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Description
Due to the influence of social generational shifts and the specific life stage of individuals, Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) exhibits distinctive characteristics in consumption attitudes(Noor, 2017), lifestyles, and areas of interest(Lee and Eun Hak Lee, 2024). As the most dynamic and creative human capital group in modern society, Generation Z plays a pivotal role in urban innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity, and economic growth(Jiang and Hong, 2021). However, under the urban development model driven primarily by economic growth, capital accumulation and productivity enhancement often become the dominant factors in policy decisions and urban spatial planning. As a result, the youth demographic faces a dilemma in major cities, where the cost of living does not align with their income, and their needs for employment, housing, and social interaction are often unmet or deprioritized(Kolomatsky, 2022).As urbanization in China enters its middle and later stages and the demographic dividend gradually fades, it becomes crucial to construct youth development-oriented cities based on the specific needs and characteristics of Generation Z. This approach can effectively balance economic growth with social welfare needs, enhancing the inclusivity and attractiveness of cities to the younger population.
This study summarizes the characteristics of Generation Z, which include high educational attainment, high individualism, virtualized and fragmented socialization, and a strong pursuit of self-actualization. From these characteristics, a youth-oriented urban development framework is constructed from both demand and supply dimensions. This framework includes three evaluative levels: "basic growth, relational cohesion, and developmental leap." Empirical research is conducted on three regional central cities in China—Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Nanjing—to assess the degree of alignment between the satisfaction of youth needs and the supply of urban factors, providing theoretical and methodological insights for advancing youth development-oriented cities .
The evaluation results indicate that all three cities—Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou—exhibit varying degrees of mismatched supply and demand. Specifically, Hangzhou performs the best in meeting the needs of Generation Z, with the highest alignment between youth demands and the provision of urban resources. In contrast, Shanghai, while relatively rich in supply factors, demonstrates a lower satisfaction level on the demand side, suggesting a mismatch in the targeting and precision of spatial resources and service provision. Shanghai needs to improve the directionality and adaptability of its supply to better meet the diverse needs of the youth demographic. On the other hand, Nanjing shows a higher satisfaction with demand-side factors but faces a shortage in supply, reflecting the city's greater attention to the needs of young people but insufficient provision of resources in housing, employment, and public services. Overall, the differences in urban space planning and resource supply across the three cities highlight the varying strengths and weaknesses in addressing the needs of the youth population, indicating the necessity for targeted optimization and adjustment based on the unique characteristics of each city.
References
Jiang, Y. and Hong, F. (2021). Examining the relationship between customer-perceived value of night-time tourism and destination attachment among Generation Z tourists in China. Tourism Recreation Research, 48(2), pp.1–14. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2021.1915621.
Kolomatsky, M. (2022). The Best Cities for Generation Z. The New York Times. [online] 1 Sep. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/realestate/generation-z-best-cities.html.
Lee, C. and Eun Hak Lee (2024). Evaluation of urban nightlife attractiveness for Millennials and Generation Z. Cities, 149, pp.104934–104934. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.104934.
Noor, et al. (2017). Determinants of generation Z green purchase decision: A SEM-PLS approach. International Journal of ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES, [online] 4(11), pp.143–147. doi:https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2017.011.023.
| Keywords | Youth Development-Oriented Cities ; Demand-supply Matching; Generation Z；Development Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
