Search Results (2,394)

Urban vitality is a crucial indicator of a city’s sustainable development and the quality of life of its residents. Investigating the spatiotemporal patterns and influencing mechanisms of urban vitality is essential for optimizing the built-environment and improving governance. Using the central urban area of Guiyang, China, as a case study, this research integrates multi-source urban sensing data to investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of urban vitality and their driving factors. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) and machine learning combined with SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) are applied to capture spatial heterogeneity, nonlinear relationships, and threshold effects among influencing variables. Results show that urban vitality exhibits a Y-shaped, single-core, multi-center, and clustered spatial configuration, with slightly higher intensity on weekdays and similar diurnal rhythms across weekdays and weekends. The effects of influencing factors display strong spatial non-stationarity, characterized by a concentric gradient radiating outward from the historic Laocheng core. Building density (BD), residential point density (RED), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and road density (RD) emerge as the dominant contributors to urban vitality, while topographic conditions play a relatively minor role. The relationships between key landscape and built-environment variables and urban vitality are highly nonlinear, with distinct threshold effects. By integrating spatial econometric modeling and explainable machine learning, this study advances methodological approaches for urban vitality research and provides practical insights for landscape-oriented urban planning and human-centered spatial design. Full article

Sustainability assessment in UNESCO World Heritage city centres often treats spatial configuration, functional accessibility, and heritage governance as separate analytical domains. This study addresses this fragmentation by developing a composite assessment framework to evaluate morphological sustainability in historic urban cores. The Morphological Sustainability Model (MSM) and its numerical expression, the Morphological Sustainability Index (MSI), are applied to the Bursa Khans District for the 2020–2025 period. The model integrates Space Syntax variables (integration, connectivity, choice, and intelligibility), 15-Minute City indicators related to proximity, pedestrian accessibility, active mobility, and inclusivity, and Historic Urban Landscape-based governance evaluations derived from UNESCO-compliant management plans. These components are synthesised into six weighted composite indicators (BKH1–BKH6). Results show that the MSI increases from 0.38 in 2020 to 0.51 in 2025 (+34.2%), indicating a strengthened alignment between spatial configuration, pedestrian-oriented functional performance, and heritage governance capacity. The findings reveal a shift from car-oriented axial dominance toward a more pedestrian-centred spatial structure along the historic bazaar spine. Overall, the study demonstrates that the MSI provides a transferable, decision-support-oriented framework for assessing morphological sustainability in historic urban environments. Full article

Improving cyclist safety conditions in the urban context is a key strategy to promote sustainable transport modes and reduce noise and environmental pollution. Recent plans have also addressed this point. In September 2020, the UN General Assembly declared the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030, aiming to reduce the number of road deaths by at least half. To achieve this task and highlight the risk factor, after collecting and pre-processing cyclist crash data in the city of Rome between 2013 and 2020, Random Forest and Ordered Logistic Regression models are proposed. The crash dataset is also enriched with vehicular speed and flows, and geographical information. A DBSCAN Clustering Analysis is also proposed to identify anomalous areas in the city. The findings show that the presence of cycle paths, the presence of anthropic activities, such as shops, schools, and universities, play a risk mitigation role. Conversely, vehicular speed and heavy vehicles emerge as the main detected risk factors. Finally, spatial analysis indicates that commercial activities reduce cycle path safety due to complex interactions with other road users. Furthermore, historic areas present unique risks driven by pedestrian flows and poor road surfaces, despite low vehicular traffic. Full article

This study provides a quantitative assessment of the combined effects of progressive urbanization and changes in precipitation patterns (PPs) on the urban water cycle. The primary objective was to evaluate historical (1940–2024) and projected (to 2060) changes in total annual surface runoff (TSR) and retention capacity (RC) in the highly urbanized catchment of the Dłubnia River in Cracow, Poland. Simulations were performed using the EPA SWMM hydrodynamic model, supported by digitized historical land-use maps and long-term meteorological records. The results demonstrate that the dominant driver of the observed 6.4-fold increase in TSR and 6.8-fold loss of retention capacity (LRC) over the study period was the progressive increase in impervious surfaces. Although inter-annual variability in the amount and structure of annual precipitation (AP) strongly correlates with annual TSR (r = 0.97), its contribution to the long-term upward trend in TSR is marginal (r = 0.19). Land use and land cover change (LULC) exhibits an extremely strong correlation with the long-term TSR trend (r = 0.998). The study also highlights the high effectiveness of nature-based solutions (NbSs), particularly bioretention cells (BCs)/rain gardens, in mitigating the adverse hydrological effects of excessive surface sealing. Implementation of BCs covering just 3–4% of the total drained roof and road area is sufficient to fully offset the projected combined negative impacts of further urbanization and climate change (CC) in scope Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) projections on catchment retention capacity by 2060. These findings position strategically targeted, relatively small-scale bioretention as one of the most effective and feasible urban adaptation measures in mature, densely developed cities. Full article

The ancient city of Gela (built in the 7th century BCE) is located in the southern sector of the Sicily Island (Southern Italy) on a Pleistocene marine terrace near the mouth of the Gela River. Gela was one of the most important Greek colonies in the Mediterranean Sea, strategically positioned at the crossroads of the major maritime trade routes and with a rich production of cereals thanks to the fertile Gela River alluvial plain. To reconstruct the coastal and environmental configuration during the Greek period and to improve the understanding of the location of the harbour basin, a multidisciplinary approach was applied to a sector of the Gela River alluvial–coastal plain. This area, located very close to the ancient city, is known as Conca (Italian for “Basin”) and was identified through the analysis of historical and modern maps as well as aerial photographs. The multidisciplinary approach includes geomorphology (derived from maps and aerial photos), stratigraphy (boreholes and archeological trench), paleoecology (ostracoda, foraminifera and fossil contents of selected layers), geochronology (¹⁴C dating of selected organic materials) and archeology (historical sources and maps, pottery fragments extracted from boreholes and trench layers). The main results show that this area was occupied by lower shoreface environments in the time intervals between 4.4 and 2.8 ka, which progressively transitioned to upper shoreface environments until the Greek age. During the Roman period, these environments were significantly reduced due to repeated alluvial sedimentation of the Gela River transforming the area into fluvial–marshy environments. A time interval of aeolian sand deposition was recorded in the upper part of the coastal stratigraphical succession, which can be related to climatic conditions with high aridity. Available data show that marine environments persisted in the Conca sector during the Greek age, allowing hypothesizing the presence of an ancient harbour in this area. The depth of the Greek age marine environments is estimated to be between 4.5 and 7 m below the current ground level. Further investigation, mainly based on geophysical and stratigraphical methods, will be planned aimed at identifying the presence of buried archeological targets. Full article

Historic waterfront streets are not only an important component of urban public spaces but also highlight the distinctive features and historical contexts of the city. High-quality streetscape visual perception plays a crucial role in advancing the cultural, social, environmental, and economic sustainability of the urban street space. This study was initiated to construct a multi-dimension and multi-scale comprehensive evaluation framework to assess the visual quality of waterfront streets, taking “Water City” Liaocheng as a typical case. Technical methods of semantic segmentation, sDNA (Spatial Design Network Analysis), GIS (Geographic Information System), and statistical analysis were utilized. Following the extraction and classification of street space elements, a multi-dimensional evaluation index system of natural coordination, artificial comfort, and historical culture for the visual assessment was established. Space syntax was performed on waterfront streets by sDNA to quantify macro-level scale spatial structure and meso-level scale pedestrian accessibility. The results of micro-scale visual perception, meso-scale behavioral walkability, and macro-scale spatial structure, were integrated to construct a multi-scale diagnostic framework for eight classifications. This framework provides a scientific basis to put forwards the refined and sustainable optimization strategies for historic waterfront streets. Full article

The industrial heritage of the Third Front construction (hereafter referred to as Third Front industrial heritage) serves as a significant physical manifestation of China’s urban society, economy, and culture during a unique historical period. Its widespread abandonment not only constitutes a waste of social resources but also accelerates the erosion of collective memory surrounding the Third Front initiative. As one of Sichuan Province’s (including present-day Chongqing) key Third Front construction regions during that era, Guangyuan City possesses a substantial legacy of Third Front industrial heritage sites. These sites are predominantly idle and face ongoing risks of deterioration, necessitating comprehensive and systematic research into their classification, protection, and regeneration. This paper focuses on 39 Third Front industrial heritage sites in Guangyuan City, employing architectural typology to construct a ‘type-medium-value’ research framework integrating field research with strategic distribution analysis at the urban level, spatial form analysis at the settlement level, and spatial combination analysis at the building level to quantitatively identify and qualitatively deconstruct the spatial logic of these sites. This enables the analysis of the functional characteristics, structural logic, and spatial intent embodied by different types, thereby exploring the multidimensional value implications of Third Front industrial heritage through this value medium. Ultimately, this research proposes targeted adaptive mechanisms and revitalisation pathways for Third Front industrial heritage. It aims to promote the cultural legacy of this heritage and perpetuate the Third Front spirit within the context of strengthening the Chinese national community consciousness in the new era, while aligning with the Party and state’s development strategies. This approach aims to provide a reference for revitalising and utilising Third Front industrial heritage in other underdeveloped regions. Full article

Cloud-based Earth observation platforms, such as data cubes, enable reproducible analyses of long-term satellite time series for climate and urban studies. In parallel, Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) provide a standardised framework for monitoring climate dynamics, with urban land cover and temperature being particularly relevant in historic urban contexts. This study analyses long-term trends and statistical associations between satellite-based ECVs and urbanisation indicators within the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) of Sfax (Tunisia) from 1985 to 2021. Using the Digital Earth Africa (DEA) data cube, we derived six urban spectral indices (USIs), land surface temperature, air temperature at 2 m, wind characteristics, and precipitation from Landsat and ERA5 reanalysis data. An automated and reproducible Python-based workflow was implemented to assess USI behaviour, evaluate their performance against the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL), and explore spatio-temporal co-variations between urbanisation and climate variables. Results reveal a consistent increase in air and surface temperatures alongside a decreasing precipitation trend over the study period. The USIs demonstrate comparable accuracy levels (≈88–90%) in delineating urban areas, with indices based on SWIR and NIR bands (NDBI, BUI, NBI) showing the strongest statistical associations with temperature variables. Correlation and multivariate regression analyses indicate that temporal variations in USIs are more strongly associated with air temperature than with land surface temperature; however, these relationships reflect statistical co-variation rather than causality. By integrating satellite-based ECVs within a data cube framework, this study provides an operational methodology for long-term monitoring of urban-climate interactions in historic Mediterranean cities, supporting both climate adaptation strategies and the objectives of the UNESCO HUL approach. Full article

The territorial development of the city of Brno during the 19th–21st centuries meant not only the growth of built-up areas (residential, industrial, commercial), but also the absorbing of segments of the ancient rural agricultural landscape. Within the current borders of the city of Brno, a number of green areas have been preserved, which have spontaneously developed from the original agricultural landscape, without being the result of urban planning. In half of the cases (17 out of a total of 34), they have still preserved the traditional small-scale division of land. Among the 10 medium-sized Moravian cities (between 30,000 and 400,000 inhabitants) in the historical region of Moravia in the east of the Czech Republic, the presence of 34 remnants of the ancient rural landscape in the city of Brno is quite exceptional (in Ostrava only 1; in other cities 0). The subject of the research is the inventory of such segments within the city borders and an attempt to explain their location in the city, state, focusing on the role of natural factors, land ownership and personal and recreational interests of residents. Segments of the ancient rural cultural landscape were identified by comparing the current landscape on aerial photographs with the landscape image on cadastral maps from the 1820s–1830s. Additional data on their natural and cultural properties were obtained through archival and field research. The segments were classified according to their degree of preservation and forms of threat. The results show that the remains of the ancient rural cultural landscape in the city of Brno have generally been preserved in locations that, due to the slope of the slopes, unsuitable building subsoil and poor soil, but locally on warm southern slopes, were not suitable for construction for the time being. Urban gardening contributes to their preservation and these areas are part of the city’s greenery. However, urban gardening also contributes to the destruction of these remnants. In 17 cases, the land was completely re-divided, built up with recreational facilities and overgrown with trees due to poor care. Another 17 locations are threatened by this process due to ignorance of their historical value, although this is essentially a positive development in terms of benefits for the city’s residents—land users. Although the Master Plan of the city of Brno foresees the existence of garden colonies in the future, it does not address the importance of the best-preserved segments as historical heritage. Community agriculture can play a positive role in maintaining segments of rural heritage within the city. Full article

Historic city centers host dense ensembles of heritage buildings where conservation goals must coexist with sustainable and smart urban development, yet the semi-outdoor “liminal” spaces of these complexes, such as cloisters, loggias and courtyards, are rarely included in microclimate monitoring networks. This study develops and tests the Liminal Environmental Monitoring System (LEMS), a flexible environmental data acquisition architecture designed for long-term monitoring in such spaces. The LEMS is based on a custom, low-cost data acquisition board able to handle multiple analogue and digital sensors, combined with a daisy-chain communication layout using the MODBUS RS485 protocol and a commercial datalogger as master, in order to meet the technical and visual constraints of historic buildings. Board calibration and sensor characterisation are reported, and the system is deployed in the cloister of Palazzo Costabili, a renaissance complex in the historic city center of Ferrara (Italy). This case study illustrates how the LEMS captures spatial and temporal variation in air temperature, relative humidity and solar irradiance and how an annual solar-shading indicator derived from 3D ray-tracing simulations supports the interpretation of irradiance measurements. The results indicate that the LEMS is a viable tool for heritage-compatible microclimate monitoring and can be adapted to other historic courtyards and loggias. Full article

The global production of dimension stones, that is, natural stones that can be processed into blocks and used as building and decorative materials, has grown steadily since the second half of the twentieth century. The rise of global markets and trade has also contributed to a rapid increase in imports of natural stones from distant locations. The introduction of dimension stones sourced from other continents can contribute significantly to geocultural heritage, defined as geological features that have acquired cultural, historical or symbolic meaning, as well as cultural elements embedded in a geological context. In the present contribution, the use of dimension stones in the city of Poznań (Poland, central Europe) is quantified. The study reveals dramatic changes in natural stone use between 1990 and 2019, with the number of dimension stone types increasing nearly threefold, and the mean distance to the stone source areas rising from 322 to 3885 km. Growing numbers and more diversified lithologies of natural stones can improve the urban landscape and contribute to the development of geotourism. On the other hand, increasing imports of dimension stones negatively affect local producers, threaten future conservation efforts, and have significant geoethical implications. Full article

The Jiangsu Yangtze River city cluster is a key growth pole of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, yet substantial disparities in development levels persist across cities, and the role of rail transit investment in fostering regional economic coordination remains insufficiently understood. This study aims to reveal the dynamic mechanisms through which railway transportation investment influences regional economic growth via population migration and service industry agglomeration, and to quantify the economic multiplier effects under different investment scenarios. Considering the close economic linkages among cities, spatial autocorrelation analysis is applied to assess intercity economic dependence, which provides the basis for developing a system dynamics model that links the rail transit system with the regional economy. Using data from eight core cities over the period 2014–2023, the model is employed to simulate long-term economic responses under different investment scenarios. The results indicate that increasing the rail transit investment ratio from 0.0077 to 0.02 is associated with an estimated 13.2% increase in regional GDP by 2030, with a corresponding economic multiplier of approximately 1.8, while simulation errors remain within 4.1–16.2% compared with historical data. The findings suggest that rail transit investment promotes regional growth through improved accessibility, factor agglomeration, and industrial upgrading, and that coordinated planning at the urban agglomeration scale is more effective than isolated city-level strategies. By integrating spatial dependence analysis with system dynamics modeling, this study offers a dynamic perspective on the regional economic impacts of rail transit investment. Full article

Landfills serve as a primary disposal method for municipal solid waste in China, with over 20,000 operational sites nationwide; however, long-term operations risk leachate leakage and groundwater contamination. Amid intensifying climate change and human activities, understanding contaminant evolution mechanisms in landfills has become critically urgent. Focusing on a representative plain-based landfill in North China, this study integrated field investigations and groundwater monitoring to establish a monthly coupled groundwater flow–solute transport model (using MODFLOW and MT3DMS codes) based on site-specific hydrogeological boundaries and multi-year monitoring data, analyzing spatiotemporal plume evolution under the coupled impacts of precipitation variability (climate change) and intensive groundwater extraction (human activities), spanning the historical period (2021–2024) and future projections (2025–2040). Historical simulations demonstrated robust model performance with satisfactory calibration against observed water levels and chloride concentrations, revealing that the current contamination plume exhibits a distinct distribution beneath the site. Future projections indicate nonlinear concentration increases: in the plume core zone, concentrations rise with precipitation, whereas at the advancing front, concentrations escalate with extraction intensity. Spatially, high-risk zones (>200 mg/L) emerge earlier under wetter conditions—under the baseline scenario (S0), such zones form by 2033 and exceed site boundaries by 2037. Plume expansion scales positively with extraction intensity, reaching its maximum advancement and coverage under the high-extraction scenario. These findings demonstrate dual drivers—precipitation accelerates contaminant accumulation through enhanced leaching, while groundwater extraction promotes plume expansion via heightened hydraulic gradients. This work elucidates coupled climate–human activity impacts on landfill contamination mechanisms, proposing a transferable numerical modeling framework that provides a quantitative scientific basis for post-closure supervision, risk assessment, and regional groundwater protection strategies, thereby aligning with China’s Standard for Pollution Control on the Landfill Site of Municipal Solid Waste and the Zero-Waste City initiative. Full article

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), formalized by Calthorpe and Poticha in 1993, emerged to counter urban sprawl, reduce car dependency, and revitalize historical community centers. Rooted in “new urbanism”, TOD emphasizes integrated regional land-use planning and high-capacity public transportation. In the Middle East, TOD implementation remains understudied, particularly regarding heritage integration and social equity in arid climates. Doha’s rapid social and economic transformation presents both opportunities and risks: growth offers urban revitalization yet threatens to displace communities and dilute cultural identity. Shifts in urban planning have aimed to address sustainability, connectivity, and heritage preservation. This study examines Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD) to assess how TOD can restore historic districts while managing gentrification, enhancing accessibility and promoting inclusiveness. A mixed-methods approach was applied, including 12 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders (Qatar Rail, Msheireb Properties, Ministry of Municipality and Environment), purposive surveys of 80 urban users, site observations, and spatial mapping. Using the Node-Place-People (NPP) model, the study evaluates TOD effectiveness across transportation connectivity (node), built environment quality (place), and equity metrics (people). The findings show that MDD successfully implements fundamental TOD principles through its design, which enhances connectivity, walkability, social inclusiveness, and heritage preservation. However, multiple obstacles remain: the “peripheral island effect” limits benefits to the core, pedestrian–vehicular balance is unresolved, and commercial gentrification is on the rise. This research provides evidence-based knowledge for GCC cities pursuing sustainable urban regeneration by demonstrating both the advantages of TOD and the necessity for critical, context-sensitive implementation that focuses on social equity together with physical transformation. Full article

Spontaneous living spaces are public activity venues within cities that emerge through residents’ autonomous creation and informal planning. Although these spaces may appear disorganized, they serve vital functions: fostering social interaction, enhancing community vitality, improving spatial adaptability, and increasing life satisfaction. However, research on the formation mechanisms, structural logic, resident satisfaction, and the impact of spontaneous living spaces on community vitality is limited, and there is a lack of robust research methodologies. This study aims to explore the formation mechanisms of spontaneous living spaces within historic cultural districts and their influence on community vitality. Using Wuhan’s Tanhualin National Historic and Cultural District as a case study, this research innovatively combines the Mask R-CNN deep learning model with a Random Forest regression model. The Mask R-CNN model was employed to accurately identify and perform pixel-level segmentation of 1249 spontaneous living spaces. Combined with questionnaire surveys and the Random Forest model, this study reveals non-linear relationships between key factors such as community vitality, resident satisfaction with various types of spontaneous living spaces, and crowd density. The findings show that spontaneous living spaces effectively address residents’ unmet needs for emotional connection and dynamic lifestyles—needs often overlooked by official residential planning. This research provides a reliable technical framework and quantitative decision support for regulating the formation of spontaneous living spaces, thereby enhancing residents’ quality of life and urban vitality while preserving historical character. Full article