Explaining Citizen Evaluations of Urban Services: A Comparison of Some Alternative Models

This study evaluates alternative models of citizen satisfaction with urban services. More specifically, it compares and assesses three models of satisfaction at two points in time. The availability of cross-section survey data on city residents at two time points, supplemented with aggregate evidence, make possible a test of what Coleman (1964) refers to as the “equilibrium assumption.” Only one of the three models, referred to as the “personal contact” model, was found to be supported by the evidence. Further, this model was supported at two points in time and was found to have nearly identical parameters of influence at the two time points.