Urban–rural disparity in the satisfaction with public sports services: Survey-based evidence in China

Abstract

As part of the national project of advancing citizens' fitness and developing mass sports in China, public sports services (PSS) have been implemented rapidly throughout the country. However, how citizens of different social backgrounds evaluate PSS is still an open question. Drawing on the survey data from the Study of Community Sports in China collected in 2012, this article detects a significant urban–rural disparity in the satisfaction with PSS. Relative to urbanites, rural residents show a significantly lower level of satisfaction with PSS. This urban–rural difference primarily concentrates on the provision of supporting services such as sports consulting, but least on the availability and price. In terms of regional variations, the rural–urban gap in the satisfaction of PSS is less severe in eastern provinces, relative to either middle or western provinces. Implications of the urban–rural differential in the appraisal of PSS are discussed.