How to utilize neighborship: The role of residents' social capital in the neighborhood renewal in China

Abstract

Neighborhood renewal projects in China have distinct characteristics. Unlike other government-led public affair, these projects entail extensive participation from the residents in the decision-making process. However, the behavior of the residents is often influenced by the complex social relationships among them, which in turn can impact the implementation of the renewal project. This paper aims to identify the relationships between residents' cooperative behavior and their social relationship in the context of neighborhood renewal. Social capital is taken as a lens to examine residents' social relationships, and the theory of planned behavior is used to study residents' behavior. Data from 381 residents in 75 neighborhood renewal projects was collected using questionnaire surveys and was analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling. The results show that the social relationships not only affect the residents' opinions regarding the renewal, but also directly influence their intention to engage in cooperative behavior. Moreover, the findings further suggest that gender and age play an important role in the relationship between residents' social capital and cooperative behavior. These finding contributes to a better understanding of residents' cooperative behavior in neighborhood renewal and provides important insights for the design of initiatives that effectively inspire cooperative behavior among residents.