Living Spaces - Public Opinion Survey of the BBR 2003

Apartment and residential status. Housing costs. Settlement structures and the socio-structural context of the dwelling and its evaluation. Economic background. Neighbourhood and integration. Mobility.

Topics: 1. Housing: town size; living in the city centre or outside; location; duration of residence at the place of residence; duration of residence in the current residence; residential status; owner of the dwelling (private individual, local authority or other housing enterprises, housing cooperatives, company housing).

2. Housing costs: tenants were asked: housing entitlement certificate required; amount of monthly rent; rent including heating and hot water; amount of monthly costs for heating and hot water; amount of the monthly heating flat rate; amount of the hot water money; amount of the monthly hot water lump sum; amount of the average monthly heating costs; payment cycle for heating and hot water and paid amount; amount of annual amount for heating and hot water; assessment of rental costs; receipt and amount of housing benefit; owners were asked: size of plot; type of ownership acquisition (old stock, new building, inheritance); reasons for owning your own house or a own dwelling; claiming state subsidies (owner-occupied dwelling allowance or §10e of the Income Tax Act); encumbrance of the real property by loans or credits or unencumbered; amount of the monthly charge for interest and repayment of principal; amount of monthly operating expenses for
heating, hot water, refuse collection, etc.; amount of housing benefit to be paid for freehold flats.

3. Current dwelling and living environment: living space; number of residential premises; assessment of the size of the dwelling; equipment of the dwelling; equipment meets needs; modernization or renovation in the last two years; type of modernization works (smaller renovation, partial renovation or complete renovation); cost units of the refurbishment (tenants only); respondent carried out refurbishment himself; period of construction; type of house; assessment of the structural condition of the house satisfaction with the place of residence, the immediate living environment, the neighborhood, the environmental conditions and the street scene in the living environment (scalometer); satisfaction with the apartment (scalometer).

4. Residential area and social structure: description of the residential environment and of the residential area; construction period of the houses in the residential area; structure of the residential area: pure new development area, one- or two-family houses, multi-family houses or larger apartment blocks; type of desired house; size of the preferred place of residence; preferred residential location within the metropolis; preference for old or new residential areas; information on the last dwelling: residential status of the last dwelling; location of the last dwelling; size of the last place of residence; place of residence in the surrounding area of a larger city; name of municipality; tesidential area within the city; tesidential area within a purely residential area or mixed development; type of residential area; age (construction period) of the houses in the residential area; pure new development area; one- or two-family houses, multi-family houses or larger blocks of flats; heavily trafficked road; street greening; vacant flats or shops in the residential area; reputation (image) of the residential area at that time; main reason for relocation; residential area as relocation motive; most important relocation motives; reputation (image) of the present residential area; structural condition of the residential area; vacant flats or shops in the residential area; environmental pollution of the residential environment (Road traffic noise, railway noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise, odours, exhaust gases or dust generation); load of the residential area through burglaries, harassment, violence or smearing at houses; heavily trafficked road; street greening; change in the street scene in the last few years; measures to redesign the residential area and nature of the measures carried out; existing plans for the redesign and type of planned remodelling; within walking distance accessible selected infrastructure facilities in the residential area; relatives and friends in the neighbourhood; relationship with neighbours; give neighbours the key to own flat; things the respondent would miss after relocation; social differences in the residential area; change in the social structure in the residential area; subjectively perceived population composition in the residential area.

5. Neighbourhood and integration: relationship between Germans and foreigners in the residential environment; reasons for friction; evaluation of the personal experiences with foreigners in the neighbourhood; duration of stay of the foreigners in the residential area; origin of newly arrived
foreigners (repatriates of German origin, refugees or those who have already been living in Germany for some time) ; attitude towards spatial separation of Germans and foreigners in a neighborhood; German nationality; contacts to foreigners and Germans (segregation).

6. Mobility: intention to relocate; main reason for relocation; residential area as a reason for intention to relocate; reasons for relocation in the residential area; relocation preference (target area); stay in the federal state or intention to relocate into another federal state and naming of this federal state; evaluation of the current personal economic situation; comparison of the current personal economic situation with that of five years ago, and expected future economic situation; employment status; assessment of own job security; distance between workplace and home; means of transport used to get to work; commuting time between home and place of work; difficulties with the compatibility of family and career; possession of a car driving licence; number of cars in the household.

Demography: sex; age; marital status; household type; employment status; full-time or part-time employment; occupational status (occupational groups); employee status, worker status, or
civil servant status; school leaving certificate; completed vocational training or study; household size; household composition: number of children under 6 years, from 6 to 13 years, young people from 14 to 17 years and persons aged 18 and over; number of income earners in the household; net household income; employment status of other persons in the household or unemployed, pensioners or students in the household; five years ago still other persons in the household and reasons for the change of household composition (excerpt of children, separation, death of a family member); extension of the household to include other persons in the last five years and reasons; number of landline telephone connections in the household; life satisfaction (scalometer).

Additionally coded was: survey year; mode of collection (CATI, CAPI); federal state; east/west; city and municipality type; weighting factors.