for being married and close to that associated with annual income, highlighting the potential importance of the residential environment in people's lives.

The analysis also showed that the residential environment should be understood as multidimensional rather than reduced to a single aspect. In this study, thermal, acoustic, lighting, hygiene, safety, and security conditions were examined together as components of the residential environment. The findings suggest that these everyday environmental conditions collectively characterize the residential environment, which may be associated with residents’ well-being through satisfaction with important life domains. 

Demographic factors and personality traits were also considered because subjective well-being is shaped not only by external environments, but also by individual circumstances and tendencies. Factors such as gender, age, marital status, education, working status, and income can influence how people evaluate their health, relationships, leisure, residence, and overall life satisfaction. Personality traits may also affect how residents perceive their surroundings and report well-being. By accounting for these factors, the study was able to more carefully examine the association between residential environment and subjective well-being, rather than attributing differences in well-being solely to residential conditions.

These findings may inform housing design, renovation strategies, residential environment assessment, public health, and sustainability-oriented policy discussions. Dr. Kawakubo explained, “Interventions that improve thermal comfort, reduce noise, enhance lighting quality, strengthen indoor hygiene, and increase safety and security may help support residents’ satisfaction with important life domains and contribute to more supportive living environments.”

Rather than treating the residential environment only as a matter of physical health, comfort, and energy performance, the findings suggest that housing policy and building-sector decisions should also consider subjective well-being. This is particularly relevant as modern societies place increasing emphasis on sustainability, quality of life, and social inclusion. 

Because the study used cross-sectional survey data, it cannot establish causal relationships, highlighting the need for future longitudinal research. As the study was based on data collected in Japan, further studies in other countries and regions will be needed to test whether similar patterns appear across different cultural, social, and climatic contexts.

In conclusion, the results provide an important foundation for future longitudinal studies and suggest that improving everyday residential conditions could become part of wider strategies for realizing sustainable and inclusive societies.

 

Reference
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-026-01043-1

 

About Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI), Japan
The Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI), established in November 2016, serves as a university-wide platform connecting faculties and graduate schools. It promotes interdisciplinary and international collaborative research that transcends academic and geographic boundaries, while disseminating research outcomes both domestically and globally.

In 2024, Keio University launched the Program for Forming Japan’s Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS), funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), under the vision of becoming a “research university that forges the common sense of the future.” Through this initiative, KGRI is strengthening research infrastructure to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting the societal implementation of research, and fostering a research ecosystem that enables collaboration across the university and with leading institutions in Japan and abroad.

Website: https://www.keio.ac.jp/en/org/kgri/

 

About Associate Professor Shun Kawakubo from Keio University
Dr. Shun Kawakubo is an Associate Professor at Keio University’s Department of System Design Engineering in Japan. He received his PhD in engineering from Keio University in 2013. His research specialties are sustainability science and environmental engineering for buildings and urban spaces. His research focuses on the relationships between built environments, sustainability, health and well-being. Through collaborative approaches, his team conducts field surveys, subject experiments, and numerical simulations. By engaging in interdisciplinary co-creation research that blends insights from multiple disciplines, Dr. Kawakubo’s team tackles global challenges in order to contribute to a sustainable future.

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Journal

Journal of Happiness Studies

DOI

10.1007/s10902-026-01043-1 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Role of the Residential Environment in Shaping Subjective Well-being

 

Researchers propose new architecture for EU pesticide regulation

A new policy brief from the Horizon Europe research project PollinERA proposes a regional budget system for pesticide regulation. The proposal follows a recent article in Science, where researchers warn that the EU Omnibus proposal could increase pesticide use

Aarhus University

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Danish landscape

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Credit: Jens Bonderup Kjeldsen

Current EU pesticide regulation assesses active substances and products individually. This has created a harmonised approval system, but it does not fully address how pesticides affect the environment in practice.

In agricultural landscapes, impacts do not arise from one product in isolation. They arise from the combined pressure of multiple substances used across fields, farms and regions over time.

This is the structural gap addressed in a new policy brief from PollinERA, co-authored by Professor Christopher J. Topping, Special Consultant, PhD, Johan Axelman and researcher James Henty Williams from the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University.

The proposal builds on the debate raised in the recent Science article, EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks, which highlights concerns that the EU’s proposed Omnibus changes could weaken pesticide safeguards rather than strengthen science-based risk assessment.

But PollinERA goes a step further by proposing a new regulatory architecture. It offers an operational route to closing a widely acknowledged gap: substance-by-substance, binary safe/unsafe assessment cannot manage cumulative pressure at landscape scale.

From approve-or-ban to regional management

The central idea is a regional pesticide budget. Each ecological region would receive an annual capacity for permitted pesticide pressure. Individual pesticide applications would then be managed within that regional capacity.

Products with lower environmental impact would use less of the budget, while more persistent or more toxic substances would use more. In this way, the system is intended to replace simple approve-or-ban decisions with graduated, capacity-bounded management.

According to the authors, this could align pesticide regulation more closely with EU environmental law, where many obligations already operate at the level of ecosystems, river basins and landscapes.

Creating incentives for lower-impact products

The proposal also changes the incentive structure.

Under the current product-by-product system, a broad-spectrum persistent product and a more selective, rapidly degrading product may both be approved and therefore appear equivalent from a regulatory perspective.

In a regional budget system, however, the lower-impact product would use less of the farmer’s seasonal entitlement. This gives farmers a practical incentive to choose lower-impact products and gives manufacturers a commercial incentive to develop more targeted and environmentally benign crop protection solutions.

A system built on existing infrastructure

The authors argue that the proposal would not require a completely new data system.

Active substances could be assigned toxic unit values based on ecotoxicological data already contained in current authorisation dossiers. Farmers would register intended pesticide applications through a digital notification system linked to land parcel data, and the system would calculate whether the application fits within the remaining regional budget.

The policy brief points to Denmark as a relevant proof of concept, because Denmark already has mandatory digital pesticide use reporting, detailed parcel-level agricultural data and extensive groundwater monitoring.

Fair access for farmers

The proposal also addresses how a shared regional pesticide budget could be distributed fairly. Each farm would receive a baseline entitlement based on agricultural area and crop type. The system could also include limited carry-over of unused entitlement, holding caps, a regulated secondary market and a reserved allocation for new entrants and small farms.

The aim is to prevent large or early actors from monopolising regional pesticide capacity, while preserving flexibility for farmers facing pest or disease pressure.

A system-based perspective on pesticide regulation

The PollinERA policy brief argues that the Omnibus process should not only be seen as a debate about simplification or deregulation.

It is also an opportunity to modernise pesticide regulation architecturally. This reflects a broader scientific and policy discussion within the EU on how to address cumulative environmental impacts, where Aarhus University researchers contribute through several EU research projects. 

By managing total pesticide pressure at regional level, the proposed system is intended to add an additional layer to current regulation, aimed at addressing cumulative environmental impacts while supporting farmer flexibility, resistance management and innovation in lower-impact products.

Read the Science article: EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks

Read the PollinERA policy brief: Pesticide regulation and the Omnibus process: A systems-based regional management approach

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.aeg8744 

Article Title

EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks

 

How tall and short trees can coexist in old growth forests

Efficiency of light interception and use drive secondary forest succession

Kyoto University

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A lush green forest, one of the study sites used in this study. While appearing peaceful at first glance, the forest is a fierce battleground for survival among trees.

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Credit: KyotoU / Yusuke Onoda

Kyoto, Japan -- Forests are shaped by light competition. The trees that grow the tallest have access to the most sunlight, blocking the rays and rendering the shaded space around them inhospitable to shorter trees below. In this stem exclusion phase of forest succession, the shorter trees often die. Yet scientists have observed that in old growth forests, trees of vastly different sizes successfully coexist, proving that reaching the top of the canopy is not the sole winning strategy for survival in a forest environment.

The height diversity of trees in mature forests indicates that light competition and species coexistence can balance out in forest succession. To understand how, quantifying light competition among trees is essential, but the complex architectural structures of natural forests and individual crowns have hindered rigorous scientific evaluation. A team of researchers from Kyoto University resolved to take on the challenge and solve this mystery.

"The competition for light among trees is frequently referred to as an evolutionary arms race, but trees of vastly different sizes successfully coexist in mature forests," says first author Yusuke Onoda. "We became interested in this paradox."

The team chose an approach with a novel framework analyzing a tree's relative growth rate, or the speed at which a tree grows relative to its size, separated into two key factors: light interception efficiency, which indicates how much sunlight a tree captures per unit of biomass, and light use efficiency, which describes how effectively a tree converts the intercepted sunlight into biomass. To test their framework in the wild, the scientists mapped the crown shapes and 3D light profiles of each tree within 12 different forest plots of varying ages in Japan, totaling more than 2,000 individual trees of 50 different species.

The results revealed a mechanistic explanation behind how light competition quantitatively drives secondary forest succession. In younger stands, or plots in a forest, taller trees have disproportionate advantages in light capture, forcing rapid height stratification. In older stands, however, the higher light use efficiency of shade-tolerant species enables them to thrive under tall canopies, promoting vertical species coexistence.

By uncovering the hidden mechanics of forest succession, this study offers a new perspective on how trees navigate light competition and establishes a new principle that explains how forests change across time and space. These insights have the potential to improve climate modeling and enable smarter forest management.

The team is applying their approach to other forest sites of different ages across various climate zones, including warm temperate and tropical forests. They hope this will validate and establish their framework as a general, universal principle on a global scale.

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The paper "Partitioning tree growth into light interception and use efficiencies clarifies the role of light competition in secondary forest succession" appeared on 8 July 2026 in the Journal of Ecology, with doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.70375

About Kyoto University

Kyoto University is one of Japan and Asia's premier research institutions, founded in 1897 and responsible for producing numerous Nobel laureates and winners of other prestigious international prizes. A broad curriculum across the arts and sciences at undergraduate and graduate levels complements several research centers, facilities, and offices around Japan and the world. For more information, please see: http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en

By breaking down tree growth into light interception and use efficiencies, this study reveals how light competition drives secondary forest succession. In young stands, the superior light capture of taller trees dominates, forcing rapid height stratification. In older stands, higher light use efficiency of shade-tolerant species enables them to thrive under tall canopies, promoting vertical species coexistence.

Credit

KyotoU / Yusuke Onoda

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Journal

Journal of Ecology

DOI

10.1111/1365-2745.70375 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Partitioning tree growth into light interception and use efficiencies clarifies the role of light competition in secondary forest succession

Article Publication Date

8-Jul-2026

 

Soil thickness controls landslide occurrence, study finds

University of Tsukuba

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Tsukuba, Japan—Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall and earthquakes are becoming increasingly severe across Japan. However, accurately predicting their location and magnitude remains challenging. One obstacle is the difficulty of characterizing the shallow subsurface soil layers—directly involved in landslides. These layers are typically only tens of centimeters to a few meters thick. Advances in airborne laser surveying now make it possible to capture high-resolution topographic data before and after a disaster, allowing detailed analysis of landslide geometry. The team drew on these datasets to investigate the mechanisms that govern when and where landslides occur.

Working with pre- and post-event digital elevation models from catchments hit by past heavy-rainfall disasters, the researchers compared landslide area, depth, and slope gradient. They found that the widely assumed relationship between landslide area and depth holds only weakly, especially for shallow landslides, and that slope gradient exerts a much stronger control on depth. Notably, they found that the thickness of the failed soil layer falls within a relatively constrained range that varies systematically with slope gradient. Theoretical models such as the infinite slope stability framework, a standard tool for evaluating slope failure, have long predicted this pattern, but the study provides clear empirical confirmation across a large set of real disaster cases.

The findings suggest that the location and size of landslides can be estimated from relatively simple indicators, namely slope gradient and soil thickness. They also offer a foundation for hazard maps and risk assessments that account for the heavier rainfall expected under climate change. By making landslide assessments easier to apply in practice, the approach could strengthen disaster prevention and mitigation.

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This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Number JP20H03019-JP23H02246), the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund of the ERCA (JPMEERF20252004) funded by the Ministry of the Environment, and the Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation (SPRING) program funded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency.

 

Original Paper

Title of original paper:
Depth of rainfall induced landslides revealed by DEM of difference analysis using airborne LiDAR data in igneous terrains

Journal:
Scientific Reports

DOI:
10.1038/s41598-026-46714-4

Correspondence

Professor UCHIDA, Taro
Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba

KUDO, Yuki
Doctoral Program in Environmental Studies, Degree Programs in Life and Earth Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba

Related Link

Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences

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Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-026-46714-4 

Article Title

Depth of rainfall induced landslides revealed by DEM of difference analysis using airborne LiDAR data in igneous terrains

 

Atomic-level engineering of Cu nanoclusters improves conversion of carbon dioxide to fuel

The careful fine-tuning of copper nanoclusters can make a big difference in how chemical reactions proceed – improving our ability to turn carbon dioxide into something useful

Tohoku University

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Representation of the whole work with nanocluster structures and their CO₂ reduction capabilities. Hydrogen atoms are omitted for clarity. 

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Credit: Yuichi Negishi et al.

A collaborative research team from Tohoku University and the Indian Institute of Technology Indore has made a significant breakthrough in carbon dioxide (CO₂) conversion. Their discovery offers a promising strategy for converting harmful CO₂ into valuable fuels and chemicals under mild conditions, advancing efforts toward sustainable carbon utilization and clean energy technologies. The findings were published in JACS Au on June 30, 2026.

Nanoclusters made of copper (Cu) - an inexpensive, naturally abundant material - have been gaining traction as promising aids of catalytic transformations. If developed correctly, these nanoclusters can improve the efficiency of a reaction called the electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction. Doing so may bring us closer to developing better renewable energy storage and becoming a carbon neutral society.

One issue in this reaction is that formate - an unwanted byproduct - is conventionally produced. To suppress formate production, the research team modulated the Cu(I)/Cu(II) ratio in a Cu nanocluster. Instead of formate, the reaction now selectively produces the desired outcome: methanol (CH3OH). This greatly improves the efficiency of the reaction.

To achieve this boost in efficiency, the researchers needed to precisely engineer the structure of the nanocluster. The result was a structurally well-defined sulfide-templated Cu nanocluster, [S@Cu₅₀S₁₂(StBu)₂₀(CF₃COO)₁₂] (S@Cu₅₀) featuring a unique core-shell architecture composed of an inner S@Cu₁₄S₁₂ core surrounded by an outer Cu36(StBu)20 shell protected by thiolate ligands. This allowed for the controlled modulation of the Cu(I)/Cu(II) ratio, while preserving the overall geometric framework.

In addition, the team compared this nanocluster to a reported Cu₅₀S₁₂(StBu)₂₀(CF₃COO)₁₂] (Cu₅₀) nanocluster analogue, to directly investigate the influence of valence-state changes on catalytic performance.

Although both nanoclusters share very similar structural frameworks, the introduction of a sulfide ion at the center of the S@Cu₅₀ cluster led to subtle but crucial changes in its electronic properties. Altering the overall valence-state distribution of Cu and shifting the electronic structure significantly changed how reaction intermediates interacted with the catalyst surface, ultimately redirecting CO₂ conversion.

The researchers found that although both nanoclusters exhibited comparable overall catalytic activity, their product selectivity during CO₂ electroreduction differed remarkably. While Cu₅₀ predominantly produced formate (the undesired outcome) with a Faradaic efficiency of 38%, the newly developed nanocluster significantly suppressed formate formation to below 11% and instead enabled selective methanol production with a Faradaic efficiency of approximately 19% at −1.0 V versus RHE - a product completely absent in the Cu₅₀ system.

"This study provides the first clear evidence that precise modulation of the copper valence state in Cu nanoclusters can directly influence the selectivity of CO₂ reduction pathways," explains Professor Negishi (Tohoku University).

This breakthrough marks an important step toward designing next-generation catalysts, where atomic-level control can unlock cleaner and more efficient pathways for converting CO₂ into valuable fuels.

 

Detailed structural architecture of synthesized S@Cu₅₀ NC (a) Overall core-shell structural architecture (b) geometry of core and (c) geometry of shell. Hydrogen atoms are omitted for clarity. 

Credit

Yuichi Negishi et al.

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Journal

JACS Au

DOI

10.1021/jacsau.6c00817 

Article Title

Atomic-Level Valence-State Engineering Redirects CO₂ Electroreduction on Cu Nanoclusters