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Land
Special Issues
Integrating Nature-Based Tourism, Urban Community Planning, and Sustainable Land Use
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Integrating Nature-Based Tourism, Urban Community Planning, and Sustainable Land Use

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 4779

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hu Yu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Interests: national parks; sustainable tourism; regional sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shengrui Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Management College, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Interests: ecotourism; sustainable tourism; tourism planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The acceleration of global urbanization has led to a triple crisis of ecological space squeezing, land-use fragmentation, and community dysfunction. Addressing the systemic challenges inherent in "tourism development, community reconstruction, and land regulation" from a single-disciplinary perspective proves inadequate. The United Nations' New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals underscore the necessity for a paradigm shift in spatial planning. There is an urgent need to establish a collaborative framework that facilitates the capitalization of natural tourism resources, enhances community resilience, and promotes integrated land use. This Special Issue seeks to foster the deep integration of human geography, landscape ecology, and public policy research, providing theoretical support and methodological advancements for reconstructing the territorial spatial planning system by dissecting the interaction chain of "value realization of ecological products—community function iteration—land property rights reorganization". Key topics include, but are not limited to, multidisciplinary methodological innovations (e.g., space syntax coupled with ecosystem service assessment, ABM simulations of land decision-making behavior), scalable technical parameter systems (such as dynamic models of ecotourism capacity and measurement criteria for carbon sinks in brownfield regeneration), and institutional breakthrough cases (like national park gateway communities and pilot areas for cross-basin ecological compensation). Special emphasis is placed on leveraging digital technology (including 3D cadastral rights confirmation and the real-time monitoring of ecological footprints) and innovating policy tools (such as the securitization of land development rights and community planning contract systems). Research should highlight contradictory findings (for instance, conflicts of interest between ecological protection and land appreciation) and propose clear solutions.

  • Collaborative mechanism of nature tourism and urban community planning.
  • Sustainable technology system of land compound use.
  • Spatial reconstruction model of surrounding communities in ecologically sensitive areas.
  • Framework for mediation of "development–conservation" conflicts in cultural heritage sites.
  • Stakeholder collaborative governance model.
  • Intelligent technology enables system integration.
  • Evaluation of policy tool innovation.

Kind regards,

Dr. Hu Yu
Dr. Shengrui Zhang
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • multi-system coupling
  • spatial justice
  • value realization of ecological products
  • community resilience
  • land composite use

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 3158 KB  
Article
Does Tourism Gentrification in Urban Areas Affect Tourists’ Value Co-Creation Behavior?
by Yumei Xu, Zhipeng Yao, Yechen Zhang, Shanting Zheng, Ruxing Wang and Naiju Wang
Land 2025, 14(9), 1778; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091778 - 1 Sep 2025
Viewed by 400
Abstract
Tourism gentrification refers to the urban transformation process whereby middle-class neighborhoods evolve into affluent enclaves through leisure and tourism development, significantly impacting urban regeneration and spatial planning. This empirical study adopted Hefei’s Lei Street as an exploratory case to construct a hypothetical model [...] Read more.
Tourism gentrification refers to the urban transformation process whereby middle-class neighborhoods evolve into affluent enclaves through leisure and tourism development, significantly impacting urban regeneration and spatial planning. This empirical study adopted Hefei’s Lei Street as an exploratory case to construct a hypothetical model involving tourists’ perception of tourism gentrification, tourist satisfaction, and tourists’ value co-creation behavior. A model was designed to examine the impact of urban tourism gentrification on tourists’ value co-creation behaviors, with its validity subsequently verified through SPSS 20.0 and Amos 23.0 software. The findings revealed that tourists’ perception of tourism gentrification positively affected tourist satisfaction and tourists’ value co-creation behavior and tourist satisfaction positively affected tourist participation behavior. From a practical perspective, this study endeavored to provide urban planners and destination managers with actionable insights to enhance visitor experiences while addressing the challenges posed by gentrification. It further sought to facilitate advancements in urban tourism, urban renewal, and land-use planning, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of Hefei. Methodologically, it also advances the application of structural equation modeling in tourism geography studies and provides replicable protocols for similar urban transformation research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Nature-Based Tourism, Urban Community Planning, and Sustainable Land Use)
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19 pages, 1516 KB  
Article
How to Recognize and Measure the Driving Forces of Tourism Ecological Security: A Case Study from Zhangjiajie Scenic Area in China
by Quanjin Li, Yuhuan Geng, Shu Fu, Yaping Zhang and Jianjun Zhang
Land 2025, 14(9), 1733; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091733 - 27 Aug 2025
Viewed by 385
Abstract
Rapid regional development and intensified human activities increasingly disturb ecosystems, posing substantial threats to the integrity of large-scale ecological zones. As a World Natural Heritage site and a crucial national ecological zone, the Zhangjiajie Scenic Area plays a pivotal role in China’s environmental [...] Read more.
Rapid regional development and intensified human activities increasingly disturb ecosystems, posing substantial threats to the integrity of large-scale ecological zones. As a World Natural Heritage site and a crucial national ecological zone, the Zhangjiajie Scenic Area plays a pivotal role in China’s environmental conservation efforts. To comprehensively assess tourism ecological security in the Scenic Area and strengthen the scientific basis for resource management and policymaking, this study developed a multi-dimensional ecological security evaluation system covering 2010–2024, incorporating dynamic changes in perturbation, reaction, and governance. Using entropy weight–TOPSIS and coupling coordination models, combined with obstacle degree analysis, we examined the temporal trajectory of ecological security and analyzed its underlying driving mechanisms. The study also examined factors influencing the sustainable development of the ecosystem. The results indicate the following: (1) Tourism ecological security in the Scenic Area followed a V-shaped trajectory of “rapid degradation—steady recovery—impact and rebound.” It declined sharply to an unsafe level between 2010 and 2014, steadily recovered from 2015 to 2019, briefly dropped in 2020, and then rebounded, reaching a peak evaluation value of 0.519 in 2024. (2) The co-evolution of perturbation, reaction, and governance subsystems has matured: their coupling coordination degree has increased annually and has remained at the level of “intermediate coordination” since 2020. The reaction subsystem plays a central role, serving as a bridge between perturbation and governance. (3) The driving factors exhibit a phased evolutionary pattern of “elements—facilities—structure—function.” Cultivated land area, total road mileage, and artificial afforestation area constitute the main long-term constraints. This research provides important insights for strengthening ecological security and sustainability in the Scenic Area while advancing regional ecosystem development. It also offers valuable guidance for ecological security management and policymaking in similar nature reserves. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Nature-Based Tourism, Urban Community Planning, and Sustainable Land Use)
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22 pages, 318 KB  
Article
Tourism Learning Resources and Development Strategies in China: A Review and Conceptual Framework
by Simeng Zhang, Jia Liu and Yuxuan Li
Land 2025, 14(7), 1421; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14071421 - 7 Jul 2025
Viewed by 791
Abstract
Tourism learning resources refer to tourism attractions that carry learning content or stimulate learning behaviors for tourists, thereby determining the quality and effectiveness of tourists’ learning experiences. Actively developing tourism learning resources and manifesting tourism learning functions serves as an innovative practical path [...] Read more.
Tourism learning resources refer to tourism attractions that carry learning content or stimulate learning behaviors for tourists, thereby determining the quality and effectiveness of tourists’ learning experiences. Actively developing tourism learning resources and manifesting tourism learning functions serves as an innovative practical path for cultivating new quality productivity in tourism and bears the contemporary mission of constructing a national lifelong learning system in the context of Chinese-style modernization. However, at the present stage, Chinese tourists, tourism enterprises, and government functional departments still lack a clear and systematic understanding of the connotations and characteristics of tourism learning resources. This knowledge gap restricts the depth and breadth of resource development. To address the identified gaps, this study begins by exploring the relationship between tourism and learning. Through a systematic literature review, it aims to develop a conceptual framework for tourism learning resources to promote lifelong learning and support sustainable tourism development. Taking this framework as a tool, this paper first explains the connotation and characteristics of tourism learning resources; secondly, classifies them into knowledge popularization, natural observation, skill experience, inspirational development, and cultural recreation types; thirdly, identifies their functional manifestations as acquiring experience, knowledge, skills, and wisdom; and finally, proposes development strategies for tourism learning resources. The most critical strategies identified are (1) enhancing tourism learning literacy, (2) optimizing learning-oriented products, and (3) constructing regionally integrated learning destinations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Nature-Based Tourism, Urban Community Planning, and Sustainable Land Use)
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32 pages, 4772 KB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Driving Factors of the Urban Tourismification–Transportation Quality–Ecological Resilience System: A Case Study of 80 Cities in Central China
by Hexiang Zhang, Yechen Zhang, Ruxing Wang and Xuechang Zhang
Land 2025, 14(6), 1263; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14061263 - 12 Jun 2025
Viewed by 1286
Abstract
Within China’s “Central China Rising” strategy, urban tourismification operates as a production mode that reconfigures spatial, economic, and ecological systems—mirroring global overtourism challenges seen in Barcelona and Venice, where rapid infrastructure development often prioritizes economic gains over ecological resilience (cf. Lines 43–46). This [...] Read more.
Within China’s “Central China Rising” strategy, urban tourismification operates as a production mode that reconfigures spatial, economic, and ecological systems—mirroring global overtourism challenges seen in Barcelona and Venice, where rapid infrastructure development often prioritizes economic gains over ecological resilience (cf. Lines 43–46). This study examines 80 central Chinese cities (2010–2021), proposing the Urban Tourismification–Transportation Quality–Ecological Resilience System (UTTES) framework. Using entropy weighting, improved coupling coordination degree (CCD), GM (1,1) forecasting, and spatial Durbin models, we analyze coordination relationships, driving factors, and mechanisms. Key findings reveal the following: (1) UTTES coordination peaked in 2019 (pre-COVID), showing a spatial “center-periphery” gradient with provincial capitals leading. (2) Projections indicate transportation efficiency as a critical bottleneck—most cities will achieve good coordination post-2026. (3) Economic activity, social restructuring, and policy support drive the system, with spatial spillovers creating dual-path mechanisms (economic growth vs. manufacturing/environmental barriers). The UTTES framework advances a replicable methodology for diagnosing Tourism–Transportation–Ecology synergies in rapidly developing regions, integrating multidimensional indicators to balance environmental governance and tourism dynamics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Nature-Based Tourism, Urban Community Planning, and Sustainable Land Use)
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25 pages, 8726 KB  
Article
Climate Change-Driven Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Landscape Ecological in the Qinling Mountains (1980–2023)
by Yufang Liu and Hu Yu
Land 2025, 14(5), 1008; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14051008 - 6 May 2025
Viewed by 1066
Abstract
This pioneering study examined the complex interplay between climate changes and landscape ecological dynamics through a spatiotemporal analysis (1980–2023) of China’s climatically vulnerable Qinling Mountains. The results revealed significant trends in landscape indices, indicating the ecosystem sensitivity of the Qinling Mountains to climate [...] Read more.
This pioneering study examined the complex interplay between climate changes and landscape ecological dynamics through a spatiotemporal analysis (1980–2023) of China’s climatically vulnerable Qinling Mountains. The results revealed significant trends in landscape indices, indicating the ecosystem sensitivity of the Qinling Mountains to climate change. The analysis revealed temperature and precipitation as the primary climatic drivers differentially affecting land cover systems. Qinling’s thermal regime has undergone progressive intensification under anthropogenic warming, contrasting with precipitation’s nonlinear variability marked by decadal oscillations. Persistent warming trajectories align with observed vegetation shifts toward higher elevations and latitudes. Landscape metrics demonstrated scale-dependent climate synchronization, achieving full coherence at the macroscale and partial alignment across ecosystem-specific configurations. These multiscale interactions delineate a dual mechanism where climate directly reshapes landscape ecological patterns while modulating human–environment feedback loops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Nature-Based Tourism, Urban Community Planning, and Sustainable Land Use)
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