Rurbanization—Making the City Greener: Young Citizen Implication and Future Actions

Andreea Orîndaru, Mihaela Constantinescu, Claudia Țuclea, Ștefan-Claudiu Căescu, Margareta Stela Florescu and Ionel Dumitru
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Andreea Orîndaru: Marketing Department, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010404 Bucharest, Romania
Mihaela Constantinescu: Marketing Department, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010404 Bucharest, Romania
Ștefan-Claudiu Căescu: Marketing Department, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010404 Bucharest, Romania
Margareta Stela Florescu: Administration and Public Management Department, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010404 Bucharest, Romania
Ionel Dumitru: Marketing Department, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010404 Bucharest, Romania

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-20

Abstract: City life has become the norm for most of the global population and building sustainable cities is a growing trend, together with an increased focus on healthier lifestyles in urban settings. Given this framework, the concept of ‘rurbanization’ is gaining momentum as more and more people are interested in bringing natural green spaces within the urban setting. For this purpose, a research (online survey on a sample of 500 respondents) was developed to discover youths’ perceptions on what a sustainable city means, their perspectives on the urbanization problems, and willingness to take action towards improving the green aspects of their urban life. Results revealed that sustainable life perception vary a lot across the young generation, but opinions on what are the city life issues tend to converge to similar points, such as air quality, disconnection with nature, greenhouse effect, urban heat islands, and water quality. When it comes to rurbanization solutions for a greener urban life, young people lean more towards individual solutions, be it an easy and short-term one, such as endowing their home with more green plants, or a more drastic one, such as moving altogether from the city area towards greener locations. Results were also used in designing a conceptual model for actions towards rurbanization.

Keywords: city greenspace; rurbanization; sustainable development; youth citizens (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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