The Impacts of Urban Environments on Community Trust of the Low-Income Group: A Case Study for the Pearl River Delta Region

Abstract

Under the burgeoning development of urbanization in China, the low-income groups have received attention recently. By applying a linear regression model and utilizing the date from the 2016 China Labor-force Dynamics Survey, this study has explored the effects of urban environments on the community trust in low-income groups, paying particular attention to the difference between local residents and migrants in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The empirical findings suggest the following: (1) community trust in low-income groups is influenced by social environment dimension, urban space dimension, and sociodemographic characteristics. Specifically, urbanization rate, population density, POl density, land development intensity, social contact, self-rated health, and age have significant effects on the community trust of low-income groups. (2) For local residents, social environment dimension (social contact), urban space dimension (urbanization rate), and sociodemographic characteristics (political status, hukou status, age, and self-rated health) have significant effects on community trust. (3) In the case of migrants, only the sociodemographic characteristics (working in private enterprises or organizations and in agriculture) have a significant impact on community trust. According to the empirical results, the optimization of physical space and social space should consider low-income groups’ needs in livable community planning.