Author(s)

W.J. PENG, X.M. WANG, G.C. ZHAO & X. WANG

Abstract

To discover potential approaches for meeting increasingly stringent emission controls, a questionnaire was launched in a newly built gated neighborhood in Chengyang district of Qingdao, China, to exam- ine individual residents’ cognition of and participation in low-carbon behaviors, which play a pivotal role in the construction of low-carbon neighborhoods. Statistical analysis of the questionnaires indicated that resident individuals’ cognition regarding the paths to low-carbon neighborhood construction still centered on the traditional aspects of energy saving and emission reduction. The popularization of low-carbon lifestyles in all areas, such as “adoption of central cooling system” and “acceptance of laddering electricity price”, in which potential low-carbon behaviors lie, is still an important mission of low-carbon transition in the near future. Furthermore, due to the relatively high level of local economic development and good traffic conditions in the surveyed neighborhood, a high proportion of residents were engaged in low-carbon behaviors from the perspective of transportation, such as “public transportation”, “public bicycles or electromobiles” and “walking”. Thus, to date, local residents have achieved good results in low-carbon mobility. The use of energy-efficient cars is also a potential field for emission reduction. Finally, suggestions were proposed to encourage residents’ participation in low-carbon behaviors.

Keywords

An investigation into neighborhood residents’ cognition of and participation in low-carbon behavior: a case study in Chengyang district of Qingdao, China