Greater Vancouver has experienced a dramatic influx of international immigration in the
past three decades. This demographic change has two major implications for sustainable
development in this region. First, the increase of population is placing great pressure on
the environment and maintaining the current quality of life. Second, while it is critical to
include the rapidly-growing immigrant population in the Greater Vancouver region's
sustainability initiatives, the increasing ethnic diversity of this region raises issues of
communication and cross-cultural understanding. This exploratory study examines
Chinese immigrants housing preferences and explores their implications for sustainable
community development in Greater Vancouver. This study focuses on Chinese
immigrants because they have an increasing influence on the region's physical, cultural
and political landscape.
Through 30 in-depth interviews with Chinese immigrants of qualitatively different
backgrounds, this study examined preferences for home location, attributes of dwelling,
and its proximal space. The study employed grounded theory approach assisted with
picture comparison and trade-off game techniques. Results indicate that Chinese
immigrants' housing aspirations are strongly influenced by a desire to assimilate into
mainstream culture in North America. Further, considerations of traditional Chinese
v housing form and style are not a priority among the study group. However, an array of
social and economic constraints and priorities inform their housing choices. Amenities
that are important to Chinese immigrants are identified for various aspects of a
community. A number of recommendations are drawn from these priorities and
preferences, which may be applied by planners, policy makers, designers and developers
of sustainable communities for Chinese immigrant populations. Additional observations
on language barriers, civic involvement, and community outreach programs suggest
challenges and opportunities to promote sustainable living among Chinese immigrants. / Science, Faculty of / Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/16655 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Pan, Ting |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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