Environmental Concern and Its Relationship to Community Attachment and Satisfaction in Southern West Virginia

Extractive industries, especially coal, in the Appalachia region, have contributed to severe environmental challenges. Over the past years, residents in these areas faced increased health risks and damage to natural landscapes, impacting on how connected they are attached to their communities and overall satisfaction with their quality of life. Previous studies have examined these issues but with a focus on amenity-rich rural west, low amenities, urban-suburban, tourist-dependent and Great Lakes regions; this study looks at southern West Virginia, a coal-dependent region. And as such fills that gap by exploring how environmental concerns - combined with a longstanding reliance on coal - shape community attachment and satisfaction. This study explores how environmental concerns affect people’s attachment to and satisfaction with their communities. Findings indicated that there was no statistically significant relationship between environmental concern and community attachment, while the relationship between environmental concern and community satisfaction was statistically significant. Long-term residents tend to develop strong attachments to their community. However, research is limited to some extent considering the demographic skew of its sample, which is predominantly white and elderly. It is recommended to combine environmental remediation with economic development to enhance community resilience and environmental sustainability in southern West Virginia. Also, efforts on staying alert to policies that prioritize environmental sustainability and community engagement.