Analysis of residents’ satisfaction with sustainable urban system planning: a case of Qonayev City, Kazakhstan

This study examines the relationship between residents' perceptions of sustainable urban planning and their overall satisfaction in Qonayev City, Kazakhstan. Building on the three conventional sustainability pillars (economic, environmental, and sociocultural) it adds a fourth, under-studied dimension, religious/interfaith harmony, to test whether it independently predicts satisfaction in a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional setting. Using survey data from 941 residents and structural equation modelling (AMOS 25.0), we find that economic development (β = 0.136), sociocultural welfare (β = 0.147), and the religious dimension (β = 0.466) are positively associated with satisfaction, while the environmental dimension shows a significant negative association (β = −0.109); together, the four dimensions explain roughly one quarter of the variance in residents' satisfaction (R2 = 0.250). Given the cross-sectional design, results are interpreted as associations rather than causal effects. The negative environmental coefficient, despite comparatively favourable descriptive ratings, points to a gap between residents' general sustainability appraisal and the specific service shortfalls—sewerage, eco-friendly transport, pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure, renewable energy—that most affect satisfaction, consistent with the “perception-mismatch” pattern documented elsewhere in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Sustainability planning in Qonayev appears uneven across dimensions, requiring a collaborative, evidence-based approach among authorities, planners, and residents.