Association between subway and life satisfaction: Evidence from Xi'an, China.

• The presence of subway is positively associated with life satisfaction. • Walkability, transit quality, and accessibility are mediating variables. • Travel satisfaction is also a mediating variable. • The association is higher in China than in the U.S. Policymakers often claim that rail transit helps enhance residents' life satisfaction. However, efforts to examine its effects are limited, particularly in developing countries. Based on a case–control design in Xi'an, a developing city in China, this study employs the structural equation modeling approach to explore the association between subway and life satisfaction. The results show that subway is positively associated with life satisfaction through its links with quality of transit service, walkability, accessibility, and travel satisfaction. These mechanisms underlying the association between subway and life satisfaction suggest that station area planning and design need to be coordinated with subway deployment to maximize well-being benefits of subway. Furthermore, this study suggests that rail transit is a more impactful instrument for well-being enhancement in developing countries than in developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]