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Land
Special Issues
Urban Spatial Planning for Health and Well-Being
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Urban Spatial Planning for Health and Well-Being

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Planning and Landscape Architecture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 5300

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shaoqing Dai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
Interests: health geography; street view images; GeoAI; health city
Dr. Zhiqiang Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK
Interests: health geography; population geography; GIS; longitudinal data analysis; spatial analysis
Dr. Yuchen Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Interests: GIS; urban data science; health geography; environmental epidemiology; transportation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cai Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Urban Governance and Design Thrust, The Society Hub, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511453, China
Interests: urban morphology; human–environment perception and interaction; GeoAI; spatial equity
Dr. Wufan Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Urban Governance and Design Thrust, The Society Hub, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511453, China
Interests: AI-based remote sensing data processing and 3D modeling; spatio-temporal data science and digital twin cities; urban complex systems and uncertainty
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Achieving health and well-being for all, as underscored by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 3, 10, and 11), stands as a critical global priority. A substantial body of research unequivocally demonstrates the profound influence of the urban built environment—encompassing housing, transport networks, green spaces, and land use patterns—on population health outcomes and overall human well-being. Consequently, strategic urban spatial planning emerges as a fundamental lever for realizing these health objectives.

The advent of novel geospatial data sources—including high-resolution satellite imagery, pervasive street view data, dynamic GPS trajectories, and pervasive mobile sensing—coupled with transformative advances in Geographical Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI), is revolutionizing the field. This convergence enables a decisive shift from predominantly qualitative approaches towards sophisticated quantitative analysis. Researchers and planners can now measure environmental exposures, model human mobility patterns, assess access to health-promoting amenities, and predict health outcomes with unprecedented precision and scale. These capabilities are essential for generating robust, evidence-based insights to inform effective policy-making and targeted interventions by governments and urban authorities.

This Special Issue calls for interdisciplinary contributions that bridge health geography, urban planning, land system science, and sustainability science. We seek research that positions healthy city strategies at the forefront, critically examining the intersections between built environment design, Health Impact Assessment (HIA) methodologies, and the application of GeoAI. We welcome original research, reviews, and case studies that leverage these innovative data and analytical tools to explore how urban spatial planning can be optimized to foster environments that actively promote physical health, mental well-being, social equity, and overall quality of life for diverse urban populations.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

  • Urban built environment and human mobility;
  • Urban regeneration and human health;
  • Critical insights into 15-minute health city;
  • Quantitative approach of health impact assessment;
  • Urban resilience and nature-based solutions;
  • Environmental justice and spatial equity;
  • Urban food environment and health outcomes;
  • Application of large language models in health geography;
  • Dynamic environmental exposure, travel behavior, and well-being.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Shaoqing Dai
Dr. Zhiqiang Feng
Dr. Yuchen Li
Dr. Cai Wu
Dr. Wufan Zhao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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

  • remote sensing and street view image
  • spatio-temporal statistics and disease mapping
  • GeoAI and LLM
  • health impact assessment
  • urban spatial planning
  • nature-based solution
  • walkability and bikeability
  • sustainable development goal
  • urban built environment
  • 15-minute city and well-being

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 6622 KB  
Article
Spatial Inequality in Hospital Accessibility and Urban Well-Being: Evidence of a Nonlinear Relationship Mediated by Demographic Change
by Siyi Guo and Jiafeng Gu
Land 2026, 15(2), 323; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15020323 - 14 Feb 2026
Viewed by 868
Abstract
Ensuring equitable access to healthcare services safeguards individual wellbeing and enhances society’s overall happiness. This study investigates the complex relationships between spatial hospital accessibility, spatial inequality, and urban wellbeing, focusing on the physical dimension of access measured by travel time. Using geospatial and [...] Read more.
Ensuring equitable access to healthcare services safeguards individual wellbeing and enhances society’s overall happiness. This study investigates the complex relationships between spatial hospital accessibility, spatial inequality, and urban wellbeing, focusing on the physical dimension of access measured by travel time. Using geospatial and economic data from 13,776 hospitals, this study reveals that inequality in hospital accessibility, as measured by the Gini coefficient, significantly and negatively impacts urban happiness. Additionally, the results reveal a nonlinear, inverted U-shaped relationship between hospital accessibility and city-level happiness, indicating an optimal threshold beyond which marginal benefits decline. Additionally, the results indicate a key mediating mechanism: unequal access drives population out-migration and reduces the permanent resident population. This outcome, in turn, partially transmits adverse effects to city-level wellbeing. These findings demonstrate substantial spatial and contextual heterogeneity, underscoring the need for policymakers to tailor urban health policies that prioritize enhancing accessibility and ensure equitable distribution to foster sustainable demographic stability and overall urban wellbeing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Spatial Planning for Health and Well-Being)
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19 pages, 4321 KB  
Article
The Early Formation of Health-Oriented Urban Green Space in Lingnan Area: Colonial Planning, Regional Demonstration, and Local Responses
by Yanting Wang and Changxin Peng
Land 2026, 15(1), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15010038 - 24 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 933
Abstract
Urban health, well-being, and equity—core objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 3, 10, and 11)—have become key themes in contemporary urban planning research and landscape research. While existing studies focus predominantly on quantitative assessment, environmental exposure, and human mobility, the historical origins of [...] Read more.
Urban health, well-being, and equity—core objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 3, 10, and 11)—have become key themes in contemporary urban planning research and landscape research. While existing studies focus predominantly on quantitative assessment, environmental exposure, and human mobility, the historical origins of health-oriented urban green space planning remain insufficiently explored. Focusing on Lingnan area as a representative case, this research investigates the emergence of public green space in late Qing cities and its early contributions to urban health and spatial governance. Through a systematic examination of American and British Gardens at the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou, the planned public green space system of the Shameen concession, and the municipal greening practices of neighboring Hong Kong and Macao, the study further analyzes Zhang Zhidong’s tree-lined boulevard project along Changdi avenue as a key instance of localized institutional adaptation. Drawing on late-Qing and Republican newspapers, nineteenth-century Western travelogs and reports, historical and contemporary studies and photo albums, the study finds the following: (1) the American and British Gardens marked the earliest emergence of health-oriented urban green space in Lingnan area; (2) the systematically planned green space network of the Shameen concession constituted a prototypical form of health-oriented urban green space planning; (3) the botanical gardens, street-tree systems, public parks, and institutionalized management practices in Hong Kong and Macao exerted a strong regional demonstrative influence on Guangzhou; (4) the street-tree planting along Changdi Avenue represented a localized absorption of foreign planning paradigms and marked the institutionalization of municipal greening in Guangzhou. Although these early practices did not yet form a modern healthy city planning framework at that time, they played a crucial role in improving urban sanitation, enhancing public space quality, and shaping urban order. By tracing the historical trajectory from transnational demonstration to local adaptation and institutional consolihdation, this study provides new insights into the historical foundations of health-oriented urban planning in China and contributes a long-term perspective to contemporary debates on healthy cities and nature-based urban interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Spatial Planning for Health and Well-Being)
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28 pages, 7237 KB  
Article
Research on Restorative Benefits and Stress Relief Approaches in Urban Green Space for Different Stress Threshold Groups
by Yujiao Li, Zihan Xu and Jie Yang
Land 2025, 14(11), 2293; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14112293 - 20 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2617
Abstract
Urban green spaces, as vital land use components, play a crucial role in promoting public mental health and well-being. This study investigates the differential restorative benefits and stress relief pathways in urban green spaces for populations with varying stress thresholds. This study employed [...] Read more.
Urban green spaces, as vital land use components, play a crucial role in promoting public mental health and well-being. This study investigates the differential restorative benefits and stress relief pathways in urban green spaces for populations with varying stress thresholds. This study employed a controlled experiment (pre-test–free activity–post-test) with 120 park users, integrating subjective scales (DASS-21, SRRS, etc.). We innovatively stratified participants by stress threshold to analyze recovery mechanisms. Key findings reveal: (1) Park visits were associated with significant restorative benefits across all stress groups (p < 0.05), yet the recovery patterns and potential pathways appear to be stress-threshold-dependent. (2) Our findings suggest distinct patterns: low-stress individuals benefit via cognitive-behavioral routes (environmental awareness, dynamic activities), while medium-high stress groups rely more on physiological regulation (environmental enclosure, static relaxation). (3) Crucially, these mechanisms suggest stratified landscape design strategies: multi-sensory interactive spaces for low-stress, static rest areas for medium-stress, and low-interference, high-enclosure meditative environments for high-stress individuals. However, given the single-group pre-post design, observed benefits should be interpreted as associations and plausible pathways rather than definitive causal effects. By introducing stress threshold stratification into restorative landscape research, this study provides actionable, evidence-based guidelines for optimizing urban green space planning and design. It offers a crucial scientific foundation for creating healthier, more inclusive, and sustainable urban environments that effectively address diverse mental health needs and contribute to public health promotion through sustainable land use practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Spatial Planning for Health and Well-Being)
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