Ecological Worldview among Urban Design Professionals

• Published in: Sustainability
• Main Authors: Marita Wallhagen, Peter Magnusson
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2017
• Subjects: architectural competition; ecological; environmental paradigm; pro-environmental behavior; urban design; Kiruna
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040498

The built environment is responsible for a large proportion of the global use of energy, natural resources, and emissions. Architects and other urban design professionals are key actors in the building process whose behavior and decisions will influence these impacts. Because environmental attitudes are linked to pro-environmental behavior, this study aims to measure environmental worldview among urban design professionals involved in the architectural competition ‘A New City Center for Kiruna’. The mean score registered for the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale was 3.68 (standard deviation 0.51) and there were no significant differences with regard to age (mean 41.3 years) or gender (64.7% males). The ecological worldview of the participants was similar to most other samples from diverse countries, but a lower score was reported in comparison to environmentalists. The score ranged from 2.53 to 4.67 which shows heterogeneity at an individual level. Thus, future efforts to improve environmental attitudes among urban design professionals are needed.