Structure of Rating of Nature-Harmonious and Low-Carbon Urban Environment Using Data from Residents in Japan

抄録

We clarified the structure of rating of nature-harmonious and low-carbon urban environment using data obtained from residents in Japan. A city model was constructed to evaluate CO2 emissions of a city. The constructed city model targets building space, road space, and parks and green space. In this model, “land use conversion” for nature-harmonious and low-carbon urban development was specified for each type of space so that the target CO2 emission from each space was reduced by 0.1%. A questionnaire was distributed to residents to identify the (1) factors affecting the rating of the living environment by residents in relation to their lifestyle, (2) preferred type of land use conversion, (3) choice of land use conversion to realize the CO2 emission reduction target (13%) of the standard city model, and (4) overall rating of a nature-harmonious and low-carbon environment by residents (hereafter, overall rating). After collecting questionnaire responses, covariance structure analysis was conducted to determine the relationship among items (1), (2), and (4). We found that the overall rating of the entire city was affected by the preferred type of land use conversion, which was in turn affected by the lifestyle preferences of residents. Considering these findings, we propose appropriate directions for the future development of a nature-harmonious and low-carbon urban environment.