This article draws from a mixed-methods approach to explore the relationship between sustainable urban renewal projects and the way Chinese urban residents perceive and act upon the environment. We examine sustainable urban renewal projects in the city of Chengdu, called Ecological Housing Estate projects. By collaborating with nongovernmental organizations and local officials, we used a two-step process, including collecting freelists and semi-structured interviews, to design a survey instrument used to interview 245 households in three Ecological Housing Estates and four Regular Housing Estates in Chengdu. Our findings demonstrate how recycling practices are reinforced by the Ecological Housing Estate projects but also explain why the rainwater collection aspect of the projects are not well matched with existing household water conservation practices. We argue that integrating mixed-methods research into the design of a sustainable urban renewal project will help mitigate the potential that projects will develop similar kinds of urban sustainable fixes.
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