Mechanisms of Resident Satisfaction Enhancement Through Waterfront Sports Buildings: A Synergistic Perspective of Blue Space and Built Environment—Empirical Evidence from Nine Chinese Cases

Abstract

While the existing research has extensively explored the impact of urban green spaces on residents’ well-being, studies specifically focusing on waterfront sports buildings remain scarce. This study examines how the combined effects of built environment characteristics in waterfront sports facilities enhance user satisfaction through psychological mechanisms. Based on survey data from 721 users across nine major waterfront sports complexes in China, we find that (1) four social function dimensions (social interaction, accessibility, safety, and multifunctionality) show significant positive correlations with satisfaction; (2) place attachment mediates these relationships. These findings validate the importance of integrating water-oriented design principles with community needs, offering both theoretical contributions to human–water interaction studies and practical implications for urban blue space (defined as visible water features including rivers, lakes, and coastal areas) development.

1. Introduction

With the acceleration of global urbanization, the contradiction between high-density living environments and the imbalance between the supply and demand of public space is becoming more and more prominent [1,2]. In this context, blue space (e.g., areas with visible water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and coasts) has become an important resource for optimizing the urban public space system due to its unique ecological service function and social and psychological benefits [3,4]. Studies have shown that the benefits of blue space are essentially different from those of ordinary green space: the dynamic characteristics of water bodies (e.g., light reflection, wave motion) can promote attention restoration through visual stimulation [5] and the openness of their boundaries is more likely to stimulate social gatherings [6].

As a combination of blue space and sports functions, waterfront sports buildings can create double attraction through the synergistic design of “water and sports”—the aesthetic properties of water features can enhance place attachment, and the multifunctional layout of sports facilities can promote informal socialization. However, the utilization of water resources in current urban planning is still significantly fragmented, and waterfront spaces in densely populated areas are often reduced to landscape decoration or isolated infrastructure, failing to release their full potential for public health and social interaction [7].

Despite the growing interest in the comprehensive value of blue space, there are still three key gaps in the existing research: first, academic discussions on waterfront sports buildings have focused on the structural safety of the buildings or the operation of large-scale events, and have seriously neglected the mechanism of responding to the psycho-social needs of daily users [8,9,10,11]. Secondly, research on the dual effect of “water body-architecture” remains at the stage of theoretical assumptions, and there is a lack of empirical evidence revealing how water feature design can enhance user satisfaction through systematic coupling with community functions. For example, the formation mechanism of place attachment, as a core indicator of environmental emotional connection, has not been verified in the context of waterfront sports architecture under the role of water landscape aesthetics and activity diversity [12]. Third, the global governance dilemma of “unused resources and unmet needs” is common, but the existing planning paradigm has not yet proposed an operable path to transform blue spaces into multifunctional healthy places, resulting in a serious underestimation of their potential value [13,14].

Against this background, this study proposes a synergistic framework of “blue space—built environment”, using nine major waterfront sports buildings in China as research sites, and through 721 empirical data surveys, we reveal how social functions and psychological mechanisms jointly shape user satisfaction, and for the first time, we verify that the water feature design is not an isolated element but a systematic coupling with community functions to realize satisfaction. For the first time, it is verified that water feature design is not an isolated element, but a systematic coupling with community functions to realize satisfaction improvement. These findings provide new ideas for solving the urban governance dilemma of “unused resources and unmet needs” and fill the research gap. They also provide a theoretical basis for blue space planning in rapidly urbanizing areas around the world. The results of the study provide a design paradigm based on empirical results for high-density cities to solve the contradiction between the supply and demand of public space, which is of direct guidance to the blue space planning in the process of global urbanization.

2. Literature Review and Research Hypothesis

2.1. Social Functions of the Four Dimensions of Waterfront Sports Complexes

In this study, social connectivity, accessibility, safety and multifunctionality are selected as the four core dimensions of the social function of waterfront sports buildings. From the viewpoint of the social function nature of public space, the value of sports buildings as an important social infrastructure in the city is not only embodied in the realization of physical functions, but also in the ability to promote the social development of human beings. The special nature of the waterfront environment further strengthens the synergistic effect of natural empowerment and social interaction on the basis of the functions of conventional sports buildings. These four dimensions correspond to relationship construction (social connection), spatial justice (accessibility), environmental behavior (safety), and place multifunctionalism (multifunctionality) in the socio-spatial theory, constituting a complete analytical framework to explain the social value of public space.

In terms of the specificity of waterfront environments, the natural–social dual attributes of water spaces determine the complexity of their functional design. Compared with ordinary sports buildings, waterfront venues have significant differences in terms of social quality, traffic organization, safety risks, and functional complexity. For example, the water may promote socialization through landscape aesthetics while reducing accessibility due to geographic isolation; it may provide unique water activity possibilities while addressing additional safety management challenges. These four dimensions are key entry points for capturing this specificity. Starting from the mechanisms that shape residents’ life satisfaction, existing research confirms the direct satisfaction predictive power of these four elements: social connectivity influences the sense of belonging, accessibility determines the frequency of use, safety shapes psychological comfort, and multifunctionality enhances the sense of access to resources [15,16,17]. In contrast, other potential variables such as architectural aesthetics and operating costs are either antecedent conditions or play an indirect role through these four core dimensions, and therefore, are not included in the direct observation scope of this study.

From the perspective of comparing environmental types, the “blue space” attribute of waterfront sports buildings gives them a unique social function mechanism that distinguishes them from ordinary green spaces. Empirical studies show that blue space generates health and social benefits through three core pathways: the first is physiological regulation. The blue–green spectrum reflected from the water can stimulate retinal ganglion cells, regulate circadian rhythms, and reduce the level of stress hormones [18], while the 1/f fluctuation characteristics of wave sound (similar to white noise) can induce alpha brain waves, creating a state of deep relaxation [19]. The second is psychological recovery: the “soft charm” of open water restores attention without the need for willful effort, and research has found that blue space can enhance people’s positive emotions and sense of psychological recovery, especially when combined with green space, which can more effectively reduce tension and fatigue [20]. The third is social reinforcement: shared activities on the waterfront create high-intensity collective memories. A study with a sample of older adults in Guangzhou, China, showed that neighborhood blue space was significantly and positively associated with older adults’ mental health. Mechanisms include blue spaces helping to reduce environmental hazards, alleviating psychological stress, and facilitating social interactions, each of which mediates improvements in mental health. Another study also showed that neighborhood exposure to blue space significantly improved older adults’ mental health, again through stress reduction, promotion of physical activity, and enhanced social interaction. This effect was more pronounced among younger older adults and lower-income groups [21,22]. Together, these mechanisms constitute a “nature-enabling social interaction” that makes waterfront sports buildings not only places to play sports, but also multifunctional places with healing environments that contribute to the overall well-being of their inhabitants.

2.1.1. Social Connections in Waterfront Sports Buildings

Social connections in waterfront sports buildings refer to the social relationships and emotional ties that residents establish in waterfront sports buildings through interactions in sports activities, social occasions, and public spaces [23]. Sports buildings, as public social spaces, provide opportunities for residents to communicate and interact, and waterfront sports buildings tend to promote higher quality social interactions due to their unique environmental climate. Studies such as that by Abraham et al. discuss the positive effects of natural landscapes on physical, mental, and social health. The study noted that outdoor waterfront environments help to reduce psychological stress, as well as promote physical activity, social connection, and social engagement, which in turn enhances residents’ overall life satisfaction [24]. As another example, a study by Alawi and Mostafa assessed user satisfaction in Jeddah’s waterfront and found that social cohesion, comfort, and the design of amenities in the waterfront area were key factors in enhancing residents’ life satisfaction and social interactions [25]. A study by Sá et al. found that good social connectivity enhances community cohesion and reduces loneliness, thereby increasing residents’ life satisfaction [26]. The openness of the waterfront environment and the integration of natural landscapes also allows residents to obtain more mental relaxation and pleasure during socialization, which makes them more willing to interact with and participate in social interactions as a way to increase life satisfaction. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed in this paper:

H1. 

Social connectivity in waterfront sports buildings has a positive impact on residents’ life satisfaction.

2.1.2. Accessibility of Waterfront Sports Buildings

Accessibility refers to the extent to which residents can easily reach waterfront sports buildings and their ancillary facilities [27]. The accessibility of waterfront sports buildings is often an important part of the willingness of residents to adopt them due to their special geographical location near water. In the field of architecture, accessibility is often considered an important factor. For example, Carlsson et al.’s study focuses on the spatial accessibility of public built environments, exploring how the design of physical environments can affect the social inclusion and activity participation of functionally limited populations by removing barriers to their participation, emphasizing the key role of accessible design in reducing social exclusion and promoting health equity and overall satisfaction [28]. Meanwhile, research in the field of sports has shown that the accessibility of sports facilities is closely related to the life satisfaction of residents, and especially those facilities that are conveniently located and within walking distance are more likely to increase the satisfaction of residents [29,30]. Similarly, if the accessibility of waterfront sports buildings is high, residents can use these facilities more conveniently, which enhances their opportunities to participate in social activities and sports, and thus increases life satisfaction. Based on this, the following hypothesis is proposed in this paper:

H2. 

Accessibility to waterfront sports buildings has a positive impact on residents’ life satisfaction.

2.1.3. Safety of Waterfront Sports Buildings

Security refers to the safe design and management of sports buildings and their surroundings to ensure that users can engage in sports activities in a threat-free environment [31]. Based on the special characteristics of the water environment, the safety design of such buildings needs to comprehensively consider multiple dimensions: firstly, the safety protection of the water body, including anti-drowning facilities, life-saving equipment configuration, and warning system setup [32,33]; secondly, the safety of the building body, such as flood and seismic design, and anti-slip ground treatment [34]; thirdly, the operational safety management, covering the monitoring system and the emergency response mechanism, and so on [35]. Existing studies have shown that a sound safety design can significantly enhance the psychological safety of users, especially for vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly [36]. Meanwhile, Kim’s study shows that the perception of safety in Seoul’s Han River waterfront area is related to crime and is also influenced by natural disaster risk, environmental design, and public safety education. If the safety perception of users is to be improved, it is necessary to physically enhance the safety facilities at the waterfront as well as to raise public safety awareness through education, especially in the area of disaster prevention and response [37].

Therefore, the safety performance of waterfront sports buildings significantly affects the psychological feelings and behavioral patterns of users. When safety measures are in place, users will feel the reliability and stability of the environment, and this sense of security will be transformed into a more positive experience [38,39]. The physical safety design of sports facilities is a crucial factor influencing residents’ satisfaction. Well-designed protective features, clear emergency evacuation signage, adequate lighting systems, and anti-slip flooring significantly enhance users’ sense of security, thereby improving their overall experience and satisfaction [40]. Research indicates that when users perceive the environment as safe and reliable, they are more likely to use sports facilities frequently and rate the service quality more positively [41]. Therefore, sports facility planning and design should prioritize systematic integration of physical safety elements, including infrastructure safety (guardrails, impact-absorbing designs, emergency call devices) [42], environmental safety (nighttime lighting, surveillance systems, accessible pathways) [43], and maintenance management (regular equipment inspections to ensure compliance with safety standards) [44]. These physical safety measures directly reduce accident risks. When users observe these safety provisions, they recognize the facility’s commitment to safety, which consequently increases their satisfaction and willingness to use the venue. While focusing on measurable safety features, these physical interventions ultimately aim to enhance users’ subjective sense of security—a psychological state where individuals feel protected from both physical harm and social threats when using the facilities. In other words, perfect water safety protection can eliminate users’ worries and allow them to focus more on the sports activities themselves; reasonable building safety design guarantees barrier-free access for all types of people; and effective operation and management ensures the long-term stable operation of the facilities. Together, these safety elements reduce the risk of accidents and, more importantly, create a reassuring atmosphere that makes residents more willing to use these facilities more frequently, which will ultimately be reflected in the improvement of life satisfaction. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed in this paper:

H3. 

The safety of waterfront sports buildings has a positive impact on residents’ life satisfaction.

2.1.4. Multifunctionality of Waterfront Sports Buildings

Multifunctionality refers to the diverse functional services provided by waterfront sports buildings, such as sports, leisure, and cultural activities. Waterfront sports buildings usually have multiple functions due to their unique natural landscape resources. This means that the sports complex itself is not only just a sports venue, but also exists in the complex as a cultural display space, recreational trails, and other functions. Multifunctional design can meet the differentiated needs of residents of different ages, interests, and health levels by providing diversified choices of sports activities, such as swimming, fitness, and water recreation, and effectively solve the problem of “mismatch of needs” caused by single-function facilities [45]. Secondly, the composite function significantly reduces the threshold of participation, so that residents who are not good at specific sports can also find their own form of activity, expanding the scope of the beneficiaries [46]. Finally, combined with the scarcity of the waterfront location, the multifunctional design significantly improves the efficiency of space utilization and attractiveness, enabling residents to enjoy the double benefits of sports and waterfront leisure at the same time [47]. This path of “full coverage of demand—low threshold participation—high value experience” finally translates into the improvement of residents’ overall satisfaction with the living environment. Based on this, the following hypothesis is proposed in this paper:

H4. 

Multifunctionality of waterfront sports buildings positively influences residents’ life satisfaction.

2.2. The Mediating Role of Place Attachment

Place attachment (place attachment) is the emotional bond that people form with a particular place [48]. It is derived from attachment theory, first proposed by John Bowlby, and aims to explain how individuals gain emotional security and fulfillment through attachment to their caregivers [49]. The definition of place attachment includes emotional connection, cognitive factors (such as memory and meaning of place), and feelings of anxiety when leaving a place. In short, it is a deep emotional attachment and dependence that an individual develops to a specific place [50]. Place attachment theory, on the other hand, is based on an extension of interpersonal attachment theory, which explores how people extend their attachment relationships from person-to-person emotions to person-to-place emotional connections [51]. The theory suggests that an individual’s emotional bond with a place is similar to an attachment relationship with another person, where the individual develops a deep emotional connection with the place supported by a sense of security and belonging. The formation of place attachment is influenced by attachment style and also includes factors such as the social, cultural, and physical attributes of the place, which together shape people’s attachment to places [52].

In current academic research, place attachment theory is widely used in the fields of community building, environmental psychology, urban planning, and tourism research. Research has generally shown that strong place attachment can enhance community cohesion, improve individual well-being, and have a profound impact on people’s behavior and social interactions [53,54,55]. Some recent studies in environmental psychology have also revealed the special pathways of blue space fostering place attachment, e.g., Guo et al. emphasized that the perceived value of “blue” and “green” spaces in natural environments is significantly positively correlated with place attachment, and place attachment plays a mediating role between perceived value and intention to protect the environment. Place attachment mediates the relationship between perceived environmental value and environmental behavioral intentions [56]. Another study showed that blue spaces (e.g., rivers, lakes, and waterfronts) provide sensory experiences such as sound (running water) and vision (open water, blue hue), which contribute to a sense of psychological “restoration” and thus enhance people’s emotional attachment to the space. Interviewees described the blue space as an “emotional sanctuary” that provided mental and emotional support, a feeling that is central to place attachment [57]. In a study of the Sarawak Riverwalk in Malaysia, the functional and emotional attributes of the space (e.g., wide water bodies, rich activities, and beautiful landscaping) enhanced users’ sense of place identity and belonging. Users emphasized the sense of openness and tranquility of the water body as important physical environmental factors in forming attachments [58]. By understanding place attachment, scholars have been able to better design and plan urban spaces, promote environmental behaviors, and increase return visits to tourist destinations, thus providing theoretical support for improving the human habitat and social development. Existing research suggests that place attachment plays a key role in the relationship between environmental characteristics and individual well-being [59]. For special public spaces such as waterfront sports buildings, the realization of their social functions needs to influence life satisfaction by cultivating users’ place attachment. In terms of social connection, the unique openness and natural attributes of waterfront environments create ideal conditions for social interaction. When residents establish a stable social network in the waterfront space, they will develop a dual attachment of “social place”. For example, Isa’s study examined how waterfront revitalization affects place attachment, focusing on the balance between physical features and social activities. It suggests that social and emotional interactions with waterfront spaces contribute to the development of place identity and attachment [60].

Second, the facilitating effect of accessibility on place attachment is reflected in the formation of behavioral patterns. Studies have shown that when public facilities are easily accessible, users develop regular visiting habits, and this repeated exposure strengthens cognitive maps and emotional connections [61]. Neuvonen et al. showed that the accessibility of recreational facilities significantly affects the frequency of residents’ activities, and that when recreational areas, such as green spaces, are closer to their residences, the participation rate of residents in daily recreational activities is significantly higher [62]. For waterfront areas, good accessibility overcomes geographic barriers and makes attachment formation possible. In the security dimension, De Dominicis’ study showed that environmental risk perception directly affects attachment strength [63]. The safe design of aquatic environments reduces users’ state of alertness and allows them to be more focused on the place experience. This sense of psychological security is a necessary precondition for the formation of stable attachments [64]. Finally, multifunctionality fosters deep attachment by providing differentiated use experiences. When a single space can satisfy multiple needs such as exercise, leisure, and socialization, users develop richer memories and meanings of place [65]. This multidimensional functional fulfillment can have a cumulative effect, resulting in a stronger attachment relationship, which in turn further enhances life satisfaction [66,67]. Based on this, the following hypotheses are proposed in this paper (see Figure 1 for a diagram of the proposed model in this paper):

H5. 

Place attachment mediates the relationship between social connectivity in waterfront sports buildings affecting residents’ life satisfaction.

H6. 

Place attachment mediates the relationship between accessibility to waterfront sports buildings affecting residents’ life satisfaction.

H7. 

Place attachment mediates the relationship between the safety of waterfront sports buildings affecting residents’ life satisfaction.

H8. 

Place attachment mediates the relationship between the multifunctionality of waterfront sports buildings affecting residents’ life satisfaction.

3. Research Design

3.1. Recipients and Questionnaire Distribution

This study used stratified random sampling to conduct field research at waterfront sports venues in nine cities in China, including Qingdao, Xiamen, Guangzhou, and Dalian. The target population was regular users aged 18 years and older who had used the target venues at least two times in the past three months, excluding venue staff and temporary visitors. The sampling process was carried out in three stages: firstly, representative cities were selected based on geographic divisions in China, secondly, 1–2 waterfront stadiums at or above the municipal level were selected in each city, and lastly, random intercept interviews were carried out at the entrances and exits of the stadiums at different times of the day (weekdays, weekends, mornings, and evenings). Data collection was completed between October 2024 and February 2025, and a total of six postgraduate public health students were trained as researchers. The research activities were approved by the Ethics Committee of Chongqing University, and the principle of double-blind anonymity was strictly enforced. The survey was conducted in the form of offline face-to-face questionnaires, with temporary research sites set up in rest areas and entrances of selected venues, and a minimum sample size of 80 per city calculated according to the Krejcie and Morgan sample size formula [68]. The actual distribution of questionnaires was 800, and after excluding invalid questionnaires with obvious inconsistencies, less than 30% of responses, and nonsense, 721 valid questionnaires were finally recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 90.1%. The sample size was evenly distributed among cities. The sample exhibits natural variations in demographic characteristics: among them, 423 are male and 298 are female; in terms of education, 559 are secondary school educated and below, and 162 are educated above secondary school level; in terms of marital status, 233 are unmarried, 288 are married. These categorizations reflect intentional analytic groupings (e.g., legal thresholds for marital status, China’s income stratification standards), and all models adjust for these variables to mitigate potential confounding effects. Sensitivity analyses confirmed that the observed distributions did not significantly influence primary outcomes; for more information, see

Table 1. Descriptive analysis of basic information.

Variant	Categorization	Frequency (N)	Percentage (%)
Gender	Male	423	58.67
	Female	298	41.33
Marital status	Unmarried	233	32.32
	Married	488	67.68
Educational background	Secondary school and below	559	77.53
	Junior college or above	162	22.47
Annual income	50 K yuan and below	445	61.72
	50–90 K yuan	200	27.74
	90 K yuan and above	76	10.54
Domicile	Municipalities	319	44.24
	Suburbia	239	33.15
	Countryside	163	22.61

.

3.2. Measurement of Variables

In this paper, the measurement of variables follows the scale of previous mature studies, and the questions of each dimension are rated by Likert’s five-point scale, with 1 indicating strongly disagree and 5 indicating strongly agree, and all measurement tools are Chineseized by the method of “translation-back translation”. This study synthesized the multifaceted connotations and measurement dimensions related to the use and consumption of sports stadiums by previous scholars, and finally formed a four-variable, 16-item scale for the factors affecting the public’s perception of waterfront sports stadiums in the context of contemporary China. Meanwhile, place attachment (including both place identity and place dependence) and residents’ life satisfaction were measured by applying the commonly used scales, adding the elements of Linshui sports buildings under the premise of ensuring cross-cultural applicability, and re-testing the reliability and validity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.795, 0.801, 0.827, 0.833, 0.907, 0.933, 0.907, 0.933, and 0.942, which are all greater than 0.7, indicating that the scale is good and usable.

In order to guarantee the quality of data, the questionnaire was set with 3 attention detection questions, excluding invalid questionnaires with less than 2 min of response time or logical contradictions, and the whole research process was recorded in detail for the refusal of interviews (e.g., eight refusal interviews in Qingdao) and questionnaire recycling location distribution, to ensure the traceability and transparency of the research process. At the same time, three experts with doctoral degrees and professorships in the field of sports construction and five managers with more than 10 years of operation of construction companies considered the questionnaire, in order to intuitively visualize, this paper for each scale is given as a scale source, and each variable is provided with a reference to the example, see

Table 2. Definition of variables and sources of reference scales.

Research Variable	A Test Example of the Question Item	Reference Scale
Social interaction in waterfront sports architecture (SIWS)	At the waterfront sports facility, I can naturally interact and engage with friends or companions.	Glaeser and Scheinkman [69] Heimberg et al. [70] Wang et al. [71]
Accessibility to waterfront sports architecture (AWS)	The architectural planning of Waterfront Sports ensures convenient access to all sports zones.	Páez and Morency [72] Lättman et al. [73]
Safety of waterfront sports architecture (SWS)	I feel reassured by the slip-resistant design of waterfront sports buildings	Manca and Fornara [74] Zhang et al. [75]
Multifunctionality of waterfront sports architecture (MWS)	This waterfront sports facility can be quickly reconfigured for different events.	Petrick. [76] Lee et al. [77] Finkel & Dashper [78]
Place attachment (PA)	This waterfront sports building makes me feel like I belong here.	Brown and Raymond [79] Raymond et al. [80]
Resident life satisfaction (RLS)	In general, the existence of this waterfront sports stadium has made my life better!	Jiang et al. [81] Wolk and Telleen [82] Diener et al. [83]

. Data analysis was conducted using Amos 26.0.

4. Result

4.1. Common Methodological Biases

In this study, the Harman one-way test was used to test for common method bias. The results showed that there were six factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, with a total explained variance of 70.415%, and the first principal factor explained 14.815% of the variance, which is less than the critical criterion of 40%. Therefore, there is no serious common method bias problem in this study (as shown in

Table 3. KMO analysis table.

Test	Value
KMO value	0.929
Approximate chi-square	10,375.728
Degrees of freedom	300
Significance	0.000

).

4.2. Exploratory Factor Analysis

The scale was subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using SPSS 23.0. As shown in Table 3, the KMO value was 0.929 (>0.7) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (p < 0.001), confirming the suitability for factor analysis. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation extracted six factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, collectively explaining 70.415% of the total variance (

Table 4. Total variance explained.

Component	Initial Eigenvalues	Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings	Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings	Component	Initial Eigenvalues
8.890	35.559	35.559	3.704	14.815	14.815
2.416	9.664	45.223	2.863	11.451	26.266
2.350	9.400	54.623	2.844	11.378	37.644
1.837	7.347	61.970	2.793	11.171	48.815
1.079	4.315	66.285	2.701	10.803	59.619
1.032	4.130	70.415	2.699	10.796	70.415
0.638	2.552	72.967
0.589	2.356	75.323
0.578	2.311	77.634
0.529	2.116	79.749
0.495	1.979	81.729
0.478	1.912	83.641
0.441	1.762	85.404
0.430	1.721	87.125
0.417	1.670	88.794
0.400	1.598	90.393
0.383	1.532	91.924
0.337	1.350	93.274
0.323	1.291	94.565
0.284	1.137	95.702
0.260	1.041	96.743
0.233	0.933	97.677
0.210	0.841	98.518
0.200	0.802	99.319
0.170	0.681	100.000

). These six factors clearly correspond to the six theoretical constructs in our framework: four social functions (SIWS, AWS, SWS, MWS), place attachment (PA), and the dependent variable resident life satisfaction (RLS).

Table 5. Rotated component matrix.

Rotated Component Matrix a
	Ingredient
	1	2	3	4	5	6
SIWS1	0.110	0.006	−0.039	0.119	0.089	0.741
SIWS2	0.221	0.015	−0.003	0.205	0.004	0.751
SIWS3	0.178	0.057	0.026	0.057	0.069	0.742
SIWS4	0.078	0.076	0.020	0.140	0.133	0.802
AWS1	0.182	0.012	0.038	0.107	0.773	0.109
AWS2	0.075	0.046	0.061	0.112	0.755	0.036
AWS3	0.233	0.003	0.057	0.065	0.757	0.069
AWS4	0.111	0.028	0.046	0.152	0.766	0.089
SWS1	0.202	0.023	0.767	0.109	0.115	−0.002
SWS2	0.136	0.055	0.805	0.114	0.045	0.039
SWS3	0.234	0.013	0.777	0.145	0.006	0.000
SWS4	0.061	0.049	0.783	0.132	0.044	−0.033
MWS1	0.087	0.799	0.070	0.118	0.037	0.096
MWS2	0.154	0.812	0.060	0.093	0.022	0.042
MWS3	0.145	0.750	−0.059	0.193	0.016	−0.025
MWS4	0.176	0.813	0.072	0.087	0.019	0.042
PA1	0.281	0.191	0.201	0.743	0.196	0.206
PA2	0.285	0.194	0.166	0.787	0.131	0.209
PA3	0.326	0.206	0.199	0.715	0.187	0.184
PA4	0.290	0.160	0.211	0.726	0.175	0.186
RLS1	0.764	0.175	0.218	0.240	0.205	0.206
RLS2	0.791	0.198	0.200	0.231	0.226	0.190
RLS3	0.781	0.188	0.193	0.270	0.208	0.175
RLS4	0.756	0.190	0.192	0.268	0.180	0.170
RLS5	0.747	0.195	0.221	0.258	0.183	0.240
Extraction method: principal component analysis.Rotation method: Kaiser normalized maximum variance method.

a. The rotation has converged after 6 iterations.

shows all measurement items had factor loadings > 0.5 with cross-loadings < 0.4, confirming good discriminant validity.

4.3. Validation Factor Analysis

There are six categories of variables in this study (four social functions, place attachment, and resident life satisfaction) containing a total of 21 measurement topics, and the results after performing a validated factor analysis using AMOS 26.0 are shown in

Table 6. Results of validation factor analysis.

Variant	Variant	Entry	CR	AVE
AWS	AWS1	0.758	0.801	0.552
	AWS2	0.677
	AWS3	0.742
	AWS4	0.694
MWS	MWS1	0.755	0.835	0.56
	MWS2	0.713
	MWS3	0.742
	MWS4	0.74
PA	PA1	0.813	0.908	0.711
	PA2	0.836
	PA3	0.84
	PA4	0.823
PLS	RLS1	0.869	0.943	0.768
	RLS2	0.876
	RLS3	0.885
	RLS4	0.865
	RLS5	0.89
SIWS	SIWS1	0.72	0.804	0.515
	SIWS2	0.726
	SIWS3	0.708
	SIWS4	0.754
SWS	SWS1	0.59	0.83	0.552
	SWS2	0.731
	SWS3	0.787
	SWS4	0.679

, where the standardized factor loadings of each measure for each variable are all greater than 0.6 or more, the component reliabilities (CRs) are all greater than 0.7, and the average variance extracted (AVE) is greater than 0.5, which indicates that each variable has good convergent validity. In this study, the more rigorous AVE method was used to assess the discriminant validity [84], and the open root sign of AVE of each factor must be greater than the correlation coefficient of each pair of variables, which indicates that the factors have discriminant validity. The AVE of each factor is greater than the off-diagonal standardized correlation coefficients, so the study still has discriminant validity (as shown in

Table 7. Differential validity and correlation analysis.

Dimension	SIWS	AWS	SWS	MWS	PA	RLS
SIWS	0.718
AWS	0.305	0.709
SWS	0.099	0.226	0.743
MWS	0.190	0.141	0.179	0.748
PA	0.521	0.472	0.489	0.472	0.843
RLS	0.510	0.526	0.513	0.470	0.756	0.876

, with the bottom triangle showing the correlation coefficients).

4.4. Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Calculations were executed using AMOS 23.0 and estimated using the maximum likelihood method and the results are displayed as shown in Figure 2. From the fit coefficients (

Table 8. Model fit table.

Fitness Index	Reasonable Range	in the End	Assessment Results
GFI	>0.8	0.961	favorable
AGFI	>0.8	0.951	favorable
RMR	<0.08	0.020	favorable
RMSEA	<0.08	0.025	favorable
NFI	>0.8	0.964	favorable
IFI	>0.8	0.988	favorable
CFI	>0.8	0.988	favorable
TLI	>0.8	0.987	favorable

), the CMIN/DF is 1.548, which is less than the standard of less than 3. The GFI, AGFI, NFI, TLI, IFI, and CFI all reach the standard of more than 0.9, the RMR is 0.029 < 0.08, and the RMSEA is 0.033 < 0.08, and the various fit indexes are in line with the general standard of the study. Therefore, it can be considered that this model consists of a good fit.

The results of this structural equation modeling show

Table 9. Table of path coefficients.

Trails	Non-Standardized Coefficient	Standard Error	z-Value	p-Value	Significant Judgment	Standardized Coefficient β
PA ← SIWS	0.568	0.062	9.173	0.001	***	0.354
PA ← AWS	0.39	0.059	6.667	0.001	***	0.243
PA ← SWS	0.552	0.059	9.338	0.001	***	0.344
PA ← MWS	0.497	0.057	8.725	0.001	***	0.309
RLS ← SIWS	0.378	0.066	5.775	0.001	***	0.21
RLS ← AWS	0.404	0.061	6.611	0.001	***	0.225
RLS ← SWS	0.445	0.064	6.972	0.001	***	0.247
RLS ← MWS	0.362	0.06	6.039	0.001	***	0.201
RLS ← PA	0.364	0.057	6.43	0.001	***	0.324

Note: *** p < 0.001.

: (1) The unstandardized coefficients of all paths are significant (p = 0.001 ***), indicating that the independent variable has a significant effect on the dependent variable. (2) Among the effects of SIWS, AWS, SWS, and MWS on PA, SWS has the largest effect (β = 0.344), and AWS has the smallest (β = 0.243). (3) Among the effects on RLS, SWS had the highest standardized coefficient (β = 0.247), and MWS had the lowest (β = 0.201). 4) The mediating effect of PA on RLS was significant (β = 0.324), suggesting that PA partially mediated between the four independent variables and RLS. Overall, all work stressors (SIWS, AWS, SWS, MWS) positively predicted PA and RLS.

4.5. Intermediary Testing

This study employed the Bootstrap sampling method to test the mediation effects, running 5000 iterations in AMOS 23.0 to calculate standardized estimates of direct, indirect, and total effects for each path. According to the path effect decomposition results in

Table 10. Decomposition of path effects (standardized estimates).

Effect Type	Path	Effect Value	Std. Error	95% CI	p-Value
Direct	SIWS → PLS	0.210	0.029	[0.152, 0.267]	<0.001
	AWS → PLS	0.197	0.026	[0.146, 0.248]	<0.001
	SWS → PLS	0.227	0.028	[0.173, 0.281]	<0.001
	MWS → PLS	0.188	0.027	[0.135, 0.242]	<0.001
Indirect	SIWS → PA → PLS	0.133	0.014	[0.093, 0.148]	<0.001
	AWS → PA → PLS	0.091	0.013	[0.065, 0.119]	<0.001
	SWS → PA → PLS	0.126	0.015	[0.091, 0.150]	<0.001
	MWS → PA → PLS	0.116	0.013	[0.084, 0.136]	<0.001
Total	SIWS → PLS	0.342	0.029	[0.284, 0.400]	<0.001
	AWS → PLS	0.287	0.027	[0.234, 0.340]	<0.001
	SWS → PLS	0.353	0.027	[0.299, 0.407]	<0.001
	MWS → PLS	0.304	0.027	[0.250, 0.357]	<0.001

, the direct effects of all independent variables reached statistical significance. Among them, SIWS showed the strongest direct effect on PLS (β = 0.210, p < 0.001), while MWS demonstrated a relatively weaker direct effect (β = 0.188, p < 0.001). Simultaneously, the indirect effects through PA were all significant across the four paths, with SWS → PA → PLS showing the largest indirect effect (Effect = 0.126) and AWS → PA → PLS exhibiting the smallest indirect effect (Effect = 0.091).

The Bootstrap mediation test results in

Table 11. Bootstrap mediation test results (based on 5000 samples).

Mediation Path	Indirect Effect	Boot SE	95% Boot CI	Significance
SIWS → PA → PLS	0.133	0.014	[0.093, 0.148]	Yes (p < 0.001)
AWS → PA → PLS	0.091	0.013	[0.065, 0.119]	Yes (p < 0.001)
SWS → PA → PLS	0.126	0.015	[0.091, 0.150]	Yes (p < 0.001)
MWS → PA → PLS	0.116	0.013	[0.084, 0.136]	Yes (p < 0.001)

revealed that the 95% confidence intervals for all four mediation paths did not include zero, further confirming the statistical significance of PA’s mediating role. Integrating the findings from both Table 10 and Table 11, this study confirms that PA serves as a significant partial mediator across all four paths.

5. Discussion

5.1. Direct Effects

This study underscores the significant role that the social functions of waterfront sports buildings play in enhancing residents’ life satisfaction, an essential finding for understanding the unique value of public waterfront spaces in the context of China’s rapid urbanization. The research reveals a positive and significant impact of waterfront sports buildings’ social functions, especially in the current period of social transition. As traditional community structures are deconstructed and new urbanization progresses, urban residents face challenges related to the erosion of social interactions. Waterfront sports spaces offer a natural social platform, fostering connections in “stranger communities”. The combination of water’s calming environment and the participatory nature of sports activities creates a distinct social landscape. This environment not only fulfills residents’ social needs but also serves to subtly rebuild the social capital of the city. Moreover, the findings highlight a key distinction: Chinese residents rely more heavily on public social spaces compared to their Western counterparts. This may stem from the relative scarcity of private social spaces in China’s high-density living areas.

The study also brings attention to the local nuances of accessibility, safety, and multifunctionality, which are central to the development of urban waterfront spaces in China. In particular, the city’s public transport-oriented development model has led residents to prioritize easy access to facilities, lending strong support to the “15 min living circle” initiative currently being promoted in China. Alongside this, traditional risk aversion makes safety a critical factor in encouraging residents’ use of these facilities. Notably, water safety concerns make it essential to have robust safety measures in place, such as effective management protocols and safety infrastructure. In areas where land is scarce, the multifunctionality of waterfront sports buildings is increasingly important. It reflects both a desire for efficient space utilization and an understanding of the broader, compound value that public spaces contribute to urban life in contemporary China. These findings offer a compelling path forward for developing waterfront spaces in Chinese cities and provide valuable theoretical and practical guidance for future public space planning.

5.2. Mediating Effects

The study takes a deeper look into the mediating role of place attachment, elucidating how the social functions of waterfront sports buildings affect residents’ life satisfaction. This mechanism is explored through the lens of “environmental characteristics—psychological perception—life evaluation” establishing a clear chain of influence. Beyond direct effects, the research emphasizes that the social functions of waterfront sports buildings indirectly influence life satisfaction by fostering residents’ emotional attachment to these spaces. This emotional attachment, in turn, plays a crucial role in shaping overall life satisfaction.

Three key processes for cultivating place attachment emerge from the study. First, the transformation of functional attributes into emotional experiences is critical. Waterfront sports buildings facilitate the creation of social networks, providing opportunities for interactions that accumulate social capital. This naturally leads to a growing emotional connection to the place. The accessibility of these spaces further lowers barriers to usage, enabling residents to form stable, habitual connections with these spaces, reinforcing their emotional ties over time. Second, environmental characteristics serve as triggers for cultural identity formation. In Chinese culture, water is imbued with symbolic significance, tied to Confucian values such as “the wise man enjoys the water” and Taoist notions of “goodness is like water.” These cultural references, when combined with modern sports functions, create a unique emotional resonance. Finally, the process of use itself fosters psychological dependence. Safe, well-designed environments promote trust, while multifunctional spaces cater to diverse needs. The repeated use of these spaces gradually strengthens residents’ emotional connection, creating a deeper reliance on the place that transcends mere functional satisfaction.

These findings have significant implications for China’s urbanization context. As traditional communities disintegrate, the demand for public spaces that foster a sense of identity grows. Furthermore, the rapid pace of urban life heightens the need for emotional sanctuaries. Waterfront sports architecture effectively responds to these needs by cultivating place attachment, ultimately boosting residents’ life satisfaction.

5.3. Comparison of Studies

This study’s findings both align with and extend existing research, offering a comprehensive understanding of how social functions and environmental factors in waterfront sports buildings contribute to residents’ life satisfaction. Similar to Lee and Jeong’s research, which found that aspects of the residential environment, including accessibility and safety, positively influence place attachment, thereby enhancing life satisfaction, this study also emphasizes the significance of these factors in shaping residents’ emotional connection to public spaces [85]. Furthermore, the study by Kan and Xie also supports the notion that sports participation plays a pivotal role in enhancing life satisfaction, with social interactions serving as a key mediating factor, which resonates with this study’s assertion that social connectivity significantly impacts residents’ satisfaction [86].

Su et al.’s work also provides valuable insight into how the attributes of a venue, such as design and functionality, foster place attachment, ultimately influencing individuals’ willingness to return. This idea mirrors the findings of the present study, which highlights the multifaceted role of waterfront sports buildings in shaping life satisfaction through their multifunctionality and social inclusiveness [87].

However, this study goes beyond previous work by addressing several underexplored dimensions. For instance, while Ninomiya’s research focuses on place attachment’s role in spectator behavior and loyalty in sporting events, it does not account for the broader effects of accessibility, versatility, and public safety. In contrast, this study demonstrates that the direct effects of these factors significantly enhance residents’ life satisfaction. Similarly, Chen and Chiang’s study on place attachment among older adults explores its mediation between activity participation and satisfaction, but it does not consider the impact of public sports buildings or community-based facilities in fostering such attachment. This study builds on their work by exploring how the design and social functions of waterfront sports buildings directly influence residents’ life satisfaction, in addition to their role in mediating emotional attachment.

What truly sets this study apart is the introduction of place attachment as a mediating mechanism that bridges the gap between physical space attributes and psychological wellbeing. Previous studies often discuss the individual factors of place attachment, but this research provides a holistic model in which social connectivity, accessibility, safety, and multifunctionality of waterfront sports buildings converge to create a deep, emotional connection between residents and their environment. By emphasizing the mediating role of place attachment, this study offers a more nuanced understanding of how urban design and environmental psychology intersect to influence quality of life in rapidly urbanizing cities.

5.4. Policy Recommendations

This study provides concrete, actionable recommendations for the planning and construction of urban waterfront sports facilities within the context of 15 min neighborhood circles. Drawing from our empirical findings, we emphasize that truly effective waterfront sports facilities must adopt a holistic approach integrating four key dimensions: social interaction, accessibility, safety, and multifunctionality.

To enhance feasibility while maintaining the integrity of these design principles, we propose a tiered implementation framework. First, facilities should prioritize establishing universal baseline standards for safety (including slip-resistant surfaces, adequate lighting, and emergency facilities) and accessibility (ensuring seamless pedestrian and cycling connections with surrounding neighborhoods). These fundamental requirements can and should be implemented across all regions regardless of economic or cultural differences. Second, the social and multifunctional aspects should be adapted to local contexts. For instance, seating arrangements and activity programming can be customized to reflect community demographics and cultural preferences. The “sports-plus” composite model we propose—combining fitness zones with activity areas and waterfront viewing spaces—provides flexible templates that can be adjusted based on available resources and space constraints.

We strongly recommend beginning with pilot projects in select high-density communities. These pilots would serve as living laboratories to test different configurations of our proposed design principles while utilizing digital platforms to collect real-time user feedback [88,89]. Successful elements from these pilots can then be scaled up with appropriate modifications for different regional contexts. This approach ensures our recommendations remain grounded in evidence-based design principles [90,91] while addressing practical implementation challenges. By combining universal standards with localized adaptation strategies, and by emphasizing pilot testing before full-scale implementation, we believe these recommendations offer realistic pathways for transforming urban waterfronts into vibrant community hubs that genuinely enhance residents’ quality of life.

6. Conclusions

This study provides empirical evidence on how waterfront sports buildings enhance resident satisfaction through the integrated effects of blue space characteristics and built environment social functions. Four main conclusions can be drawn from our findings. First, the analysis confirms that four key social functions—social interaction, accessibility, safety, and multifunctionality—significantly contribute to life satisfaction, with safety measures showing particularly strong effects. Second, the psychological mechanism of place attachment plays a mediating role in this relationship, explaining a substantial portion of how these physical features translate into user satisfaction. Third, the unique combination of water elements and sports activities creates added value by simultaneously stimulating visual engagement and physical participation.

The theoretical contributions of this research are significant. We extend current understanding of human–water interactions by demonstrating how water features actively enhance the benefits of sports facilities. Our findings also develop place attachment theory through identifying specific waterfront design factors that influence emotional connections. Furthermore, the study establishes an evaluative framework connecting environmental psychology with urban design principles. For practical application, three key recommendations emerge from the findings. Urban planners should consider visual and functional integration between water features and activity areas when designing waterfront sports facilities. Safety standards need special attention in aquatic environments, requiring tailored solutions that address unique risks. Finally, programming should emphasize flexible, multi-use approaches to accommodate diverse community needs throughout different times of day [86].

These findings offer valuable insights for creating more effective waterfront public spaces that meet both functional and psychological needs of urban residents. The study bridges theoretical understanding with practical design considerations, providing a foundation for future research and policy development in urban planning and community space design.

7. Shortcomings and Prospects

Unlike previous studies that typically examined built environments or natural settings in isolation, our research specifically investigates the unique interaction between aquatic features and sports facilities in urban China. While this study contributes to understanding how waterfront sports buildings influence residents’ satisfaction through place attachment, several limitations should be acknowledged. First, due to the cross-sectional nature of our data, this exploratory study, while employing a large sample to examine correlations among measured variables, cannot establish dynamic causal relationships. Second, constrained by the geographical distribution of blue spaces in China, our survey primarily focused on eastern coastal regions, failing to comprehensively include representative waterfront sports facilities across the country. Third, since all respondents were Chinese citizens, the cross-cultural applicability of our findings may be limited. Future research could significantly advance this field by adopting mixed-methods designs that combine longitudinal observations with innovative measurement techniques. For instance, eye-tracking could provide objective data on visual engagement with water features, while in-depth interviews could uncover cultural meanings embedded in waterfront spaces. Longitudinal models, such as cross-lagged regression, could enable more robust causal testing. Additionally, future studies should expand sample diversity by including users from different countries and regions to examine whether place attachment is a strong causal factor in the perception of waterfront sports facilities. These questions will be addressed in subsequent research.