Do citizen participation programs help citizens feel satisfied with urban redevelopment policy in China?

Abstract Debates on urban redevelopment policy have emerged and been evolving in China, raising theoretical and practical concerns. Prior researchers have realized that the proactive behavior of government officials can influence satisfaction in urban redevelopment policymaking. However, the internal mechanism is still unclear. Employing the policy implementation process theory, this paper develops a theoretical model to explore how the proactive behavior of government officials affects citizen satisfaction. An analysis of a survey of Chinese citizens participating in public affairs shows that the government officials’ proactive behavior matters for citizen satisfaction by promoting proactive participation and dampening passive participation. The results also highlight the moderating role of public trust and government officials’ responsiveness in the relationship between citizen behavior and satisfaction. Based on our findings, practical interventions aiming at improving participation and citizen satisfaction should be taking active and affirmative measures from regulation to interaction, improve the public trust and establish timely and effective response mechanisms.