Resilience Evaluation and Renovation Strategies of Public Spaces in Old Communities from a Disaster-Adaptive Perspective

Abstract

Old community districts grapple with issues such as antiquated infrastructure and functional designs that fail to meet contemporary needs. These limitations lead to diminished disaster resistance and a reduced quality of life for inhabitants. Public spaces within these antiquated districts can function as sanctuaries during calamities, enhancing the community’s disaster response efficacy and expediting post-disaster recovery, which is vital for effective disaster management. Nevertheless, the disaster-resilience attributes of public spaces in these old districts have not been sufficiently researched. This study focused on three representative old communities in Beijing, analyzing and contrasting their disaster resilience attributes and various community types. Utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process, a hierarchical structural model was formulated, examining the public spatial structure, function, transportation, and ecology. A comprehensive analysis was then conducted to identify the resilience characteristics that public spaces in old communities should possess. The findings indicated that the prioritization of the four criteria—ecological space, transit space, spatial function, and spatial structure—in the development of disaster-resilient public spaces in communities increases progressively. The renovation to increase the disaster-resilience of old communities should concentrate on optimizing the spatial structure layout of the community, enhancing the integrity, openness, and coherence of public spaces; imbuing public spaces with versatile and multifaceted functions, and establishing hierarchical distribution systems; ensuring transit spaces cater to both everyday use and disaster exigencies, maintaining unimpeded traffic flow under all conditions; and creating multi-tiered ecological spaces to bolster resilience during disasters while enhancing daily aesthetics. This research enriches the strategies for the disaster-resilient renovation of public spaces in old communities, offering precise and scientific references to improve community disaster resilience and emergency response capabilities.

1. Introduction

Since the dawn of urban development, the secure construction of cities has been pivotal for the sustainable advancement of urban areas. Nevertheless, despite nearly eight decades since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, old communities, owing to their early construction and substantial population densities [1], struggle to accommodate contemporary living conditions [2]. Consequently, these spaces exhibit a stark inadequacy in disaster prevention capabilities. In the rapid urbanization and expansive growth following the reform and opening-up period, the disaster resilience of old communities was frequently overlooked [3]. This oversight has engendered numerous safety hazards, leading to a cascade of adverse outcomes. Public spaces in such old communities hold multifaceted roles and are integral to urban disaster prevention and mitigation frameworks [4].

In contemporary urban initiatives, an increasing number of scholars advocate for the swift enhancement of public safety system infrastructures [5,6]. This entails bolstering disaster prevention, mitigation, relief capabilities, and emergency responsiveness to grave public calamities, thereby steering public security governance towards preemptive measures [7]. The urgency of disaster adaptability construction is thus underscored. The elasticity of public spaces not only equips old communities to react swiftly to disasters, mitigating their adverse impact and promptly restoring normalcy, but also ensures that these spaces fulfill everyday utilitarian needs. Consequently, devising effective public spaces within old communities emerges as a pressing challenge for urban experts.

During emergencies, these communities exhibit crucial vulnerabilities: limited resources, congested public areas, and the gradual encroachment of public spaces into private domains make them ill-equipped to withstand subsequent disasters [8]. Accordingly, the paradigm in China regarding the transformation of public spaces in old communities has evolved from merely emphasizing aesthetics to prioritizing harmony and symbiosis. More sophisticated spatial division frameworks and evaluative regimes, such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), have been adopted. The AHP, a quantitative analysis method for intricate decision-making developed by American operations researcher Thomas L. Saaty in the early 1970s, stratifies decision problems into hierarchical levels of goals, criteria, and alternatives to calculate comprehensive evaluative values for each alternative. Its application spans regional planning [9,10,11] and engineering metrics [12,13,14] extensively. From the perspective of disaster adaptation, this study evaluated the resilience of public spaces in historic communities using the AHP. The study concluded that the spatial structure, spatial function, transit space, and ecological space of the community are of paramount importance in enhancing the community’s disaster resistance capabilities and residents’ quality of life.

The spatial structure forms the bedrock of community design, significantly influencing a community’s resilience to disasters [15]. The spatial dynamics of residents’ activities not only mirror their urban space demands but also shape the urban spatial configuration [16]. In residential neighborhoods, the daily activities of residents integrate regional functions, requiring the conversion of single-use spaces into versatile spaces, which encompass both single-use dominated areas and multifunctional mixed zones. Research has demonstrated that an intelligently designed street network, thoughtful open space layout, and strategic building density can bolster a community’s disaster resilience. The current research on spatial structure predominantly examines the impact of public space layout and organizational structure on usability. A well-conceived spatial structure enhances pedestrian flow, improves accessibility, and boosts spatial efficiency [17]. In the context of redeveloping old communities, the emphasis is on reconfiguring the spatial layout to enhance the functionality and comfort of public spaces [18]. Khoder et al. suggested that concepts such as adaptive design and flexible spaces should be more extensively employed in the redevelopment of public spaces to cater to the varied needs of residents through adaptable spatial layouts and diverse functional combinations [19]. Thus, optimizing the spatial structure, broadening main thoroughfares, and incorporating refuge areas are crucial strategies to augment the disaster resilience of old communities.

Spatial function refers to the distinct uses of and intended services provided by public spaces. The design of multifunctional spaces can more effectively accommodate diverse needs during disasters. The research on spatial function has delved into the role of public spaces in addressing the needs of various residents. Traditionally, public spaces have primarily served leisure and entertainment purposes; however, with societal advancements, their functions have diversified to include cultural exchange, sports activities, community events, and more [20]. Studies indicate that designing multifunctional spaces can enhance the utilization efficiency of public spaces and foster community cohesion [21]. Furthermore, the planning the functions of public spaces must consider the actual needs of residents and community characteristics. Participatory design and community involvement can improve space utilization and resident satisfaction [22]. Verma et al. explored the concept of spatial resilience in urban planning, particularly focusing on the risks posed by climate change [23]. The article proposed various strategies, including the integration of green infrastructure, flexible land use policies, and the importance of community participation, to enhance urban resilience to climate change. McAllister et al. emphasized the critical role of social infrastructure in building community resilience. Their article examined how facilities like libraries, community centers, and public spaces play a vital role in post-disaster recovery and long-term community resilience, especially by promoting social interaction and providing support services [24]. Orsetti et al. discussed methods of transforming urban spaces through adaptive design, introducing specific design principles and case studies that demonstrate how flexible architectural design and multifunctional public spaces can enhance urban resilience [25]. Afrin et al. analyzed the role of public spaces in enhancing community resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic [26]. Through studies of multiple cities, their article revealed the importance of open public spaces, green areas, and flexible urban zones in coping with crises and maintaining community vitality. In Beijing, old communities generally lack such multifunctional spaces, so their renovation should focus on the compound and flexible functionality of spaces to improve disaster resilience.

The transit space is a vital conduit linking the internal and external facets of a community. Its seamless functioning directly influences the efficiency of emergency responses and the rapid evacuation of personnel during disasters. As an essential element of residential public spaces, transportation infrastructure encompasses roads, public transportation facilities, sidewalks, and more. Thoughtfully designed transit spaces not only enhance urban traffic efficiency but also elevate the travel experience and safety of residents [27]. The research indicates that the noise generated by transit space can significantly affect residents’ sleep quality, thereby impacting the stability of social relationships [28]. In older residential areas where the population predominantly consists of the elderly and children, the fragility of their nervous systems is particularly pronounced [29]. PR Anciaes et al. highlighted that social impact assessments of road traffic often rely on objective metrics or expert opinions, frequently neglecting the perspectives of the affected communities [30]. Additionally, with the burgeoning car ownership in China, congestion within residential neighborhoods has become increasingly acute. These older residential areas typically feature enclosed layouts with narrow internal roads. When parking consumes part of the roadway, the remaining space often only supports single-lane traffic, causing considerable inconvenience during peak hours and hindering the prompt entry of fire trucks during emergencies due to traffic jams [31]. Currently, transit space design emphasizes barrier-free accessibility to cater to vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled [32]. Consequently, renovation strategies should focus on enhancing traffic flow, incorporating emergency lanes, optimizing parking management, and ensuring the efficient operation of transportation systems during crises.

Ecological spaces are becoming increasingly pivotal in urban disaster prevention and mitigation. Green vegetation and water bodies not only enhance the aesthetic appeal but also absorb rainwater, regulate microclimates, and mitigate the heat island effect. The current research on community ecological spaces primarily examines their impact on the urban environment and residents’ quality of life [33]. Some studies have demonstrated that ecological spaces can markedly improve urban air quality, reduce noise levels, and regulate temperature. Furthermore, ecological spaces promote residents’ physical and mental health, thereby enhancing overall life satisfaction. In recent years, the planning and redevelopment of ecological spaces have increasingly focused on ecological restoration and sustainable development, aiming to bolster ecological functions by introducing local vegetation and expanding green spaces [34]. Manley et al. discussed fostering resilience in dynamic socio-ecological systems, underscoring the importance of socio-ecological resilience in natural resource management [35]. Sharifi et al. advocated for a social–technical–ecological approach in transition studies to better elucidate ecological elements in urban systems [36]. Hou et al. concentrated on evaluating and optimizing the resilience of ecological spaces in specific areas, highlighting the significance of a network perspective in studying socio-ecological system resilience [37]. Koliou et al. reviewed the research on community resilience, particularly concerning natural disasters, including individual infrastructure systems, interdependencies, and models of community economic and social systems [38]. Carmen et al. explored the role of social capital in bolstering resilience, as well as its impact on community resilience and climate change practices [39]. In the renovation of old communities in Beijing, full utilization of spaces such as roofs, walls, and ground for greening is essential to construct a multi-level ecosystem, thereby enhancing the ecological service functions and disaster resilience of the community.

Based on previous research by both domestic and international scholars, it is evident that the various functions of old communities are crucial for daily life and safety. Safe construction is the primary concern for old communities as it directly impacts the residents’ safety. However, the current renovations of old communities are often carried out in a fragmented manner without systematically integrating safe construction into spatial transformation. Therefore, this study, guided by disaster-adaptive construction, took the public spaces of three old communities in Beijing—Baiwanzhuang, Erre, and Enjili—as research objects. It proposed spatial elasticity as a renovation strategy. By analyzing and summarizing the series of problems faced by the public spaces of old communities in terms of functional space, structural space, transit space, and ecological space, it uses the AHP to conduct a weight analysis of the problem hierarchy. Further, it explored the challenges faced by public spaces in old communities in terms of disaster adaptation and proposes relevant renovation strategies, providing new ideas for optimizing public spaces for disaster adaptation.

2. Materials and Methods

Taking into account the intricate nature of evaluating the resilience of public spaces within old communities, which entails a myriad of aspects including structural integrity, functionality, transportation, and ecological considerations [40], the AHP offers a methodical and hierarchical approach to managing these multifaceted evaluation factors, thereby enabling a comprehensive appraisal, as shown in Figure 1. The formulated evaluation framework encompasses both quantifiable objective metrics, such as spatial configuration and green coverage rate, and subjective measures, including resident satisfaction and usage frequency [41]. By constructing a consistency matrix, the AHP method quantitatively captures the subjective evaluations of experts and local residents, thereby enhancing the thoroughness and precision of the assessment. Moreover, the AHP-based evaluation system assigns weights to the diverse factors affecting the resilience of public spaces in old communities, thereby delineating the importance of each element, guiding the systematic allocation of resources and informing the development of targeted strategies [42]. Utilizing the AHP methodology, this study established a robust framework for evaluating disaster-resilient public spaces in old communities, with an emphasis on three case studies in Beijing.

2.1. Sample Selection

In the exploration of the renovation of old communities, the AHP necessitates the subject to possess a thoroughly structured hierarchical problem framework, a plethora of decision criteria and participants, along with multifaceted renovation objectives to conform to its analytical model [43]. This approach addresses the intricacies and uncertainties inherent in decision-making, thereby facilitating effective and comprehensive renovation decisions. This study selected three communities in Beijing with distinct characteristics (historical significance, industrial legacy, and unique socio-cultural contexts): Baiwanzhuang Community, Erre Community, and Enjili Community. It examined their particular public space issues to discern the commonalities and variances in disaster-adaptive construction among old communities in Beijing [44]. By employing the AHP methodology to decompose complex issues into smaller, more manageable, and solvable sub-problems, the assessment and renovation procedure becomes more scientific and efficient [45].

The Baiwanzhuang Community was established in the 1950s and is located in the Xicheng District of Beijing. The overall layout consists of 9 small blocks and Baiwanzhuang Zhongli, forming an expanded bloc structure with a bilateral layout, making it a perimeter-style community. The community’s main road network includes two north–south roads and one east–west road, divided in the middle by a ring road, ensuring the privacy of residential spaces and the construction of slow traffic areas. The outdoor public land is mainly distributed on both sides of the road and around buildings, shaped as long and narrow strips with a single function, lacking in open activity spaces and emergency spaces. The transit space is divided into two levels: main roads and residential roads, but there is a shortage of parking spaces, and some fire lanes are occupied. It has multiple entrances and exits, offering strong spatial permeability. The greenery mainly consists of individual trees with a lack of variety and scant sectional landscape greening, although road surface drainage is smooth, as shown in Figure 2. Drawing upon research and analysis, it was determined that the Baiwanzhuang Community suffers from a deficit of parking spaces, with some vehicles encroaching on fire lanes, thereby impeding the efficiency of rescue and evacuation during emergencies. Public amenities are predominantly situated on the periphery, and the community is deficient in essential emergency facilities such as shelters and first aid stations. The high density of buildings amplifies the risks of calamities, such as fires, and renders large-scale modifications and expansions challenging in post-disaster recovery efforts.

Erre Community was established in the 1980s, and is located in the Xicheng District of Beijing. The layout is an irregular grid, forming a row–column residential area. The land use is homogenous, with numerous internal pathways and poor privacy. The indoor spaces are fully functional but lack public activity and emergency reserve spaces. The outdoor areas are left idle without planning, and they lack large gathering spaces. There are fire safety facilities around the community but there is a lack of medical facilities. The internal traffic routes are primarily comprised of residential streets, which are narrow and chaotic. There are multiple entrances and exits connecting to urban roads, with a dense distribution of bus stops around and a nearby subway station. The public spaces have almost no greenery, lacking green landscapes and roadside vegetation, with poor water permeability, as shown in Figure 3. According to meticulous research and analysis, the Erre Community is notably deficient in substantial public activity spaces and emergency reserve areas. In the face of a disaster, the inability to conduct centralized resettlement and provide emergency supplies hampers the effective implementation of rescue and resettlement efforts. The community’s internal roads are relatively narrow, resulting in disorganized traffic under normal circumstances. In emergency situations, rescue vehicles face considerable difficulty traversing these roads, thus compromising rescue efficiency and evacuation speed. There is a scant amount of public green space, coupled with poor water infiltration capacity. During extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, flooding can readily occur, thereby heightening the disaster risk within the community. The buildings are densely arranged, resulting in compromised privacy. During post-disaster resettlement, overcrowding and privacy issues may precipitate secondary disasters or conflicts.

Enjili Community was established in the 1990s and is located in Haidian District, Beijing. The community consists of four inward-facing courtyard groups formed on a rectangular plot, creating a mixed community layout. It features S-shaped roads connecting the groups, providing clear and simple routes that maintain inter-group connectivity while keeping them relatively enclosed. The community boasts a significant amount of outdoor public space with a rich variety of types. The indoor public spaces include emergency facilities such as pharmacies, a community service center, educational facilities, and underground reserve spaces, although it lacks large public spaces. The internal roads are classified into three levels with a good separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic and clear delineation of parking spaces. The community has multiple entrances and exits, surrounded by external roads. The well-greened public spaces account for a large proportion of the space and feature a rich variety, combining both horizontal and vertical greening to foster an excellent ecological environment, as shown in Figure 4. Based on meticulous research and analysis, the absence of ample public spaces within the community precludes the possibility of centralized resettlement and distribution of relief supplies during a large-scale disaster, potentially impeding the efficiency of rescue operations and post-disaster recovery efforts. While there is an underground storage facility, its degree of utilization and management remains unclear. Should the storage and management of supplies prove inadequate, it may fail to fulfill its intended role during a disaster, thereby compromising the community’s recovery capabilities.

2.2. Construction of a Resilience Evaluation System for Public Spaces in Old Communities

Based on the situation of disaster-adaptive construction and resilience characteristics in the public spaces of old communities, as well as the results of expert interviews, this study divided the public space into four primary indicators as the criteria layer for evaluation: spatial structure, spatial function, transit space, and ecological space. It used 20 evaluation factors such as spatial orientation, spatial complexity, spatial accessibility, and green coverage rate as the factor layer to construct an evaluation index system for the disaster resilience of public spaces in old communities [46,47], as shown in Figure 5. The target layer is the disaster resilience of the public spaces in old communities; the criteria layer includes the structure, function, transportation, and ecology of public spaces; the sub-criteria layer further refines each criterion, for example, the public spatial structure can include spatial layout, facility resilience, etc. [48,49,50]; the scheme layer refers to three typical communities.

2.3. Establishing the Judgment Matrix

In May 2023, a questionnaire survey was randomly conducted among residents of the Baiwanzhuang Community, the Erre Community, and the Enjili Community during two different time periods: workdays and rest days. The survey aimed to gather the residents’ opinions on the relative importance of evaluation elements when disasters occur [51], such as whether the “function” of public spaces is more important than their “structure”. A total of 389 questionnaires were distributed, with 352 valid responses received, making the response rate approximately 90.5%.

By organizing and summarizing the collected data and conducting both subjective and objective analyses, the group members compared all the criteria and factors within the same layer based on the scale value ratios [52], as shown in

Table 1. Scale of relative importance comparison between Indicator A and Indicator B.

	Very Important	Comparatively Important	Important	Equal	Secondary	Quite Secondary	Extremely Secondary
Indicator A evaluation value	7	5	3	1	1/3	1/5	1/7

Note: The median of 6, 4, 2, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/6 was used as the above evaluation values.

. A judgment matrix was formed after assigning values based on a proportional scale [53].

Using the sum-product method, each column of the judgment matrix Bij was normalized, each row of the normalized matrix was summed, and after normalization, the eigenvector Wi was obtained, which represents the weight of each level of indicators. The maximum eigenvalue λmax was calculated and a consistency check was performed on the matrix, as detailed in Equations (1)–(5). The calculation process was performed using the yaahpV0.6.0 Analytic Hierarchy Process software.

$$B_{ij}={\displaystyle \frac{A_{ij}}{{\displaystyle \sum A_{ij}}}}$$

(1)

$$W_j={\displaystyle \frac{B_j}{{\displaystyle \sum B_j}}}$$

(2)

$${\mathrm{ƛ}}_{\max }={\displaystyle \frac{{\displaystyle \sum {(AW)}_i}}{n{W}_i}}$$

(3)

$$C.I.={\displaystyle \frac{{\mathrm{ƛ}}_{\max }-n}{n-1}}$$

(4)

$$C.R.={\displaystyle \frac{C.I.}{R.I.}}$$

(5)

In the formula, i = 1, 2, …, n and j = 1, 2, …, n;

Aij—scoring value assigned to the ‘j’ indicator weight by the ‘i’th jury member;

Wi—weighting;

λmax—Maximum Characteristic Root;

C.I.—Relative Consistency Index;

R.I.—Average Random Consistency Indicator;

C.R.—Stochastic Consistency Ratio.

3. Results

3.1. Disaster Resilience Evaluation Index System Weight Allocation Results

According to the formula mentioned above, the consistency ratios (CRs) for the goal layer, first-level criteria layer, and second-level criteria layer were all less than 0.1000, indicating that the conclusions derived from the AHP are scientifically valid [54]. For the weights of the resilience evaluation index system for public spaces in old communities, see

Table 2. Evaluation index system for disaster resilience of public spaces in old communities.

Target Layer	Primary Indicator	Weight	CR	Secondary Indicator	Weight	CR
Resilience Evaluation Indicator System for Public Spaces in Old Communities	Spatial structure	0.2714	0.0369	Spatial orientation (C1)	0.0967	0.0967
			-	Spatial accessibility (C2)	0.3316	-
			-	Per capita square space area (C3)	0.1018	-
			-	Number and location of emergency exits (C4)	0.372	-
			-	Community floor area ratio (C5)	0.098	-
	Spatial function	0.1014	-	Spatial complexity (C6)	0.1336	0.0946
			-	Accessible design (C7)	0.1937	-
			-	Provision for potential land use scale (C8)	0.0707	-
			-	Emergency housing construction (C9)	0.3442	-
			-	Construction of surrounding disaster-resistant spaces (C10)	0.2578	-
	Traffic space	0.5378	-	Spatial fluidity (C11)	0.2095	0.0889
			-	Spatial recognition (C12)	0.1702	-
			-	Firefighting accessibility (C13)	0.4653	-
			-	Pathway optionality (C14)	0.0925	-
			-	Community peripheral roads (C15)	0.0625	-
	Ecological space	0.0893	-	Green coverage rate (C16)	0.1506	0.0739
			-	Distribution of greenery (C17)	0.1314	-
			-	Richness of plant species (C18)	0.09	-
			-	Sources of noise pollution (C19)	0.3913	-
			-	Quality of environmental sanitation (C20)	0.2367	-

.

At the target level, the weighting of the criteria layers for transit space, spatial structure, spatial function, and ecological space were 0.5378, 0.2714, 0.1014, and 0.0893, respectively. This delineation suggests a hierarchical importance among these criteria layers in contributing to the resilient development of community public spaces, with each layer’s significance diminishing sequentially. Notably, within the transit space, the largest weight was attributed to firefighting accessibility, marked at 0.2502, underscoring its pivotal role in the disaster resilience of community public spaces. In the realm of spatial structure, precedence was afforded to the number and location of safety exits, weighted at 0.3720. Regarding spatial function, emergency rooms received prime consideration, denoted by a weight of 0.3442. Within the ecological space criterion, the focus was placed on the sources of noise pollution, which commanded a weight of 0.3913.

Firefighting accessibility not only garnered the highest weight in the transit space but also across all secondary indicator layers, reinforcing its essential contribution to the disaster-resilient infrastructure of community public spaces. The leading weights in the remaining three criteria layers were allocated, respectively, to the quantity and strategic placement of safety exits, the establishment of emergency rooms, and the identification of noise pollution sources.

3.2. Comparison of Disaster Resilience Levels in Community Public Spaces

3.2.1. Assignment and Calculation of Evaluation Factors

The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method can transform qualitative assessments into quantitative ones, which is beneficial for deriving and calculating fuzzy and difficult-to-quantify indicators within the resilience assessment system of old community public spaces, thereby producing a clear and systematic result [55,56].

(1)

Each indicator in the disaster resilience evaluation system for public spaces has m evaluation levels, corresponding to the range of values for each indicator. Each indicator’s evaluation level was divided into m levels, and the range of values S = (S1, S2, …, Sm) [57].

(2)

The disaster resilience evaluation system for public spaces contains multiple indicator evaluation factors, and the composite score of these factors corresponds to different levels of disaster resilience in public spaces. If the disaster resilience level in public spaces is divided into n levels, and the range of disaster resilience levels is R = (R1, R2, …, Rn), then each value in this range represents a different level of disaster resilience in public spaces. The value ranges R and S were summed up, and a fuzzy evaluation matrix U was established, as seen in Equation (6). The fuzzy evaluation matrix U was multiplied by each indicator’s weight; the consolidated result represents the disaster resilience level of community public spaces.

$$\mathit{U}=\begin{array}{c}{S}_1\\ S_2\\ \begin{array}{c}\dots \\ S_n\end{array}\end{array}=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}{U}_{11}& \cdots & U_{1n}\\ ⋮& \ddots & ⋮\\ U_{n1}& \cdots & U_{nn}\end{array}\right]=\left[U_{ij}\right]n\ast m$$

(6)

3.2.2. Grade Division

The method of assigning scores was used to unify the scoring standards for each tertiary indicator, dividing the score of each tertiary indicator into four levels. Based on the scoring standards and the actual conditions of the community, a score from 1 to 4 was given. Subsequently, according to the scoring results, the resilience level of each community to disasters was divided into four grades: comparatively high (85 ≤ α < 100), average (70 ≤ α < 85), comparatively low (60 ≤ α < 70), and failing (α < 60). Finally, based on the evaluation system proposed in this article, the various basic data collected from field research were summarized [58]. These data were then transformed into evaluation scores for the communities being studied, culminating in a numerical matrix that reveals the disaster resilience scores of each community, as shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7.

3.3. Evaluation of Results

3.3.1. Insufficient Disaster Resilience

The data analysis revealed that the disaster resilience levels of public spaces in old communities are notably deficient. The disaster resilience scores of the three communities, expressed as percentages, stood at 43.34%, 57.11%, and 73.02%, respectively. The scores of both Baiwanzhuang Community and Erre Community fell below satisfactory levels, whereas Enjili Community maintained an average standing. Consequently, all three communities must enhance their overall disaster resilience capabilities. Notably, the disaster resilience scores for spatial function in the three communities were particularly low. Therefore, focusing on the construction of emergency spaces and enhancing spatial versatility should be prioritized in the subsequent phases of updates and renovations. Regarding spatial structure, Enjili Community boasts a more reasonable layout, while the Baiwanzhuang and Erre communities necessitate more scientific planning and design to optimize the utilization and rationality of community spaces. Concerning traffic spaces, Enjili Community excels in traffic fluidity, but Baiwanzhuang Community urgently needs to alleviate road congestion, address passage difficulties, and improve the emergency passage system. In ecological spaces, substantial disparities existed in greening environments and ecological functions among the three communities. The Baiwanzhuang and Erre communities must enhance green spaces, increase plant diversity, and expand public green areas. Among secondary influencing factors, the low scores in richness of plant species, green coverage rate, per capita square space area, and provision for potential land use scale highlight critical areas for improvement within the public spaces of these old communities.

3.3.2. Essential Basic Disaster Prevention

As illustrated in Figure 7, spatial fluidity (0.2547) received the highest weight, underscoring the paramount importance of optimizing road layouts, road widths, and the number of emergency passages within the community. Firefighting accessibility (0.1527) emerged as the second most vital indicator. Through meticulous planning and reconfiguration, it is imperative to ensure a judicious distribution of crucial spaces, such as residential areas, public facilities, and emergency shelters, to facilitate prompt rescue operations during disasters, thereby mitigating the potential loss of life and property. Spatial accessibility (0.1066) remained a significant indicator, with residents prioritizing the duration required to reach public spaces and the availability of safe passages. The construction of surrounding disaster-resistant spaces (0.0781) commanded considerable importance. Analytical insights suggested that ample emergency land should be reserved during the planning stages to establish temporary shelter facilities or to accommodate displaced residents. The number and location of emergency exits (0.0616) were of moderate importance, with the quantity, positioning, and visibility of these exits being critical concerns for residents. The data revealed that factors such as firefighting accessibility, spatial fluidity, the number and location of safety exits, and spatial recognition were ranked relatively high. This demonstrates that fundamental disaster prevention factors are not only essential prerequisites for ensuring residents’ safety but also vital considerations in enhancing their daily happiness and comfort. Basic disaster prevention needs constitute the primary criterion for fostering disaster resilience in public spaces within old communities.

3.3.3. Diversity of Disaster Prevention Spaces

The integration of disaster preparedness areas with everyday environments is a fundamental component of crafting resilient public spaces that can seamlessly adapt to emergencies. For instance, the accessibility of firefighting services is intrinsically linked to the openness and availability of these spaces. Thoughtfully designed roads and pathways not only facilitate the daily movement of residents but also ensure that fire trucks and emergency responders can swiftly reach the scene of any incident in times of crisis. The extent to which emergency spaces meld with multifunctional environments is vital; highly adaptable spaces can function as community activity centers during normal times and can be swiftly converted into emergency shelters or distribution hubs for supplies during disasters. The attributes of flexible spaces serve as a crucial benchmark for disaster-resilient design, necessitating an emphasis on the multifunctionality and adaptability of these spaces to guarantee that their usage can be quickly modified to suit varying circumstances.

4. Discussion

4.1. Well-Organized Spatial Structure

In the planning and design of public spaces within old communities, the amalgamation of space as a “skeleton, artery, and muscle” becomes quintessential. It must not only cater to daily activities but also play an indispensable role during catastrophes [59]. Firstly, regarding the overarching spatial structure, the principal disaster passageways within the community should seamlessly connect to the city’s main rescue routes, integrating into the city’s emergency evacuation network, and thus augmenting the number of community emergency exits [14]. The road configurations of Baiwanzhuang Community and Erre Community necessitate immediate optimization. The existing roads and fire lanes require meticulous reorganization to guarantee that rescue vehicles and personnel can access the area expeditiously.

Secondly, in refurbishing public spaces in old communities, the spatial functional layout should be arranged along the principal landscape axis. By crafting uninterrupted landscape walkways, disparate areas can coalesce into a harmonious entity. For instance, in Enjili Community, a hierarchical path system can be instituted within the community’s public green spaces, interlinking each green space and activity area into a unified whole. This ensures that the community maintains an unbroken evacuation route in the face of disasters [60], as illustrated in Figure 8.

Thirdly, during the renovation of public spaces, the notion of “leaving blank” should be embraced, affording residents an imaginative space while continually merging with their evolving needs to form an organically cohesive whole. The Baiwanzhuang and Erre communities are deficient in vast public activity areas and emergency reserve regions. Consequently, throughout the renovation process, sufficient emergency land should be preserved to offer more expansive activity spaces and temporary shelters, thereby amplifying the space’s complexity and emergency capabilities.

4.2. Multifunctionality and Complexity of Space

The diversity and intricacy of spatial function are pivotal factors influencing spatial adaptability. Varied spaces can nimbly accommodate an array of disaster-adaptive requirements [61]. Public spaces in old communities, such as green areas, parks, and squares, often occupy central locations and can serve as temporary refuges during disasters, offering safe sanctuaries for residents. Thus, during renovations, the significance of these open spaces should be accentuated, assigning them a pivotal role while simultaneously considering the extent of disaster rescue operations. For instance, Baiwanzhuang Community lacks open activity areas and emergency spaces; therefore, renovations should aim to expand the area and enhance the functionality of these spaces to meet disaster-related needs.

Moreover, due to their strategic locations, these spaces can epitomize community culture, offering venues for entertainment and leisure activities, and function as emergency shelters during disasters. For instance, Erre Community is deficient in large public activity spaces and emergency reserve areas; therefore, renovations should contemplate adding parks or squares at the community center and plan for emergency facilities. Specifically, parks can establish emergency tent zones with reserved amenities such as emergency monitoring, drinking water stations, and toilets. In disaster scenarios, park management facilities can function as disaster command hubs, leveraging monitoring systems, public address systems, and other resources to track the disaster situation and coordinate rescue efforts. Although Enjili Community possesses larger public areas and abundant greenery, it lacks expansive public spaces and cannot accommodate centralized placement during disasters. Therefore, emergency facilities and command center spaces need to be designated within existing public areas. Additionally, it is crucial to pre-plan the layout of disaster command centers, medical rescue zones, quarantine stations, and sanitary isolation points in appropriate locations, as illustrated in Figure 9. The design of the boundaries of such spaces should be easily dismantled and accessible, with clear markings. This strategy is particularly pertinent to the Baiwanzhuang and Erre communities and necessitates meticulous planning to reorganize the layout, ensuring that these critical facilities are judiciously distributed and readily accessible.

4.3. Disaster-Resilient Transit Spaces

While meeting the travel, recreational, and social needs of residents, community roads must also function in evacuation and disaster mitigation when a disaster occurs, and thus a critical aspect in disaster-resilience community construction [62]. Firstly, road design must account for disaster prevention needs. For example, the internal roads of Baiwanzhuang Community are narrow, and some fire lanes are occupied, making it difficult for rescue vehicles to pass in emergencies. Therefore, road design should ensure that residents can quickly and conveniently reach shelters within the area, and sufficient emergency passages should be reserved, as shown in Figure 10.

Secondly, the design of pathways should be convenient and identifiable. In daily life, pathway design should increase the frequency of residents’ usage of the pathways, while during disasters, it should serve its purpose more effectively. The roads in Erre Community are narrow and chaotic, leading to traffic congestion under normal circumstances, making it difficult for rescue vehicles to pass in emergencies. Thus, during renovations, the road layout should be optimized, with the addition of signage and guidance systems to ensure that residents and rescue personnel can quickly find safe routes in emergencies. Thirdly, road dimensions should be determined according to the requirements for rescue operations. The width of the road needs to be greater than the width of debris accumulated from collapsed buildings on both sides, ensuring the passage of rescue vehicles and personnel. For instance, Enjili Community performs well in terms of traffic flow, with wide internal roads and good separation of pedestrians and vehicles; these advantages should be maintained in renovations, and the emergency passage system should be further optimized. Fourthly, large parking areas with a wide service scope also have the potential to serve as emergency shelters. When planning parking spaces, their evacuation and disaster prevention capabilities should be considered, avoiding the placement of parking spaces within the collapse range of buildings to prevent additional property loss and occupation of shelters. For example, Baiwanzhuang Community lacks sufficient parking spaces and some occupy fire lanes; independent parking areas should be added during renovations, and it should be ensured that they can be converted into emergency shelters in the event of a disaster.

4.4. Multilevel Ecological Spaces

Ecological spaces are an indispensable facet of the residential environment. They not only augment the community’s aptitude to withstand noise, flooding, and storms, but also ameliorate the internal microclimate and serve as a buffer zone during emergencies. Nonetheless, substantial deficiencies in the ecological space planning of old communities necessitate rectification during renovations [63].

When designing ecological spaces, it is imperative to consider not just the quotidian requirements for aesthetics and commuting but also their pivotal role as the “lifeline of the city” during calamities. For instance, the greenery in Baiwanzhuang Community is mainly typified by scattered trees of a single species and lacking expansive landscaped areas. During renovations, fragmented green spaces and diverse flora should be integrated to establish a cohesive green space network, thus bolstering disaster resilience and ecological benefits. Moreover, disaster prevention green spaces of varying sizes and functions should be delineated to create a comprehensive green space network that is instrumental in disaster prevention, refuge, rescue, and post-disaster reconstruction. Erre Community is deficient in green landscapes and street greenery, with poor water permeability, rendering it susceptible to internal flooding during extreme weather events. Renovations should amplify greening efforts, enlarge public green space areas, and diversify plant species to enhance the community’s disaster prevention capabilities.

Additionally, buffer green spaces should be strategically positioned near disaster-prone facilities such as community gas stations to mitigate their impact in the event of damage. For example, although Enjili Community boasts considerable public green space, it lacks expansive public areas. Renovations should prioritize the addition of large public green spaces, leveraging the existing green areas to ensure a concentrated arrangement and distribution of relief supplies during extensive disasters. A systematic greening network can more effectively adapt to the constrained land use in old communities and facilitate rescue operations. The greening systems in the Baiwanzhuang and Erre communities are incomplete and necessitate a comprehensive, systematic approach during renovations to ensure the seamless flow of evacuation routes and interconnectivity of refuge green spaces, thereby creating an integrated disaster prevention network [64], as depicted in Figure 11.

5. Conclusions

This study addressed the challenges of inadequate disaster resilience and low quality of life in public spaces within old communities in Beijing. It examines the correlation between the disaster resilience levels of public spaces and community layouts, selecting Baiwanzhuang Community with a grid layout, Erre Community with a surrounding layout, and Enjili Community with a mixed layout as research subjects. By employing the AHP method and conducting field investigations, the study evaluated and analyzed these three communities with distinct organizational structures, exploring the significant impacts of various aspects of disaster resilience construction in public spaces.

The analysis revealed that resilience design strategies for public spaces in old communities with different organizational structures should concentrate on four levels: structure, function, transportation, and ecology. Notably, the spatial structure of a community is crucial as it can enhance firefighting accessibility and spatial openness, thereby improving the community’s fundamental disaster prevention capabilities. The multifunctionality of public spaces should be bolstered by designing flexible spatial layouts and multifunctional facilities to meet the dual needs of daily life and emergency evacuation. Transit spaces should balance daily use with functions for emergency evacuation and disaster mitigation. Enhancing the greening rate and biodiversity is vital for improving the quality of ecological spaces and the community’s disaster resilience.

Previous research has demonstrated that community public spaces play a critical role in disaster response and recovery. The spatial structure, spatial function, transit space, and ecological space of a community significantly impact disaster responses and residents’ quality of daily life. This study integrated the AHP method with field investigations to comprehensively evaluate communities with different organizational structures, providing a systematic quantitative model for disaster resilience. It enriches the existing research methods and proposes more specific and targeted strategies.

In summary, many old communities in China, similar to Baiwanzhuang, Erre, and Enjili, commonly face issues such as single functionality, insufficient spatial complexity, and outdated infrastructure. This study, therefore, focused on old communities with various organizational structures, highlighting key factors in constructing disaster-resilient public spaces. It offers new insights for disaster-resilient renovation strategies in different types of old communities and enriches the research framework for public space renewal. Public spaces in old communities not only enhance emergency capabilities during disasters but also serve as vital carriers for promoting rapid post-disaster recovery. By implementing the aforementioned strategies, the disaster preparedness and response capabilities of old communities can be improved, thereby enhancing the residents’ quality of life and satisfaction, and achieving sustainable community development.

However, the current research is limited by the existing conditions and lacks a comprehensive consideration of public space renewal for old communities of diverse types and conditions. There are potential challenges in obtaining government support and funding, changing residents’ awareness of public space protection, and future maintenance facilities. The operability and replicability of this project are still insufficient and should be the focus of future discussions. As urban renewal progresses, academic research on disaster-resilient construction will mature, leading to more in-depth research on targeted and refined disaster resilience indicators and optimization strategies. Practically, this will help improve the quality of existing urban spaces, enhance residents’ quality of life, and provide more comprehensive protection for sustainable urban development and residents’ safety [65]. Optimizing public spaces in old communities from a disaster resilience perspective holds significant academic and practical value.