Residential decision-making and satisfaction among new suburbanites in the Tallinn urban region, Estonia

The prevailing research into suburbanisation in former centrally planned countries explains suburban change by referring to macro-level factors that are evident in the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy. Findings show that in a neo-liberal environment, the public sector plays only a modest role in residential planning; the key players are developers and banks. This study takes a different approach by focusing on the micro-level factors that lead households to move from the city to new, post-Soviet suburban settlements, specifically in the Tallinn urban region of Estonia. A sample of data from the University of Tartu’s 2006 New Residential Areas Survey is herein analysed in order to ascertain the reasons for moving, the criteria used in the selection of a particular suburban settlement, and the subsequent levels of residential satisfaction. The results show that, for the period in question, housing adjustment moves were more prevalent than induced moves triggered by life-course changes. In addition, it was found that, generally, new suburbanites were satisfied with their housing and neighbourhoods. However, they were less satisfied with the provision of local services, especially when their new settlements lay at a distance from pre-transition settlements.