Community and Household Perceptions in Urban Services Demand

Problem: Planners tend to assume that household choices are made using rational decision making criteria based on accurate perceptions of a) quality, price, and reliability in urban services; and b) the risks associated with alternatives. Expectations, perceptions, and inaccurate and insufficient information may also matter, but their effects are difficult to measure and have been little studied. Growing cities in developing countries offer useful tests of accurate rationality, as newly provided infrastructure must often compete in markets where information is incomplete and risks can be considerable. Little scholarly research exists, however, on nonmaterial motivations (such as fears, perceptions, and expectations) for service demands. Purpose: This article addresses this gap by comparing residents’ perceptions of past illness and fears of environmental and health risks with respect to more material household decision making factors such as water quality and cost. Using an original sample survey, this article tests the independent relationships among reported illness, opinions on the water–illness relationship, and perceptions of pollution in residents’ investments in piped water. Methods: The results and analyses are based on an original household survey conducted in Can Tho, a rapidly growing city in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Basic comparative statistics about household perceptions of water quality, environmental pollution, and decision making with regard to water supply investments are followed by explanatory regression models to determine why households choose to invest in clean water supplies. Results and conclusions: Findings suggest that fears of future illness are more important than reports and perceptions of past illness, and that industrial pollution is a rapidly growing concern that prompts household-level water supply improvements. These results show that greater attention must be paid to how perceptions, expectations, and fears influence household support for and investment in new infrastructure. Takeaway for practice: In rapidly developing cities, or other settings subject to sudden change, resident fears and perceptions may drive decision making as much as the quality and price of the service provided. This is likely more true the more quickly circumstances change. Research support: This project was supported by the University of Hawai’i at Manoa's Globalization Research Center.