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Urban Resident Participation and Sustainable Urban Environments

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 489

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Humanities, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
Interests: environmental awareness; pro-environmental behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Humanities, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
Interests: environmental policy; environmental governance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainability of urban environments is not only about reducing ecological footprints but also about cultivating environmentally conscious, healthy, and resilient communities. This Special Issue of Sustainability explores the human dimensions of urban sustainability by analyzing how environmental perceptions, pro-environmental behaviors, and social engagement shape the transition toward more sustainable urban environments.

Urban residents play an active role in shaping urban environments rather than merely serving as passive recipients of policy interventions. Their environmental awareness, behavioral choices, and risk perceptions significantly influence the effectiveness of urban environmental governance. Simultaneously, the quality of the urban environment influences the well-being of its residents.

This Special Issue seeks to advance an integrated understanding of urban sustainability and invites multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary contributions including those environmental studies, sociology, and other related fields. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Environmental awareness and education;
  • Pro-environmental behavior;
  • Public participation and environmental governance;
  • Environmental risk perception and communication;
  • Digitalization in urban environmental governance;
  • Urban climate change mitigation and adaptation;
  • The innovative design of urban environmental policy.

Prof. Dr. Chuntian Lu
Dr. Jing Xu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental awareness
  • pro-environmental behavior
  • environmental governance
  • environmental risk perception
  • environmental justice
  • climate change
  • urban environmental policy
  • urban resilience

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 459 KiB  
Article
Higher Status, More Actions but Less Sacrifice: The SES Paradox in Pro-Environmental Behaviors
by Lijuan Fan and Ni An
Sustainability 2025, 17(15), 6948; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17156948 - 31 Jul 2025
Viewed by 364
Abstract
Identifying predictors of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) can not only figure out who concerns about the environment most but also inform possible pathways that advance or inhabit such prosocial actions. Most past studies and theories focus on factors that reside within personal characteristics or [...] Read more.
Identifying predictors of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) can not only figure out who concerns about the environment most but also inform possible pathways that advance or inhabit such prosocial actions. Most past studies and theories focus on factors that reside within personal characteristics or sociopsychological mechanisms rather than taking a holistic view that integrates these two elements into a framework. This study investigates how socioeconomic status (SES) correlates with PEBs, integrating both structural and psychological mechanisms. Drawing on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) theoretical framework, this paper examines the paradox whereby individuals with higher SES exhibit more frequent environmental actions yet demonstrate lower willingness to pay (WTP)—a form of economic sacrifice. Using nationally representative data from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), our structural equation modeling reveals that adulthood SES positively correlates with environmental values and behaviors but negatively correlates with WTP. This challenges the traditional linear assumption that greater willingness necessarily leads to greater action. Additionally, while childhood SES predicts adult SES, it shows no direct effect on environmental engagement. These findings highlight multidimensional pathways by which SES shape environmental actions, necessitating differentiated policy approaches to build a sustainable world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Resident Participation and Sustainable Urban Environments)
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