Do Neighborhoods with Highly Diverse Built Environment Exhibit Different Socio-Economic Profiles as Well? Evidence from Shanghai

George Grekousis, Zhuolin Pan and Ye Liu
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George Grekousis: School of Geography and Planning, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Zhuolin Pan: School of Geography and Planning, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Ye Liu: School of Geography and Planning, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-17

Abstract: The link between the built environment and residential segregation has long been of interest to the discussion for sustainable and socially resilient cities. However, direct assessments on how extensively diverse built environments affect the social landscapes of cities at the neighborhood level are rare. Here, we investigate whether neighborhoods with a diverse built environment also exhibit different socio-economic profiles. Through a geodemographic approach, we scrutinize the socio-economic composition of Shanghai’s neighborhoods. We statistically compare the top 10% (very high values) to the bottom 10% (very low values) of the following built environment variables: density, land use mix, land use balance, and greenness. We show that high-density areas have three times the percentage of divorced residents than low-density areas. Neighborhoods with a high level of greenness have median values of 30% more residents aged between 25–44 years old and five times the percentage of houses between 60 to 119 m 2 than low-greenness areas. In high land-use mix areas, the share of people that live on a pension is 30% more than the low land-use mix areas. The findings of this study can be used to improve the designs of modern, sustainable cities at the neighborhood level, significantly improving quality of life.

Keywords: built environment; land use mix; greenness; socio-economics; residential segregation; Shanghai (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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