Community sustainable development indicator systems in China: a case study of Chongming County, Shanghai
社区可持续发展指标体系研究——以上海崇明为例

This paper explores the community sustainable development indicator system which is established by means of group-based public participation under the guidence of professional personnel but conforms to the situation in China.Chongming County in Shanghai was taken as a case.An initial "long list" of 86 indicators was identified based on previous indicator systems developed in China. This "long list" was reduced via consultations with local scientists and government official from Shanghai City and Chongming County.This "shortened list" of 17 indicators waiting for further community consultation involves 149 local authority officers, teachers, students (aged 12-14), farmers and workers.The outcomes showed obvious difference in the understanding of sustainable development among various sectors. By integrating data from these sectors it was possible to identify a system involving 4 cores and 7 additional indicators as the criteria to steer local sustainability. Compared with other local indicator systems in Europe and the UK, local people in Chongming showed the same interest concerning on environment but with a stronger desire for economic development. By using the sustainable indicators, the sustainability of community development in Chongming County was appraised during 1991-2000. And the results showed that in community level, Chongming had a general sustainable trend in that period. This study, involving the residents of Chongming County, has special significance in discussing development issues because it is a region with good environmental quality and weak economy and as such is typical in many rural areas of China.