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The City-Identity-Sustainability (CIS) Research Network aims to investigate the relationship between several conditions and processes that shape social identity—such as the quality of the urban area, residents'satisfaction, community identification, and sense of cohesion—and the relationship between these factors, taken as a whole, and sustainability. The objective of the project was to determine whether the presence of these factors favors sustainability and, likewise, whether the absence of some of the factors impedes sustainability. The CIS Network carried out its research in seven sites in Latin America and Europe, using the same questionnaire in each setting and complementing it with local qualitative research. The results showed a reasonable fit to the structural models of the hypothesized relationships. In light of the results, the research network suggests social and environmental intervention strategies to promote sustainability. This article focuses on the theoretical construction of the models.

The most significant results of the different studies carried out in the City-Identity-Sustainability research network and published in this special issue are discussed and evaluated. A general structural model was proposed to analyze the existence of a relationship between social identity and propensity to sustainability in the urban life context, in various settings of Latin America and Europe. Propensity to sustainability was valued and the adjustment to two theoretical models (identification and cohesion) was observed in each setting through the structural equation system. Results confirm that there is a relationship between the degree of social identity and propensity to sustainability. Place identity and social cohesion are variables that influence this relationship in a differential way and vary in accordance to the physical quality of the space and the social status of the setting. Thus, the study provides some management guidelines to advance toward sustainability.

This article presents the results of a comparative analysis of three models: the identification model (IM), the cohesion model (CM), and the general model (GM) proposed by the City-Identity-Sustainability (CIS) Network. These models have been designed for the description of sustainability and all try to explain its relationship with identity and urban development using structural equations. The analyzed items were selected from a longer questionnaire as part of the general CIS Network study. Ten samples from different origins were obtained, with a total of 1, 421 participants. To test the models to the concept of sustainability, the parameters are presented in a comparative way. The indicators show a moderate fit. The IM presents a better fit in samples with high levels of urban development, whereas the CM shows a better fit in samples with less developed areas. The best general fit is in the GM model for all the samples.

In the study reported in this article the roles of social cohesion, residential satisfaction, and place identification are examined for their effect on place-related social identity and its consequential impact on attitudes to environmental sustainability. Two neighborhoods in Guildford, Surrey, England were selected on the basis of their social histories, housing types, and socioeconomic composition. Ninety residents in each neighborhood were sampled. Research methods included cognitive mapping and a questionnaire survey. A structural equation model was used to analyze the covariances between the different factors. The results show clear differences between the two neighborhoods in terms of residential satisfaction, with only some differences in terms of identification and social cohesion and sustainability. Conclusions are drawn that suggest an important relationship between identity and sustainability behavior that is suggestive for future research.

This article presents a summary of a descriptive analysis of a town in the suburban area of Barcelona and the adjustment of the data compiled to the City-Identity-Sustainability (CIS) structural models. The analysis was conducted in a reduced sample of a wider study and aimed to identify and analyze potential social effects of the plans for the town's urban growth. In addition to the CIS questionnaire, ethnographic, qualitative, and quantitative studies were also carried out to collect complementary information; these are not reported here. The results show high levels of satisfaction and perceived quality of life that are independent of the objective life conditions. The adjustment to the CIS structural models shows that identity correlates with propensity to sustainability. The results are related to the emergence of a positive social identity that fits the social cohesion model in poor and standard areas, whereas the well-structured urban areas present a good fit with the identification model.

Research on environmental volunteering suggests that nature bonding is crucial to promoting citizen engagement. However, predominant research on volunteers' initial motivations overlooks the creation of bonds between people and nature over time. To understand the nature bonding from a temporal perspective, this article examines significant life experiences of volunteers of a self-organised citizen-based river group in Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Through a qualitative study involving 25 interviews with members of this group, different types of significant life experiences (formative and reinforcing) and associated psychological drivers (others-oriented, place-oriented and self-oriented) are identified. Maturation and interaction of experiences and drivers throughout volunteers' life stages determines the evolution of self-nature bonding, that starts unconsciously and becomes conscious and complex, leading to place attachment and moral commitment. The shift from mere identification of volunteers' initial motivations to a holistic understanding of their bonds with nature over time provides insights for promoting the self-organisation of citizen-based groups that can play a significant role in collaborative environmental governance.