LAUSR

Abstract In China, rapid and extensive urbanization has brought not only benefits due to urban agglomeration but also various urban problems; both affect residents' happiness. Previous studies have emphasized the direct impacts of growing city size on happiness, and few have addressed the indirect effects of city size on happiness through subjective evaluations in developing countries. Based on an extensive questionnaire survey conducted in 44 cities in the Bohai rim area in 2014, this paper establishes a theoretical framework to explore both the direct and indirect effects of city size on residents' happiness by applying subjective measurements in urban China. City size is found to have a nonlinear correlation with happiness. Individual satisfaction with both urban life and income mediate the relationship between urban objective attributes and happiness. House price has a positive impact on urban satisfaction, while the influences of haze pollution and traffic congestion are negative. Income positively affects happiness at the individual level. However, the city-level average wage has little relationship with happiness. These findings provide insights for deeply improving citizens’ quality of life under rapid urbanization and designing urban construction in developing countries.