Search Results (52)

The 3-30-300 rule, proposed by Cecil Konijnendijk, is oriented towards the design of greener cities. However, subsequent literature has revealed some application limits due to overly simple definitions (visibility of 3 trees), fixed thresholds (30% tree cover) and theoretical distances (300 m to the park) that do not consider ecological quality, real green area proximity and possible socio-demographic differences. The present research attempts to overcome these limitations through the elaboration of a scalable composite index that, starting from the original rule, integrates ecological, infrastructural and population variables to give a more robust measure of the availability and usability of urban green. The index was tested in the study area of the urban centre of Ferrara (Italy). Three sub-indices were calculated for each building: Indicator 3—Visibility (I3), Indicator 30—Tree cover (I30), and Indicator 300—Green area proximity (I300). Once normalized and weighted, the three indicators were aggregated into a composite index conceived as a scalable and replicable framework adaptable to diverse urban settings. By spatially integrating population data, the methodology explicitly embeds the distributional dimension of climate justice, supporting evidence-based adaptation strategies and equitable urban regeneration policies. Moving beyond the binary logic of the original 3-30-300 rule, the approach provides an operational decision-support tool to detect intra-urban inequalities, to address just green transitions and to monitor urban greening interventions over time. Full article

Participatory housing design is widely associated with social sustainability because it can support community-building, strengthen user acceptance, and foster long-term place attachment. At the same time, participatory processes are organisationally demanding, as they involve multiple stakeholder groups, frequent design iterations, and the need to communicate spatial and technical implications to non-professional participants. While recent research has examined BIM in housing, collaboration, and digital participation, fewer studies begin with empirically documented workflow bottlenecks in non-BIM participatory housing projects and translate them into actionable BIM-supported strategies. This study addresses this gap by examining (1) recurring process-related challenges in participatory housing design conducted without BIM-based workflows, (2) BIM-supported workflows that could realistically mitigate these challenges, and (3) the implications for socially sustainable practice. A qualitative research design is applied to two participatory multi-family housing projects in Vienna, Austria. The cases were reconstructed from earlier semi-structured interviews with project architects and complemented by a follow-up structured questionnaire to validate key process aspects. Two independent BIM experts then interpreted the empirically identified challenges and proposed BIM-based responses. The results indicate that the most persistent difficulties are procedural rather than formal, centring on iteration and variant management, decision traceability, communication with lay participants, and coordination under time pressure. Expert interpretations suggest that BIM can strengthen participatory workflows through CDE-based information governance, structured issue and decision tracking, curated option management, and improved visual communication, while also introducing constraints related to costs, training, interoperability, organisational readiness, and potential cognitive overload. Overall, the paper positions BIM as a socio-technical infrastructure that can enhance procedural justice and transparency when embedded within carefully moderated participatory workflows. Full article

Urban heat inequality represents a critical barrier to inclusive climate-resilient governance. While existing research has extensively mapped surface temperature patterns, the dynamic evolution of human thermal stress and the divergent regulatory efficiencies of cooling features across socio-economic contexts remain poorly understood. This study integrates multi-source datasets from 15 typical Chinese cities, employing a machine learning framework and GeoShapley interpretation to resolve the drivers of heat inequality across spatio-temporal and mechanistic dimensions. The findings demonstrate that high-density urbanization in China leads to a spatial synchronization of wealth and heat exposure, contrasting with the “Luxury Effect” observed in low-density Western contexts and indicating that high-income urban cores bear significantly higher absolute thermal stress. This inequality exhibits pronounced seasonal dynamics, where extreme summer conditions non-linearly amplify exposure gaps between socio-economic groups. Crucially, the results identify a systemic failure of cooling mechanisms in low-income communities, where the empirical thermal response of physical features deviates from expected patterns, failing to mitigate or even exacerbating perceived heat stress. These results emphasize that urban mitigation should move beyond quantitative resource expansion toward efficiency restoration, utilizing targeted spatial optimization to achieve precision climate justice. Full article

Equitable prioritization of public investments is increasingly critical as municipalities face constrained budgets, heterogeneous neighborhood needs, and demands for transparent decisions. This paper proposes a fairness-aware group multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework for ranking municipal infrastructure investments when budgets are constrained, and neighborhood needs differ. Six alternatives are assessed in the Istanbul case study: flood risk mitigation, inclusive public realm and cooling, smart and energy-efficient municipal assets, walking and cycling infrastructure, healthcare access improvements, and seismic retrofitting of public buildings. The criteria system combines efficiency, implementability, socio-environmental performance, and equity-oriented priorities through five main dimensions and 23 sub-criteria. In addition to cost, feasibility, and service effectiveness, the framework incorporates fairness-related criteria such as baseline need and deficit severity, vulnerability-targeting effectiveness, minimum service guarantee for the worst-off, and priority for low-accessibility centers. Public acceptance and environmental performance are also included. Stakeholder panels provide expert judgments using intuitionistic fuzzy sets, capturing membership, non-membership, and hesitation to reflect uncertainty. Criteria weights are derived with Intuitionistic Fuzzy Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (IF-SWARA), enabling importance elicitation and group aggregation without forcing crisp consensus. Alternatives are then ranked using Intuitionistic Fuzzy Combined Compromise Solution (IF-CoCoSo), which blends additive and multiplicative compromise solutions to balance overall performance with equity objectives. Robustness is assessed through sensitivity analysis by varying the γ parameter within the IF-CoCoSo procedure. A municipal case study demonstrates that healthcare access improvements achieve the highest compromise performance, followed by flood risk mitigation and seismic retrofitting of public buildings, while smart and energy-efficient municipal assets rank last. The findings confirm that explicitly embedding fairness criteria can shift municipal priorities toward alternatives that more directly reduce deprivation, risk, and spatial inequality. The main contribution of this study is not merely empirical application, but the development of a fairness-aware group MCDM framework that operationalizes distributive justice in municipal investment prioritization through a structured set of criteria. Full article

To advance the Sustainable Development Goals, it is essential to correct imbalances in how the benefits of urban trees are distributed across different demographic and socioeconomic groups. Environmental justice studies have frequently overlooked assumptions regarding the data-generating process and have not considered spatial confounding. This oversight potentially misestimates patterns of inequity. This study evaluates the sensitivity of inequity to model assumptions using urban tree inventories from Málaga and Sevilla and Bayesian hierarchical models. City-level differences dominated the inequity patterns, and model specification influenced the magnitude, precision, and credibility of estimated effects, though directionality remained consistent. Patterns were highly consistent across the four ecosystem services, indicating that model assumptions affected all services equivalently. Málaga and Seville exhibited divergent inequity patterns, indicating that local urban context mediates these relationships. In Seville, inequity patterns were inconsistent with the luxury hypothesis and occurred primarily across age-based demographic strata, whereas in Málaga they manifested predominantly along ethnicity, with weaker evidence of income inequities. We advocate for explicitly modeling spatial data-generating processes and comparing conventional versus confounding-mitigated approaches. This city-specific rigor is essential for urban planners to prevent resource misallocation, ensuring that tree-planting strategies address genuine inequities rather than methodological biases. Full article

Against the backdrop of rapid development in megacities, urban park green spaces serve as essential public resources whose accessibility and equity directly affect residents’ quality of life and broader social justice. This study addresses the imbalance between the spatial distribution of green space resources and the socio-demographic characteristics of different population groups in megacities. It takes the six central districts of Beijing as the study area and integrates data from 457 urban parks. The research applies the Gaussian two-step floating catchment area (G2SFCA) method and bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis (Moran’s I) to systematically evaluate the equity of urban park green space provision across multiple social dimensions, including economic status, educational attainment, and vulnerable groups. The results indicate that urban park green spaces in Beijing’s six central districts exhibit a pronounced central and northern advantage, with significant deficits in southern and peripheral areas. High accessibility and greater per capita green space are concentrated in core and high-housing-price districts, overlapping with high-income and highly educated populations. In contrast, vulnerable groups and migrant workers are more likely to reside in green-space-deficient areas, facing a structural “high population density–low green space provision” disadvantage, reflecting clear social inequities. In addition, inequity is more pronounced at the walking scale than at the cycling scale. The study reveals a dual mismatch in green space provision across both spatial and social dimensions within a megacity context. The findings suggest that future urban planning should shift from quantitative expansion to the optimization of existing green space resources. Planning strategies should prioritize vulnerable groups and adopt a people-oriented approach. Policymakers should allocate greater support to southern and peripheral areas, increase the provision of pocket parks, and improve slow-mobility systems. These measures can more precisely safeguard equitable access to green space for disadvantaged populations and promote the realization of spatial justice. Full article

As urban renewal shifts toward inventory optimization, studentification-driven socio-spatial conflicts in university-adjacent communities have intensified. This study examines Changsha Hexi University Town using structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze residential satisfaction and spatial injustice. Findings reveal that university–community interaction and indoor space perception are primary determinants of satisfaction, highlighting the demand for residential dignity under “spatial squeeze”. Conversely, public resources and social capital exhibit a “decoupling effect” caused by infrastructure “functional alienation” and social fragmentation. A profound “perceptual rift” exists between indigenous owners, facing “spatial deprivation” in resource competition, and student tenants, lacking “spatial dignity” in subdivided units. These tensions are exacerbated by “institutional gating”—where physical openness coexists with administrative restrictions. Consequently, renewal strategies must transcend aesthetics to implement systemic “spatial compensation”. We recommend opening institutional assets, regulating informal rental standards, and establishing collaborative platforms. This research facilitates a paradigm shift from “spatial squeeze” toward “university–community symbiosis”, providing a framework for socio-spatial justice in high-density academic enclaves. Full article

Although care and gender mainstreaming are increasingly recognized as key dimensions of sustainable urban planning, an analysis of their implementation in Mexico reveals the conceptual and material limitations of anthropocentric approaches to care within public space projects. In this article, we argue that ecofeminist and posthumanist perspectives on care help foreground the spatial and environmental dimensions of Everyday Care Environments (ECEs), highlighting ecosystemic interdependencies that remain largely overlooked in research focused on domestic, feminized, and family-based aspects of care work. Through qualitative research based on documentary analysis of local urban planning instruments and gender initiatives in Mexico City (CDMX) in the last 25 years, this article identifies persistent gaps in the integration of care work, safety, mobility, and intersectional perspectives into sustainable urban policy and practice. The findings offer insights for developing planning strategies capable of creating ECE that foster More-than-Human socio-environmental understandings of care, while advancing nature-based and ecosystem-oriented approaches to spatial justice. Full article

Inequity in urban walking resources has been garnering increasing scholarly attention. However, there is still no widely accepted tool for assessing walkability, making results difficult to compare across studies. In addition, the ways in which walkability equity is typically defined and measured often overlook China’s local context. Therefore, this study develops a comprehensive walkability evaluation framework for Kunming’s main urban area using open-source data and census information, synthesizing 15 indicators across five dimensions (connectivity, accessibility, suitability, sociability, and aesthetics) analyzed through the Catastrophe Theory models (CT models). Furthermore, spatial autocorrelation, the Concentration Index (CI), and an interpretable machine learning framework (Random Forest-SHAP) are employed to examine the relationships between community walkability disparities and socio-economic factors for a spatial justice assessment. The results show the following: (1) Community walkability in the main urban area of Kunming exhibits a “core–periphery” spatial distribution pattern, where connectivity, accessibility, and sociability follow the general pattern, while suitability and aesthetics display heterogeneous spatial distributions. (2) The social differentiation characteristics of community walkability in Kunming’s main urban area correlate significantly with age structure, hukou registration, and social status, but show limited association with ethnicity and economic status. These findings challenge Western-centric social differentiation paradigms and underscore the context-specific nature of walkability equity in China, thus providing new perspectives for the understanding of built environment justice in the context of Chinese cities. Full article

Food insecurity is not merely an outcome of individual deprivation but a place-based expression of how urban food systems operate within unequal socio-spatial contexts. Using the Drivers–Pressures–State–Impacts–Responses (DPSIR) framework as a policy-relevant analytical lens, this study examines the Metropolitan Region of Rome to show how structural inequalities and uneven food infrastructures shape exposure to food-related risks. The results show that vulnerability is amplified by food price inflation, the rising cost of a healthy diet, and spatial gaps in retail provision—captured through the combined presence of food deserts and food blackouts—disproportionately affecting peripheral municipalities. State indicators, including the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), the Food Affordability Index (FAI), and the spatial distribution of FEAD beneficiaries, reveal a markedly uneven geography of food poverty, mirroring a higher prevalence of overweight, obesity, and diabetes. These spatial configurations point to obesogenic environments in which constrained affordability and limited accessibility restrict the capacity to maintain healthy diets, generating hidden social and health costs that disproportionately burden peripheral areas. Overall, food insecurity in Rome follows a pronounced centre–periphery gradient rooted in structural and institutional arrangements rather than incidental variation. Addressing this condition requires place-based, justice-oriented interventions that strengthen food infrastructures, improve coordination across governance scales, and place food security at the core of an integrated metropolitan Food Policy. Full article

Adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is widely considered as a crucial step in decarbonizing urban mobility. While access to private ownership of EVs is socially and spatially still highly unequal, shared electric mobility has been suggested as a more accessible alternative. However, access to shared electric mobility is still inequitable; hence, there is a need for practical insights and recommendations for urban policymakers on how to improve this. This study addressed this need with a ‘practice consultation’, comprising 15 in-depth interviews with practice experts from Belgium, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands, on the current state of shared electric mobility, the associated policies and realistic policy options to promote and ensure equitable access. The study revealed not only a diverse offer of shared electric mobility but also the persistence of earlier-identified barriers to equitable access. Current policies focus more on the orderly and safe integration of shared mobility services and improving access to shared mobility more generally. Yet, various recent plans, experiments and pilots with policy options for more equitable access were mentioned. Some options are novel and open up new ways to equitable access, while other already-suggested ones were confirmed as relevant and feasible by practice experts. Full article

Urban street greening structure plays a crucial role in promoting environmental justice and enhancing residents’ daily well-being, yet existing studies have primarily focused on vegetation quantity while neglecting how perception and governance interact to shape fairness. This study develops an integrated analytical framework that combines deep learning, machine learning, and spatial analysis to examine the impact of perceptual experience and socio-economic indicators on the equity of greening structure distribution in urban streets, and to reveal the underlying mechanisms driving this equity. Using DeepLabV3+ semantic segmentation, perception indices derived from street-view imagery, and population-weighted Gini coefficients, the study quantifies both the structural and perceptual dimensions of greening equity. XGBoost regression, SHAP interpretation, and Partial Dependence Plot analysis were applied to reveal the influence mechanism of the “Matthew effect” of perception and the Site governance responsiveness on the fairness of the green structure. The results identify two key findings: (1) perception has a positive driving effect and a negative vicious cycle effect on the formation of fairness, where positive perceptions such as beauty and safety gradually enhance fairness, while negative perceptions such as depression and boredom rapidly intensify inequality; (2) Site management with environmental sensitivity and dynamic mutual feedback to a certain extent determines whether the fairness of urban green structure can persist under pressure, as diverse Tree–Bush–Grass configurations reflect coordinated management and lead to more balanced outcomes. Policy strategies should therefore emphasize perceptual monitoring, flexible maintenance systems, and transparent public participation to achieve resilient and equitable urban street greening structures. Full article

In recent years, the rapid construction of government-subsidized rental housing (GRH) has partially alleviated housing pressures caused by the growing number of migrant workers and persistently high rental costs in Shanghai. However, its overriding emphasis on construction and allocation efficiency neglects the realization of spatial justice, particularly in underdeveloped urban areas. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach to examine all 25 GRHs completed and operational in Shanghai’s Five New Towns, employing morphological characteristics and inherent differences to analyze their impacts on spatial justice. First, this study integrates urban functions and spatial justice elements to establish a systematic classification framework and an evaluative system for GRH, and then assesses the achievement of spatial justice across existing projects. Subsequently, morphological analysis is employed to examine how GRHs shape the socio-spatial context of new towns, thereby assessing their role in reinforcing or undermining spatial justice. Finally, this study establishes data logic between typological factors and morphological characteristics and analyzes the inherent differences among various types of GRH by using Fisher’s exact test. The results reveal that although the existing GRHs are situated in different urban geospatial contexts, they exhibit a severe homogenization phenomenon in terms of construction modality, planning layout, and community boundary, with only the residential scale showing inherent differences. The research findings highlight a systematic neglect of spatial justice in the current GRH development paradigm and reveal the underlying causes. This study contributes to the discourse on spatial justice in GRH development by broadening its dimensions, and it provides valuable insights for promoting the realization of spatial justice through multi-tiered policy framework, place-making design strategy, and a joint operation model. Full article

Contemporary cities constitute both the primary site where the climate crisis manifests its most evident impacts and the privileged laboratory for testing strategies of adaptation and resilience. However, the growing emphasis on “climate neutrality” policies risks obscuring the social dimension of urban regeneration processes, thus generating new imbalances and forms of exclusion. This paper offers a critical reflection on the role of urban planning beyond climate neutrality, reorienting it towards a perspective of climate justice capable of integrating ecological transition goals with those of social and territorial cohesion. The research adopts a mixed-method approach, combining theoretical and documentary analysis with empirical case comparison, to investigate the relationship among urban regeneration, urban welfare, and spatial inequalities. The study aims to identify strategies for preventing climate gentrification, a phenomenon in which adaptation and mitigation measures—if not accompanied by adequate redistributive mechanisms—produce socio-spatial displacement effects that exclude the most vulnerable communities from the environmental benefits generated. The comparative analysis of two international case studies—Little Haiti (Miami) and the Green Corridors of Medellín (Colombia)—reveals two contrasting trajectories of the ecological transition: a regressive one, driven by market logics and real-estate valorization, and a progressive one, grounded in principles of equity, participation, and inclusive distribution of environmental benefits. Full article

Rapid urbanization has increased private vehicle usage, generating intense parking demand in congested cities like Shiraz, Iran. The spatial distribution of parking is thus critical to sustainable urban transport, as a misalignment with local demand leads to prolonged travel times, higher fuel consumption costs, and elevated pollution, thereby impeding sustainable transportation planning. In this study, we aim to develop a statistical framework to assess equity in parking distribution in an urban context and address two core questions: how parking supply correlates with local demand and what the equity implications of this distribution are. To achieve this, we employ spatial statistical methods (ANNI, Kernel Density, and Moran’s I) and correlation analysis to examine parking supply and demand across 56 districts of Shiraz. Our analysis reveals statistically significant yet weak correlations between parking capacity and demand, indicating supply-demand mismatches across city zones that result in extended search times, increased congestion, higher fuel consumption, and amplified environmental impacts, thereby perpetuating socio-economic inequities. Overall, the innovation of this article lies in integrating spatial statistical methods with supplementary analyses as a framework to evaluate parking distribution, bridging the gap between quantitative descriptive analysis and justice-based assessments in the context of parking planning in an Iranian city. Full article