MEASURING THE POTENTIAL FOR ECOLOGICAL CITIZENSHIP AMONG RESIDENTS IN FAMAGUSTA, NORTH CYPRUS

Asilsoy B., Oktay D.

OPEN HOUSE INTERNATIONAL, vol.41, no.2, pp.47-55, 2016 (AHCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 41 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2016
  • Journal Name: OPEN HOUSE INTERNATIONAL
  • Journal Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.47-55
  • Keywords: Sustainable Urbanism, Ecological Citizenship, Nep Scale, User Survey, Famagusta, ENVIRONMENTAL PARADIGM, PLANNED BEHAVIOR, NETWORKS, SCALE
  • Ondokuz Mayıs University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The significance of ecological citizenship for the sustainable urbanism discourse has been highly recognised in recent years. Targeting to adopt ecological citizenship as a lifestyle among urban residents appears potentially significant and urgent for the city of Famagusta, North Cyprus. As a result of unsustainable urban development, Famagusta dictates a new way of living to its inhabitants that is not familiar to them in terms of local sociocultural characteristics and environmental values. Therefore, a user survey was carried out among local people, within a random sample of 165 residents, in order to obtain scientific data that may be used for the needed planning policies. Within the survey, environmental attitudes of the residents were measured with the help of Dunlop and Van Liere's New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale. The aim was to understand the level of their existing environmental worldview, one of the basic aspects of ecological citizenship. The results of the survey reveal that Famagusta residents' existing environmental attitudes cannot achieve an adequate level in order to be one of the dynamics shaping their lifestyles. However, residents have slightly more than a medium level of environmental worldview.