Reports suggest that Chicago is one of the leading US cities with respect to sustainability and, in order to promote sustainability in a city... Show moreReports suggest that Chicago is one of the leading US cities with respect to sustainability and, in order to promote sustainability in a city like Chicago, it is imperative that the residents are aware of factors associated with sustainable development and contribute towards its advancement. Majority of the research conducted so far, does not examine the non-expert level of sustainability understanding. This thesis investigates the public literacy on sustainable development by conducting a survey and analyzing the generated database. The statements posed in the survey do not demand technical education but assess the non-expert resident literacy of sustainability by asking relevant subjects. The survey consists of four demographic questions (participants‟ gender, age, level of education and annual income), fifteen conceptual statements and five opinion statements, based on sustainability. The aim is to find a relation, if any, between the respondents‟ demographics and their responses to the survey. The database generated from the survey of 353 randomly selected individuals, is analyzed by four different statistical methods, which are arranged in increasing order of complexity – (i) descriptive statistics and z-test for proportions, (ii) contingency tables and Pearson chi-square test, (iii) exploratory factor analysis and (iv) multinomial logistic regression. The outcome of the statistical analyses suggests that approximately 50% of the participants have accurately responded to the survey and the non-expert resident does not know the definitions to pertinent sustainability concepts. Additionally, survey responses have a strong association with the participants‟ age. There is a weak association between answers and the respondents‟ gender and annual income. In spite of higher than average participants with a college degree, the level of education has a negligible relation with survey responses. Thus, it is necessary to increase the awareness and educate non-experts about sustainable development. It is promising to observe that the responses to the opinion statements suggest that individuals are willing to contribute towards sustainability provided they are educated about it. Nonetheless, the willingness to contribute requires action and without societal support, it is not possible to promote sustainability, which requires increased understanding and knowledge and willingness to act appropriately. M.S. in Environmental Engineering, July 2011 Show less
