Environmental concern among local citizens a test of competing perspectives

The social-locational perspective on environmental concern has relied on traditional demographic variables to account for citizen positions. Young, educated, liberal urbanites or the « new middle class » have been considered most environmentally minded. Some studies, however, suggest a different perspective. Attitudinal variables concerning concrete issues, especially political alienation and risk perceptions, have been proposed as more important stimulants of environmentalism. The AA. incorporate the two perspectives into a single design which examines citizen positions on a proposed nuclear waste facility in a western New York locality. The findings cast doubt on the social-locational perspective but confirm the notion that feelings of alienation and perceptions of risk are key determinants of environmental concern.