What nudges residents' funding-participation behavior in urban settlement regeneration? A perspective of evolving social network

Abstract

Urban settlement regeneration faces financial pressures, while the economic participation potential of residents, the primary beneficiaries, remains largely unexploited. Residents are embedded in complex social networks, and their funding-participation behavior is dynamically influenced by network structures. However, developing behavior nudging methods that adapt to evolving social networks remain challenging. This study constructs a conceptual model based on the extended theory of planned behavior, integrating factors from individual psychological cognition and social practice motivation to explain funding-participation behavior. The model was validated through an empirical survey of 505 respondents in Chongqing, China. Subsequently, a scale-free network was employed to characterize the evolving social network formed through opinion interactions. An interaction model was further developed to reveal the dynamic nudging effects of influencing factors embedded in the social network. Simulation experiments were conducted to elucidate the dynamic process of residents adopting funding-participation behavior. Empirical results indicate that stimulating psychological cognitive and practice motivation could significantly influence funding-participation behavior. Simulation results demonstrate that evolving social networks serve as a crucial medium for nudging this behavior. It also advocates leveraging social learning, opinion dissemination, and moral contagion processes within networks to shape funding-participation propensity, and promoting behavior by overcoming path dependence, activating social capital support, and strengthening benefit perception. To nudge funding-participation behavior, policy implications are proposed to advance inclusive settlement regeneration and construct sustainable participation mechanisms.