Search Results (462)

Hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) are a critical enabling infrastructure for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), yet their deployment in dense metropolitan areas often faces a dual challenge: limited travel-time accessibility for users and low public acceptance driven by perceived safety risks. This study develops an integrated, city-scale framework to quantify HRS accessibility and resident acceptance and to identify expansion priorities for Seoul, South Korea. We combine (i) an online perception survey of 1000 adult residents (October 2024) capturing environmental awareness, perceived safety, siting preferences, and willingness-to-travel distance; (ii) spatial demand data on FCEV registrations by administrative dong (n = 2443 vehicles, 2022); and (iii) network-based travel-time analysis using the Seoul road network and the current HRS supply (n = 10, 2024). Accessibility is evaluated under three travel-time thresholds (10, 15, and 20 min), with service-area delineation and demand-weighted underserved-area diagnosis. Candidate expansion sites are generated and screened using operational and regulatory constraints (e.g., site area and proximity to protected facilities), followed by a p-median location-allocation optimization to select five additional sites that minimize demand-weighted travel impedance. Results indicate that, under the 20 min threshold (7.7 km at an average operating speed of 23.1 km/h), 50 of 425 dongs (11.8%) and 244 of 2443 FCEVs (10.0%) are outside the baseline service coverage. After adding five sites (total n = 15), underserved dongs decrease to 5 (1.2%) and underserved FCEVs to 26 (1.1%) for the 20 min threshold, with consistent improvements across shorter thresholds. Survey responses further reveal that only 12.5% of respondents perceive HRSs as safe, while 46.5% report a maximum willingness-to-travel distance of up to 5 km, underscoring the need for both accessibility enhancement and risk-aware communication. The proposed workflow offers a transparent, reproducible approach to support equitable and risk-informed HRS planning by jointly considering network accessibility, demand distribution, and social acceptance, thereby contributing to sustainable urban mobility, low-carbon transport transition, and socially acceptable hydrogen infrastructure deployment. Beyond local accessibility improvement, the study is framed in the broader context of sustainability, as equitable and socially acceptable hydrogen refueling infrastructure can support low-carbon urban transport transitions and more resilient metropolitan energy-mobility systems. Full article

This study presents a comprehensive and systematic integrative review of Neighborhood-Level Energy Hubs (NLEHs) as pivotal enablers of sustainable and resilient urban energy systems. In response to accelerating climate pressures, rapid urbanization, and the decentralization of energy production, NLEHs are conceptualized as multi-carrier platforms that enable coordinated energy generation, storage, conversion, and exchange at the neighborhood scale. Utilizing a PRISMA-informed methodology to synthesize 125 core studies, the review systematically evaluates recent advances across five interconnected dimensions: conceptual foundations, system typologies, energy flow architectures, urban integration, and optimization paradigms. Unlike conventional reviews, this study explicitly bridges the critical gap between techno-economic optimization and socio-environmental priorities. A key novelty is the proposed mathematical integration of energy justice and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) directly into optimization algorithms (e.g., MILP and MPC) as dynamic constraints and penalty terms. Particular emphasis is placed on participatory governance models, lifecycle sustainability metrics, and digitalization tools such as AI-driven energy management systems and urban digital twins. The analysis further reveals critical research gaps, highlighting a stark geographic dichotomy between high-tech, market-driven NLEHs in the Global North and resilience-oriented hybrid microgrids in the Global South, alongside the lack of adaptive regulatory frameworks. By proposing a unified Cyber–Physical–Social perspective, this study provides actionable insights for planners, policymakers, and researchers to support the development of scalable, inclusive, and context-sensitive NLEH implementations. Ultimately, the paper contributes to redefining neighborhood-scale energy systems as not only efficient and low-carbon infrastructures, but also as socially equitable, globally scalable, and institutionally adaptive components of future smart cities. Full article

Rural settlements serve as the core spatial carriers of rural living space, and their spatial evolution and functional transformation reflect the dynamic restructuring of human–land relationships. In karst mountainous areas, complex topography, fragmented land resources, and uneven distribution of public facilities significantly influence settlement patterns and residents’ living spaces. This study aims to quantify the relationship between settlement clustering characteristics and living-space demand and to construct a spatially explicit framework for rural settlement restructuring from a living-space perspective. Taking the Qixingguan District of Bijie City, Guizhou Province—a representative karst mountainous area in Southwest China—as a case study, we develop an integrated analytical framework encompassing spatial identification, demand measurement, and zoning optimization. Settlement clusters were identified using the Nearest Neighbor Index and Kernel Density Analysis, while accessibility to essential services—including education, healthcare, and shopping—was quantified via a Gaussian-based two-step floating catchment area method. Living-space demand was further assessed by integrating accessibility gradients with residential conditions, and restructuring types were classified based on the Living Space Index and the distance from settlements to town centers. The results indicate that (1) rural settlements in Qixingguan District exhibit significant clustering, with high-density zones concentrated around urban peripheries and along transportation corridors; (2) accessibility to living services follows a distance-decay pattern modulated by transportation networks, forming hotspots in suburban and town-center areas and cold spots in peripheral karst mountainous areas; and (3) based on the comprehensive assessment, settlements are categorized into four types—urbanizing villages, central villages, preserved villages, and relocation villages—with corresponding targeted spatial restructuring strategies proposed. This study advances the geographical understanding of rural settlement restructuring in karst mountainous areas and provides empirical evidence for optimizing human–land relationships and promoting more equitable and sustainable spatial development in mountainous regions. Full article

Under growing urbanization and environmental challenges, sustainable urban mobility has become a critical priority for cities worldwide. Public Transport (PT) systems play a central role in reducing car dependency, lowering emissions, increasing network capacity, and promoting more equitable and efficient access to urban spaces for all users. Hence, the present paper aims to investigate PT preferences in the city of Larissa, Greece. Larissa is a medium-sized city currently serviced only by buses, and is currently focusing on the potential introduction of a new tram system to operate in parallel with existing bus services. To this end, a SP survey was designed and implemented, resulting in 972 observations that were collected for further statistical analysis. Survey results show a slight preference for trams over buses, with 54.63% selecting the tram and 45.37% favoring the buses. Moreover, a context-based segmentation pipeline was established using PCA, DBSCAN and t-SNE algorithms, aiding the visualization of existing clusters for transport choice approaches. Afterwards, a series of mixed logit models was applied, and statistically significant variables influencing mode choice were determined. The study also examines Value of Time (VoT) metrics and finds that respondents assign lower VoTs to trams than to buses, especially in out-of-vehicle segments of the journey, such as waiting and walking, and therefore consider trams as more pleasant and less burdensome. The findings also indicate that passengers place a high value on the quality of infrastructure related to access and waiting times, underlining the need to improve the overall user experience beyond the vehicle itself. In summary, the present research offers valuable insights into how the introduction of a tram system could possibly reshape PT usage patterns when compared with the legacy existing bus services. Full article

Atmospheric pollutants and CO₂ share common origins in fossil fuel combustion, raising the question of whether fiscal incentives targeting air quality alone can indirectly reduce carbon emissions. This study examines this question by evaluating China’s air quality ecological compensation policy, a provincial-level horizontal fiscal transfer mechanism under which cities are rewarded or penalized according to changes in ambient air quality indicators, without incorporating any explicit carbon-related assessment criteria. Using panel data from 268 prefecture-level cities over 2007–2023 and a multi-period difference-in-differences design, we find that the policy significantly reduces the composite pollution carbon index (β = −0.213, p < 0.01), with the effect confirmed by an alternative weighted-average specification (β = −0.153, p < 0.01) and robust to propensity score matching, one-period lagged regression, exclusion of provincial-level municipalities, and exclusion of the COVID-19 period. A two-step mechanism analysis, adopted to avoid post-treatment bias from “bad controls,” reveals that the policy promotes industrial structure upgrading (β = 0.253, p < 0.01), enhances green technological innovation capacity (β = 0.047, p < 0.10), and reduces energy consumption intensity (β = −0.012, p < 0.01). Heterogeneity analysis based on quartile subsamples shows that the synergistic benefits concentrate in cities with stronger fiscal capacity (β = −0.349, p < 0.01 versus insignificant for low-support cities), higher economic development, and greater urbanization (β = −1.558, p < 0.01 for highly urbanized cities), while the policy effect is statistically insignificant in the least-advantaged subgroups across these three dimensions. In contrast, the green coverage dimension reveals an opposite pattern: the effect is strongest in cities with lower green coverage (β = −0.378, p < 0.05) and insignificant in high-coverage cities, indicating diminishing marginal returns where environmental baselines are already favorable. These findings highlight the need for differentiated compensation standards, including tiered compensation coefficients and targeted fiscal support for resource-constrained regions, to ensure equitable governance outcomes. Full article

This study examines how the city’s evolving spatial structure shapes its thermal environment. Using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) scheme, we tracked structural changes across Chengdu and its central districts (Jinjiang and Wuhou) in 2017, 2021, and 2025. We then combined the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with the NSGA-II algorithm. This allowed us to explore links between LCZ patterns and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) in the urban center. Results confirm a strong but non-linear relationship between built form and the local climate. Optimized scenarios, respecting practical planning constraints, show that rebalancing LCZ proportions can reduce peak temperatures in the core area by 1.72–2.75 °C. Future plans for Chengdu should therefore limit high-risk compact types (LCZ 1, 3, 8), expand mid-rise and open arrangements (LCZ 4, 5), and preserve or restore natural surfaces (LCZ A–C) to achieve a more thermally equitable urban landscape. Full article

As global urbanization accelerates, biophilic urbanism has emerged as a key nature-based strategy for enhancing public health. While plants are critical active agents for psychological restoration, the specific pathways through which vegetation characteristics influence human–environment interactions remain fragmented. This knowledge gap hinders the evidence-based translation of biophilic principles into actionable urban design and governance. This study conducts a systematic bibliometric analysis of 443 peer-reviewed articles (2000–2025) at the intersection of restorative landscapes, urban settings, and plant-based interventions retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Employing multiple visualization tools (VOSviewer, bibliometrix, and CiteSpace), we map publication trends, international collaborations, and thematic evolution. The results demonstrate a significant shift in the field, moving beyond the validation of foundational restorative theories (e.g., ART and SRT) to a more precise, implementation-oriented framework. This shift is characterized by the operationalization of vegetation attributes as controllable design variables, increasingly relating biophilic principles to broader nature-based solutions (NbS) agendas and evidence-informed urban governance. Thematic clustering analysis identified three core knowledge domains: (1) the role of plants as active exposure agents and behavioral mediators in psychological restoration; (2) the impact of specific plant characteristics—such as canopy structure, species diversity, and seasonal variation—on therapeutic outcomes; and (3) the integration of urban green spaces into broader governance frameworks to promote health equity and inclusive well-being. Our analysis highlights that plant-based interventions are evolving from aesthetic ornaments into precision design levers for fostering human–nature interactions. This study provides a science-based foundation for developing practical design guidelines and policy frameworks, shifting biophilic urbanism toward a robust governance strategy for creating equitable, restorative, and resilient cities. Full article

Urban mobility is a central challenge for sustainable and inclusive cities, as climate change, congestion, and spatial inequality increasingly reveal mobility patterns as expressions of deeper social and spatial structures. Inclusive urban mobility examines whether transport systems equitably support the everyday movements and accessibility needs of historically marginalized and underserved populations. The integration of artificial intelligence with geographic information science, combined with multimodal geospatial data fusion, provides powerful tools to diagnose and address these disparities by integrating heterogeneous data sources such as satellite imagery, GPS trajectories, transit records, volunteered geographic information, and social sensing data into scalable, high-resolution urban mobility analytics. This paper presents a systematic survey of recent GeoAI studies that fuse multiple geospatial data modalities for key urban mobility tasks, including accessibility mapping, demand forecasting, and origin–destination flow prediction, with particular emphasis on inclusive and equity-oriented applications. The review examines 18 multimodal GeoAI studies identified through a PRISMA-ScR screening process from 57 candidate publications between 2019 and 2025. The survey synthesizes methodological trends across data-, feature-, and decision-level fusion strategies, highlights the growing use of deep learning architectures, and examines emerging techniques such as knowledge graphs, federated learning, and explainable AI that support equity-relevant insights across diverse urban contexts. Building on this synthesis, the review identifies persistent gaps in population coverage, multimodal integration, equity optimization, explainability, validation, and governance, which currently constrain the inclusiveness and robustness of GeoAI applications in urban mobility research. To address these challenges, the paper proposes a structured research roadmap linking these gaps to concrete methodological and governance directions including equity-aware loss functions, adaptive multimodal fusion pipelines, participatory and human-in-the-loop workflows, and urban data trusts to better align multimodal GeoAI with the goals of inclusive, just, and sustainable urban mobility systems. Full article

This study critically engages the ongoing national conversation and policy discourse on land expropriation without compensation in South Africa, offering both analytical insight and a principled position. It presents a qualitative, normative-analytical inquiry grounded primarily in critical documentary analysis of legislation, jurisprudence, and land reform scholarship. The study situates the contemporary debate within South Africa’s broader historical and structural context, where patterns of land dispossession continue to shape persistent spatial inequality and exclusion. The analysis proceeds from the premise that meaningful urban spatial transformation cannot be realised without addressing the structural constraints embedded within existing land governance and spatial planning systems. In this regard, debates around land expropriation are not simply questions of property law or economic policy but are fundamentally connected to broader concerns of spatial justice, economic inclusion, and social equity. These concerns are particularly salient when considering emerging imaginaries of African urban futures, including the notion of the Pan-African City—an urban formation envisioned as spatially integrated, socially inclusive, and reflective of shared continental aspirations for equitable development. The central argument advanced in this study is that unless South Africa gives serious and programmatic attention to land expropriation—moving beyond token or partial policy measures—the structural conditions necessary for such inclusive urban futures will remain unattainable. In this sense, any vision of a Pan-African City within South Africa’s borders risks remaining short-lived, if not altogether specious. To fully engage this debate, the paper unpacks and interrelates the concepts of land expropriation, compensation, expropriation without compensation, economic inclusivity, social equity, spatial justice, and the Pan-African City. These concepts cannot be adequately understood independent of the distinctly South African context—a context shaped by a history of racialised dispossession, deeply entrenched spatial inequalities, and the limitations of both first-generation (restitution, redistribution, tenure reform) and second-generation (e.g., the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act) land reform initiatives. The point advanced is unequivocal: without resolving the land question, sustainable housing and human settlement solutions in South Africa will not materialise. Anything less risks entrenching a democratic façade atop an unresolved colonial, segregationist, and apartheid foundation. Full article

Background: Timely prehospital management is critical for survival after traumatic injury. In rapidly growing metropolises, emergency medical service (EMS) systems often struggle to provide equitable care amid urban sprawl and traffic congestion. This study investigated spatiotemporal inequalities in trauma-related EMS response in a rapidly expanding capital city (Astana, Kazakhstan) to inform healthcare optimization and urban health equity. Methods: We analyzed a five-year population-based dataset of 26,073 trauma-related EMS calls recorded between 2020 and 2024. Spatial patterns were examined using Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) and Getis–Ord Gi* hotspot analysis. Road-network modeling assessed accessibility at 3, 5, and 10 min thresholds using a GIS-based network analyst framework. Results: Males accounted for 60.1% of utilization and had higher clinical severity (hospitalization rate: 45.5% vs. 40.3%, p < 0.001). Demand peaked at 20:00, coinciding with peak traffic. The mean total response time was 21.63 min, and only 16.9% of calls met the 10 min benchmark. Significant accessibility gaps were found in the Baikonur district (61.4% delay rate). Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that while the EMS system provides broad geographic coverage, it suffers from systemic spatiotemporal bottlenecks. Targeted infrastructure expansion in underserved peripheral districts and the implementation of dynamic deployment models are necessary to enhance urban health equity and reduce preventable mortality in expanding metropolitan areas. Full article

Urban green space (UGS) is a critical component of sustainable cities and a modifiable determinant of mental health (MH). This review synthesizes 93 empirical studies and 929 bibliometric records to map theoretical advances, methodological evolution, and governance implications in the UGS–MH field. We integrate the following six validated pathways into a unified socio-ecological framework: attention restoration, stress recovery, behavioral activation, physiological regulation, social cohesion, and environmental buffering. Methodological trends indicate a shift from static greenness proxies to street-view and multimodal exposure measures, and from cross-sectional correlations to models that address spatial heterogeneity, causal identification, and AI-enabled prediction. Bibliometric mapping reveals increasing interdisciplinarity, geographic diversification, and growing attention to dynamic exposure science. Persistent challenges include spatial and temporal misalignment between exposure and outcome measures, reliance on single-modality indicators, limited causal inference, and constrained cross-cultural generalizability. Building on these findings, we propose a governance-oriented framework to support sustainable and healthy cities through equitable green access, behavior-informed planning, nature-based interventions, and data-driven decision support. Overall, this review strengthens the bridge from evidence to action at the interface of urban sustainability and population mental health. Full article

Parking management in mid-sized Latin American cities is often limited by weak enforcement, scarce off-street supply, and widespread irregular parking. This study uses a stated preference experiment to analyze parking choices among 227 drivers in Loja, Ecuador. Six choice tasks evaluated four alternatives—regulated on-street, private off-street, irregular parking, and leaving the vehicle at home—based on cost, walking distance, search time, availability, expected fines, and security. Multinomial logit (MNL) and mixed logit (ML) models were estimated, including income- and gender-based segmentations. Results show that cost (β = −0.332, p < 0.01) and walking distance (β = −0.0026, p < 0.001) are the primary determinants of formal parking choice. The willingness to pay to avoid 100 m of walking is USD 0.77 per 2-h period. Low-income users are 4.8 times more sensitive to cost. Mixed logit results reveal significant heterogeneity in preferences for cost, search time, and enforcement sensitivity. Policy simulations indicate that increasing enforcement (70% probability, USD 250 fine) reduces illegal parking demand by 93%, while lowering regulated tariffs to USD 0.50 raises its share by 4.2 percentage points. These findings support sustainable mobility policies by promoting efficient parking management, reducing illegal parking, and improving equitable access to urban space. Full article

Mobility and its infrastructure represent challenges for contemporary society. It is necessary to promote collective public transport and active mobility, because they contribute to improving accessibility in cities and the well-being of society. The objectives of this research are (1) to analyze the perception of the population of Cartagena, Colombia, in relation to public transport safety; (2) to highlight the level of knowledge about legislation or regulations related to mobility and their participation in the adoption of planning tools for implementation; and (3) to analyze the proposed initiatives to achieve a more equitable, egalitarian, fair, inclusive, and sustainable mobility. The results emanate from a digital survey conducted with 828 people from different neighborhoods and socioeconomic strata in Cartagena. Regarding the first objective, the findings indicate that almost one-third of the respondents consider public transport unsafe or very unsafe. Public transport is perceived as more unsafe by women than men. In terms of the second objective, there is limited knowledge of mobility regulations (56% did not know or did not respond) and low citizen participation (12%) in the adoption of planning tools. Concerning the third objective, the results showed 54 initiatives oriented toward institutional strengthening and undertaking a more equitable, egalitarian, fair, inclusive and sustainable mobility. Full article

Urban green spaces (UGSs) provide critical ecosystem services (ESs) in rapidly urbanising cities but are increasingly threatened by land-use change, population growth, and socio-economic pressures. This study assessed spatial and temporal changes in UGS in Zomba City, Malawi, from 1998 to 2021 using geospatial and remote sensing methods. Landsat imagery from 1998, 2007, 2013, and 2021 was analysed through post-classification change detection to map land-use/land-cover (LULC) transitions, while the relationship between ward-level population density and vegetation condition was evaluated using the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Results show a decline in total UGS cover from 60% in 1998 to 51% in 2021, primarily due to the expansion of built-up areas. Tree cover increased from 11% to 18%, with NDVI values rising from 0.700 to 0.947; these changes may reflect both natural vegetation growth and targeted restoration, indicating localised improvements in vegetation condition. An inverse relationship was observed between population density and NDVI, though some high-density wards exhibited NDVI gains associated with restoration initiatives. These findings underscore the role of both institutional and community efforts in sustaining urban vegetation and highlight the potential of ecological restoration to mitigate UGS loss and support ESs. Policymakers and planners should prioritise the protection, restoration, and equitable distribution of UGS, particularly in dense and underserved areas, as strategic urban greening enhances city resilience and human well-being. Full article

Cities worldwide are turning to green infrastructure (GI) as a potential decentralized pathway to stormwater management, heat abatement, and other climate adaptation and wellbeing benefits. As with environmental governance, public engagement in GI planning—from design to implementation and maintenance—is necessary to incorporate diverse perspectives, better understand the potential impact of environmental policies, and ensure fair and equitable outcomes. However, GI is different from broader environmental governance approaches in that it demands on-the-ground labor and long-term maintenance, which are crucial for ecosystem function. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive literature review of 46 articles published between 2014 and 2024 to provide a more nuanced understanding of public engagement for GI in municipal settings. Results reveal diverse and innovative approaches to engagement that involve integrating social and environmental data, on-the-ground activities, and working groups. We further highlight four key characteristics of GI engagement: (1) the multifunctionality of GI, (2) the incorporation of public and private land, (3) effects on community-building and sense of place, and (4) environmental and social justice. By embracing the multifunctionality of GI and centering justice, engagement efforts are more likely to recruit diverse community members, maintain long-term engagement, and simultaneously address multiple social and environmental needs. Full article