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Awareness, perceptions and determinants of urban sustainable development concerns – Evidence from a central province in China

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Listed:
  • Dong Guo
  • Zi Cao
  • Kelsie DeFrancia
  • Jiat Waye Genevie Yeo
  • Gilang Hardadi
  • Sen Chai

Abstract

Rapid economic growth and urbanization have contributed to increasing concerns around sustainable development in China. Although urban sustainable development is often comprised of environmental, economic, social and governance aspects, most empirical studies on the public perception of sustainability have exclusively focused on the environmental aspect. Using extensive survey data from three representative cities in Henan Province, China, this study is a first endeavor to examine how perceptions of urban sustainability performance and concerns vary by demographic and socio‐economic status of local residents. This study documents that familiarity with sustainable development concepts is positively associated with education, income, party affiliation and personal health of individuals, while negatively correlated with age. In addition, this study has shown that the most severe threats to sustainability as perceived by citizens are air pollution, corruption, income and education inequality, and excessive industrial production. At the same time, economic indicators such as unemployment, poverty and consumerism are considered lesser threats than social inequality or environmental pollution. Furthermore, residents generally view the sustainable development performance of their cities as mediocre. While generally younger residents and residents with higher levels of education tend to be more critical and long‐term residents tend to be more forgiving, results frequently show that concerns and attitudes towards sustainable development by various socio‐demographic groups differ from city to city. This is strong evidence to support independent local policies tailored to the socio‐demographics of each individual city.

Suggested Citation

  • Dong Guo & Zi Cao & Kelsie DeFrancia & Jiat Waye Genevie Yeo & Gilang Hardadi & Sen Chai, 2018. "Awareness, perceptions and determinants of urban sustainable development concerns – Evidence from a central province in China," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 652-662, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:26:y:2018:i:6:p:652-662
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.1734
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    Cited by:

    1. Hasan Fehmi Topal & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Christopher D. F. Rogers, 2021. "Exploring Urban Sustainability Understanding and Behaviour: A Systematic Review towards a Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-33, January.
    2. Hasan Fehmi Topal & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Christopher D. F. Rogers, 2021. "Sustainability Understanding and Behaviors across Urban Areas: A Case Study on Istanbul City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-38, July.
    3. Yanwei Lyu & Jinning Zhang & Lingli Wang & Fei Yang & Yu Hao, 2022. "Towards a win‐win situation for innovation and sustainable development: The role of environmental regulation," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1703-1717, December.
    4. Daxin Dong & Boyang Xu & Ning Shen & Qian He, 2021. "The Adverse Impact of Air Pollution on China’s Economic Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-27, August.

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