A scale development study on the perception of the sustainable urban environment

Abstract

In order to assess sustainability, it is necessary to monitor social conditions on environmental, global, national and urban scales. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a scale to determine PSUE. In addition, it is also examined whether there is a significant difference between the components that determine the perception of sustainable urban environment according to the characteristics of the participants. For this purpose, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Spearman–Brown correlation test, Cronbach alpha test, Mann–Whitney test and Kruskal–Wallis test are implemented. According to the findings acquired, it has been detected that the components that determine PSUE are “spatial strategies related to sustainable environment and transportation”, “spatial strategies related to ecological sustainability and solid waste management” and “spatial strategies related to social and economic sustainability” respectively. In this study, differences have been identified in the perspectives on social and economic sustainability strategies according to gender. However, participant’s viewpoints regarding strategies related to sustainable environment and transportation, as well as ecological sustainability and solid waste management, are similar. Additionally, significant differences exist in social and economic sustainability strategies based on the age of the participants. The urban or rural character of the settlement where the students families live or grew up influences their perspectives on strategies based on social sustainability and economic relations.