Residential Choice, Demographics, and Sustainability

Residential Choice, Demographics, and Sustainability
Author: Bianjie Ji
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN:

Download Residential Choice, Demographics, and Sustainability Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The purpose of this thesis is to examine concerns towards sustainable development of residents living in different neighborhoods with divergent sustainability levels (most, medium, and least sustainable urban forms) in a campus town, State College, PA. The research questions considered the role of participants demographics and neighborhood features in relationship to articulated sustainability concerns as they intersected with residential choices related to residential features, housing/neighborhood satisfaction, and neighborhood of residence.The study contributes to sustainability research by investigating to what extent neighborhood choices examined through the lens of sustainable urban form (in State College) are impacted by concerns for sustainable development. Since housing preferences (e.g., electricity and air-conditioning/heating) and neighborhood of residence (e.g., transportation auto dependence versus transit) are linked to energy consumption, this linkage allows us to begin to understand the degree to which sustainability influences the decision-making process regarding housing. Residents are informed about the sustainability impact of their choices and activities, yet often continue to engage in extravagant, over-consumptive, and non-sustainable behavior. So, it is imperative to identify the barriers to sustainable behavior by examining residents attitudes towards residential features, sustainability, and residential satisfaction. Through survey and self-report, this study contributes to exploring and understanding these residential choices. Participants concern for sustainability was assessed by answers to questions derived from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs (United Nations, 2015). Measures of preference for neighborhood features were derived from the Perceived Residential Environmental Quality Index or PREQI (Bonaiuto, Aiello, Perugini, Bonnes, and Ercolani, 1999). Neighborhood satisfaction was assessed by participant self-report using a seven-point Likert scale. Neighborhood of residence was assessed by identifying residents of different neighborhoods (most, medium, and least sustainable) based on a validated measure of sustainable urban form (Song & Knaap, 2004).Within the three selected neighborhood types, a stratified random sampling strategy was used to select households for data collection. A door-to-door survey was distributed to collect responses in the selected neighborhoods. This was supplemented with mailed surveys. Finally, I surveyed 30 households in each of the three neighborhood types for a total of 90 subjects. ANOVA (Analysis of Variances), Correlation, T-test, and Chi-square tests were the primary data analysis methods. I found relatively little difference in concerns towards sustainable development between residents of neighborhoods with differing urban form (most, medium, and least sustainable urban forms). I also found that less educated, lower-income, and/or younger people were more likely to live in the most sustainable urban-form neighborhoods although they had similarly high concerns for sustainable development as more educated, higher-income, and/or older people. Additionally, it is noted that residents in different sustainable urban form neighborhoods and/or different demographics had different reasons for living in their neighborhoods assessed by PREQIs. For example, residents of the most sustainable urban form neighborhoods placed more value on school and commercial services, while those of the least sustainable urban form neighborhoods esteemed upkeep more.Both housing satisfaction and neighborhood satisfaction were significantly (positively) correlated with sociability and transport services. Housing satisfaction was also significantly (positively) correlated with building aesthetics while neighborhood satisfaction was significantly (positively) correlated with sports and school services, internal functionality (e.g. easiness to cycle around), and green areas. However, residents living in different sustainable urban form neighborhoods had no significant differences in housing or neighborhood satisfaction; they all had high housing/neighborhood satisfaction.Thus, I conclude that all study participants valued sustainability goals irrespective of where they lived. One possible explanation is that since Sustainable Development Goals are disconnected from daily living context, study participants were unable to make linkages between sustainability goals and sustainable urban form. So, I recommend the development of detailed actionable sustainable development goals that are linked to daily activities.

Rethinking Environmental Justice in Sustainable Cities

Rethinking Environmental Justice in Sustainable Cities
Author: Heather E. Campbell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2015-05-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1135128502

Download Rethinking Environmental Justice in Sustainable Cities Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

As the study of environmental policy and justice becomes increasingly significant in today’s global climate, standard statistical approaches to gathering data have become less helpful at generating new insights and possibilities. None of the conventional frameworks easily allow for the empirical modeling of the interactions of all the actors involved, or for the emergence of outcomes unintended by the actors. The existing frameworks account for the "what," but not for the "why." Heather E. Campbell, Yushim Kim, and Adam Eckerd bring an innovative perspective to environmental justice research. Their approach adjusts the narrower questions often asked in the study of environmental justice, expanding to broader investigations of how and why environmental inequities occur. Using agent-based modeling (ABM), they study the interactions and interdependencies among different agents such as firms, residents, and government institutions. Through simulation, the authors test underlying assumptions in environmental justice and discover ways to modify existing theories to better explain why environmental injustice occurs. Furthermore, they use ABM to generate empirically testable hypotheses, which they employ to check if their simulated findings are supported in the real world using real data. The pioneering research on environmental justice in this text will have effects on the field of environmental policy as a whole. For social science and policy researchers, this book explores how to employ new and experimental methods of inquiry on challenging social problems, and for the field of environmental justice, the authors demonstrate how ABM helps illuminate the complex social and policy interactions that lead to both environmental justice and injustice.

U.S. Health in International Perspective

U.S. Health in International Perspective
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2013-04-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309264146

Download U.S. Health in International Perspective Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Green Gentrification

Green Gentrification
Author: Kenneth Gould
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2016-07-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317417801

Download Green Gentrification Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Green Gentrification looks at the social consequences of urban "greening" from an environmental justice and sustainable development perspective. Through a comparative examination of five cases of urban greening in Brooklyn, New York, it demonstrates that such initiatives, while positive for the environment, tend to increase inequality and thus undermine the social pillar of sustainable development. Although greening is ostensibly intended to improve environmental conditions in neighborhoods, it generates green gentrification that pushes out the working-class, and people of color, and attracts white, wealthier in-migrants. Simply put, urban greening "richens and whitens," remaking the city for the sustainability class. Without equity-oriented public policy intervention, urban greening is negatively redistributive in global cities. This book argues that environmental injustice outcomes are not inevitable. Early public policy interventions aimed at neighborhood stabilization can create more just sustainability outcomes. It highlights the negative social consequences of green growth coalition efforts to green the global city, and suggests policy choices to address them. The book applies the lessons learned from green gentrification in Brooklyn to urban greening initiatives globally. It offers comparison with other greening global cities. This is a timely and original book for all those studying environmental justice, urban planning, environmental sociology, and sustainable development as well as urban environmental activists, city planners and policy makers interested in issues of urban greening and gentrification.

Green Consumerism

Green Consumerism
Author: Juliana Mansvelt
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 561
Release: 2011-06-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1412996856

Download Green Consumerism Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Colorful bracelets, funky brooches, and beautiful handmade beads: young crafters learn to make all these and much more with this fantastic step-by-step guide. In 12 exciting projects with simple steps and detailed instructions, budding fashionistas create their own stylish accessories to give as gifts or add a touch of personal flair to any ensemble. Following the successful "Art Smart" series, "Craft Smart" presents a fresh, fun approach to four creative skills: knitting, jewelry-making, papercrafting, and crafting with recycled objects. Each book contains 12 original projects to make, using a range of readily available materials. There are projects for boys and girls, carefully chosen to appeal to readers of all abilities. A special "techniques and materials" section encourages young crafters to try out their own ideas while learning valuable practical skills.

Achieving Sustainable Urban Form

Achieving Sustainable Urban Form
Author: Katie Williams
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2000
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780419244509

Download Achieving Sustainable Urban Form Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This new volume addresses the problems and complexities involved in defining and developing sustainable urban forms, but also shows that real advances have been made.

Pathways to Urban Sustainability

Pathways to Urban Sustainability
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2016-11-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309444535

Download Pathways to Urban Sustainability Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Cities have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth in the last decade. More than half the world's population lives in urban areas, with the U.S. percentage at 80 percent. Cities have captured more than 80 percent of the globe's economic activity and offered social mobility and economic prosperity to millions by clustering creative, innovative, and educated individuals and organizations. Clustering populations, however, can compound both positive and negative conditions, with many modern urban areas experiencing growing inequality, debility, and environmental degradation. The spread and continued growth of urban areas presents a number of concerns for a sustainable future, particularly if cities cannot adequately address the rise of poverty, hunger, resource consumption, and biodiversity loss in their borders. Intended as a comparative illustration of the types of urban sustainability pathways and subsequent lessons learned existing in urban areas, this study examines specific examples that cut across geographies and scales and that feature a range of urban sustainability challenges and opportunities for collaborative learning across metropolitan regions. It focuses on nine cities across the United States and Canada (Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Grand Rapids, MI, Flint, MI, Cedar Rapids, IA, Chattanooga, TN, and Vancouver, Canada), chosen to represent a variety of metropolitan regions, with consideration given to city size, proximity to coastal and other waterways, susceptibility to hazards, primary industry, and several other factors.

Economic Growth and Sustainable Housing

Economic Growth and Sustainable Housing
Author: Jin Xue
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2013-08-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134579276

Download Economic Growth and Sustainable Housing Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Economic Growth and Sustainable Housing: An Uneasy Relationship critically discusses the possibilities of decoupling environmental degradation from economic growth. The author refutes the belief in combining perpetual economic growth with long-term environmental sustainability based on the premise that economic growth can be fully decoupled from negative environmental impacts. This proposition is underpinned by intensive study in the housing sector from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Xue employs critical realism to inform the investigation and organize the argumentation throughout the book. The book is organised into four parts: the first discusses the relevance of critical realism to the research field of housing and urban sustainable development in terms of ontology and methodology. The second makes a transcendental refutation of the possibilities of decoupling economic growth from housing-related environmental impacts by describing transfactual conditions of full decoupling. The third part presents two case studies to show whether and to what extents decoupling between economic growth and housing-related environmental impacts have historically taken place. Inspired by critical realist ontology, generalization of abstract concept from the case studies are made to cast light on the implausibility of maintaining perpetual economic growth through decoupling. The final part explains why and how the belief in full decoupling and economic growth is generated and sustained despite its implausibility and non-necessity, which constitutes an explanatory critique of the growth and decoupling ideology and paves the way for the paradigm shift to socially sustainable de-growth. This book will be of interest to students of housing and urban studies, to students of environmental sustainability and also for those students and academics with a general interest in critical realism.