The image of the 2010 world expo: Residents’ perspective

Abstract

Hosting mega-events has been regarded as an effective catalyst for city branding. But increasing environmental cost of mega-events has been highlighted recently, which affected local residents’ actual perception. The inconsistence between governments propagandizing benefits from holding mega-events and citizens’ real experience will decrease the real effect of the events. This paper demonstrates the inconsistence by Shanghai example, which is a support to the theory of mega-event impact on city. Shanghai 2010 World Expo officially aimed to improve the quality of life and building a harmonious society, while there are fewer studies focusing on whether the proposed vision is accepted by citizens. This paper explored the influences with a particular focus on residents’ attitudinal survey after the event from December 2010 to February 2011 and 148 respondents were collected. Using structural equation model, the results illustrated that surveyed residents recognized more with 4 dimensions (culture, environment, economic and technology), which reflected the harmony between man and nature, as well as harmony between spiritual and material content. However, they did not perceive the upgrade of community cohesion, communication between urban and rural areas, and living condition after the mega-event. In conclusion, the residents form their preconceptions based on both individual experience and official vision. The whole concept of Shanghai Expo is not totally recognized by local residents. This mismatch is related to the existence of social challenges and the absence of a two-way communication. Shanghai branding should properly conceptualize and manage the city’s core values with residents’ participation in policy making process.