Analysis on current situation and influence factors of community residents’ participation during the process of low-carbon city

Abstract

Mainland China’s urbanization process is being retarded by environmental issues. Embedded in such social context, the development pattern of ‘low-carbon city’ highlighting ‘sustainability’ has been in the limelight of public opinion. Particularly, the ultimate orientation of such development should be aimed at the low-carbonized transformation in each urban community, which maintains the long-term vitality of a low-carbon city. The writers aim to empirically investigate the current situation of community participation in Qingdao by: examining its demonstration district—Chengyang, exploring factors and mechanisms related to this participation, and identifying its successful experiences as well as weaknesses.

Assisted by the method of logistic regression, different effect levels of factors can be found in diverse circumstances. On this basis, the writers argue that Chinese urban residents generally have strong low-carbon consciousness, whereas their participation patterns which can be classified as two types (passive and rational) stagnate at a relatively low level. In addition, governmental planning still remains a predominant position in low-carbon affairs. The function and impact of civil society are refrained temporarily, with sporadic efforts for citizens to enhance their discourse power. Finally, suggestions which accord with the demands of China’s urban management innovation are proposed to prompt the process of community participation. Overall, this article is expected to provide evaluative insights about the broader impacts of low-carbon urban policies and lifestyles in Chinese cities.