Abstract
The improvement of neigbourhood amenities is one of the key urban renewal issues in old districts. Due to tight deadlines and financial restrictions, the amenities’ improvement in China have been often criticized for the misallocation of resources meeting resident’s demand. Previous studies have investigated how residents’ demand in amenities can be met through urban renewal. However, very few explored how the priorities or sequences of improvement should be identified to more effectively improve neighbourhood satisfaction. Thus, this study adopted Kano-IPA model to investigate the priorities of amenities improvement of urban neighbourhoods in Wuhan, China. Firstly, 5100 questionnaires reflecting the residents’ subjective perception of the usage and satisfaction of amenities were collected. Secondly, the valid data has been analyzed by using different statistical techniques, including descriptive, correlation and regression modelling etc. Lastly, the adaptive strategy of amenities improvement with different considerations, including age, income, districts as well as housing type etc, can be proposed. The preliminary results showed that, for the sequence of amenities’ usage frequency, there is no significant difference among different neighbourhoods. But significant differences were found at the structure and significance level of associations between amenities’ evaluation and neighbourhood satisfaction among different sets of resident group. In regards to this, basic, excitement and performance factors fitting different scenarios have been identified. The research findings can provide references for allocating financial budget and other resource in improving neighbourhood amenities. This case study also illustrate the contextual characteristics of public goods provision in urban China. Future feasibility studies fitting the identified priorities into planning practice and both considering time and public expenditure limitation are expected.
