International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication ISSN: 2321-8169 Volume: 2 Issue: 12 3956 - 3961 _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 3956 IJRITCC | December 2014, Available @ http://www.ijritcc.org _______________________________________________________________________________________ A Review: Urbanization and Life Satisfaction Serene Shekhar Department of Extension and Communication Management, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, S. K. Nagar, Gujarat, India. shekhar.sdau@gmail.com Dr. Shridhar Joshi Municipal Arts & Urban Bank Science College Mehsana Gujarat, India. drshridharjoshi@gmail.com Sarita Sanwal Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, S. K. Nagar, Gujarat, India. sanwalsdau@gmail.com Abstract :- With urbanization, the burden to earn more and live rich is mounting and the ability to reach their own /societal expectations lead to pressure that may lead to varied degree of satisfaction in life. Life satisfaction is a subjective assessment of the quality of one‟s li fe. The present study tends to find the criteria that influence life satisfaction of the people in modern world. The following objectives were set to achieve the stated aim (a) To understand life-satisfaction (b) To find determinants of life satisfaction (c) Who are more satisfied with life. The study was conducted through desk research method. Attempts have been made to draw inferences from various researches and reports. The view of multi- angled literatures has been incorporated as felt fit to the context. The results interpreted are that education, increase of income, being married, family size (number of children), good health, connection with community, religious attitude are some important happiness drivers and has positive impact on life satisfaction. __________________________________________________*****_________________________________________________ Introduction: India is the second most populous country in the world and has reached a state where urbanization is taking place at a faster rate and the desire of the people to live life in modernity is rising. People strive hard to make their family life up-to date and feel satisfied. Satisfaction with one‟s life implies contentment with or acceptance of one‟s life circumstances, or the fulfilment of one‟s wants and needs for one‟s life as a whole. The last decade has seen an increase in cross-cultural studies, in which perceptions of national characteristics (e.g. societal, political and economical ones) has received more attention. In 2006, data was analysed to create the index by using reference from UNESCO, the CIA, the NEW Economic Foundation, the WHO, the Veenhoven Database, the Latinbarometer, the Afrobarometer, and the UNHDR. These sources were analysed to create a global projection of subjective well-being and India ranked 125 among 178 countries of the world studied and Denmark happens to be at first rank. This study will therefore examine life satisfaction and the composition of determinants of life satisfaction present in world. The polling firm‟s Global Well-Being Index ranked India 71 st out of 135 countries and areas surveyed in 2014. The index ranks a country according to its people‟s level of satisfaction with day-to-day life, relationships, finances, community and health. Understanding Life Satisfaction: Life satisfaction is stemming from the Aristotelian ethical model, eudaimonism, (from eudaimonia, the Greek word for happiness). Veenhoven (1991) defined life satisfaction as “The degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his life-as-a-whole favourably.” Life satisfaction defines as person‟s subjective evaluation of the degree to which his or her most important needs, goals, and wishes have been fulfilled (Frisch, 1998; Valois et al., 2004). However few scientists described life satisfaction as the most important and stable component of a person‟s subjective well-being, in addition to affective component (Kim-Prieto et al., 2005). Life satisfaction often considered a desirable goal, where correct actions lead to individual well-being, with happiness representing the supreme good (Beutell, 2006). Further, he stated that life satisfaction is related to better physical, and mental health, longevity, and other outcomes that are considered positive in nature. In modern context, well-being is believed to be inherent to features such as social relationships, health, work related conditions, personal welfare, liberty, moral values and personality traits. Life satisfaction can be defined as the cognitive component of subjective well-being (Martikainen, 2008). This is consistent with Bradley & Corwyn (2004) who say that life satisfaction reflects both the extent to which basic needs are met and the extent to which a variety of other goals are viewed as attainable. From this perspective it seems only reasonable that by accomplishing more goals, satisfaction with life will also increase. Chow (2009) argues that improved levels of life satisfaction might give rise to better health in the future, and that this can already be identified within a three-year timeframe.