People-Centered Livability: Reconciling Subjective Well-Being with Urban and Rural Spatial Structures
A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Architectural Design, Urban Science, and Real Estate".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 723
Special Issue Editors
Interests: urban design and renewal; culture landscape; historical heritage protection; traditional village protection
Interests: sustainable regeneration and resilience governance
Interests: digital city and architecture
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In the process of rapid urbanization, the spatial structure of urban and rural areas has undergone profound restructuring. However, the synergy between the optimization of physical space and the enhancement of residents' subjective well-being remains insufficient. This Special Issue centres on the theme of “people-oriented livability”, focusing on the interactive mechanisms between urban–rural spatial structure and subjective well-being. It aims to address the urgent need for the transformation of human settlement development from “scale expansion” to “quality improvement” in the new era.
The research background encompasses global climate change, trends toward social diversity, and the post-pandemic era's call for resilient communities, emphasizing the promotion of social equity, cultural identity, and ecological sustainability through spatial restructuring.
The Special Issue aims to establish a cross-disciplinary platform to explore the coupling pathways between spatial design, policy formulation, and resident perceptions, providing theoretical support and practical paradigms for constructing urban–rural environments that are “liveable, workable, tourist-friendly, and age-friendly”. We cordially invite scholars from fields such as architecture, urban and rural planning, landscape architecture, environmental psychology, sociology, and geography to submit original research from perspectives including spatial justice, the creation of place spirit, and smart governance to collectively advance a paradigm shift in the “human–space–happiness” relationship.
Dr. Rui Li
Prof. Dr. Qipeng Liao
Prof. Dr. Hong Xu
Dr. Yawei Zhang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- human-centred design
- livability assessment
- urban and rural spatial structures
- sense of well-being
- spatial justice
- place attachment
- environmental behaviour research
- human settlement quality
- smart governance
- resident satisfaction
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