Search Results (354)

Amidst the paradigm shift in park city development from quantitative metrics to spatial performance, urban complex parks—a novel green space type developed privately yet fulfilling public functions—present an innovative approach to park provision in high-density urban areas. However, systematic empirical evidence on their social value remains scarce. This study characterizes urban complex parks as a new form of green public space that provides key ecosystem services and proposes a three-dimensional evaluation framework integrating “usage vitality, place attractiveness, and user satisfaction.” Analyzing 19 park-equipped complexes among 75 cases in Shanghai using LBS data and online reviews through controlled linear regression and comparative analysis, our results indicate complexes with parks were associated with significantly outperforming others in place attractiveness and user satisfaction. Key findings include associations with a 413.7 m increase in average OD distance, a 3.4–4.0% higher city-level visitor share, and 5.24 percentage points greater median positive review rate. Crucially, spatial location outweighs green ratio and size in determining social value. Ground-level parks, through superior spatial integration, function as effective “social-ecological interfaces,” significantly outperforming rooftop parks in attracting long-distance visitors, stabilizing foot traffic (≈3% lower fluctuation), and enhancing per-store visitation. This demonstrates that green space quality (experiential quality and spatial configuration) matters more than quantity. Our findings suggest that urban complex parks can create social value through perceivable naturalness and restorative environments, providing an empirical basis for optimizing park city implementation in high-density contexts and highlighting the need to reconcile broad attractiveness with equitable local access. Full article

The Space–Air–Ground Integrated Network (SAGIN), a core architecture for 6G, faces formidable routing challenges stemming from its high-dynamic topological evolution and strong heterogeneous resource characteristics. Traditional protocols like OSPF suffer from excessive convergence latency due to frequent topology updates, while existing intelligent methods such as DQN remain confined to a passive reactive decision-making paradigm, failing to leverage spatiotemporal predictability of network dynamics. To address these gaps, this study proposes an adaptive routing algorithm (GCN-T-PPO) integrating a GCN-Transformer hybrid encoder, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) with spatiotemporal attention. Specifically, the GCN-Transformer encoder captures spatial topological dependencies and long-term temporal traffic evolution, with PSO optimizing hyperparameters to enhance prediction accuracy. The PPO agent makes proactive routing decisions based on predicted network states (next K time steps) to adapt to both topological and traffic dynamics. Extensive simulations on real dataset-parameterized environments (CelesTrak TLE data, CAIDA 100G traffic statistics, CRAWDAD UAV mobility models) demonstrate that under 80% high load and bursty Pareto traffic, GCN-T-PPO reduces end-to-end latency by 42.4% and packet loss rate by 75.6%, while improving QoS satisfaction rate by 36.9% compared to DQN. It also outperforms SOTA baselines including OSPF, DDPG, D2-RMRL, and Graph-Mamba. Ablation studies validate the statistical significance (p < 0.05) of key components, confirming the synergistic gains from spatiotemporal joint modeling and proactive decision-making. This work advances SAGIN routing from passive response to active prediction, significantly enhancing network stability, resource utilization efficiency, and QoS guarantees, providing an innovative solution for 6G global seamless coverage and intelligent connectivity. Full article

Mental health services have an interest in maintaining psychosocial safety for consumers, carers, and staff alike. While much discussion around safety in service delivery pertains to the likelihood of patients engaging in damaging behaviours, we take the position that community attitudes towards safety offer more expansive, relational, and spatial definitions of safety. In a survey consisting of a mix of open and closed questions of 279 Australians aged 16–87 years, participants were asked to comment on their experiences of safety and unsafety in emergency mental health service use, as well as what they consider to be a safe or unsafe service. Applying a thematic analysis to the data, findings showed that emergency departments are not safe or appropriate for mental health consumers. Participants had heterogenous but largely consistent ideas about what made a service safe. Elements of safety mentioned by participants included a therapeutic orientation to time; service predictability; sensory dimensions of safety; and feeling understood. For some participants, notions of safety and unsafety dictated not only their satisfaction with services but overall likelihood of service use, thereby emphasising the critical importance of community attitudes towards safety in service design and delivery. Full article

Background/Objectives: Augmented Reality (AR) is promising in dental education, yet its impact on caries detection training remains underexplored. This study aimed to compare the effect of a web-based AR (WebAR) learning object with a content- and interface-matched interactive 2D presentation on undergraduate students’ motivation to learn caries detection. Methods: Two learning objects were expressly designed using a real patient’s dental records: a WebAR image-tracking experience (built with Zapworks Studio^®) and a 2D interactive presentation (built with Genially^®). The WebAR object showed the patient’s 3D dental arches with tooth-level hotspots linking clinical and radiographic media. The 2D comparator mirrored the same assets and navigation, restricting visualization to 2D. Third-year dental students were randomly assigned to either the AR or Genially^® (G) group. After completing ICDAS-based caries identification, participants completed the 12-item Reduced Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (RIMMS) and provided open-ended feedback. Group differences were tested with the Mann–Whitney U test (p < 0.05). Results: Eighty-five students completed the study (AR n = 46; G n = 39). The AR group achieved a higher total RIMMS score (4.14 vs. 3.53 on a 5-point scale; p < 0.001), with significantly higher means in Attention, Confidence, Satisfaction, and Relevance (p < 0.05). Open-ended comments were more positive with AR (75.8% vs. 31.0%), while graphics-related complaints were more frequent with the Genially^® resource (34.5% vs. 75.0%). Conclusions: WebAR achieved higher RIMMS motivation scores than a content-matched interactive presentation. Adding 3D spatial interaction to otherwise equivalent materials can enhance learners’ motivation for caries detection training, while remaining low-cost and scalable. Full article

Nature bonding (NB), alongside place identity and place dependence, is among the most frequently discussed and empirically validated contributing factors of place attachment (PA) within urban environments. While PA has been extensively studied through its psychological, personal, and spatial dimensions, the specific contribution of NB across these dimensions and spatial scales remains insufficiently understood. To address this gap, this study aims to demonstrate the importance of NB in fostering PA by highlighting the need for spatially sensitive urban planning that integrates natural elements across scales to enhance community satisfaction and well-being. Elmwood Village in Buffalo, New York, recognized as one of the top ten most livable American neighborhoods and part of the historic Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parkway system was chosen as a case study. A three-stage investigation was conducted using survey data. First, the three dimensions of PA—place, person, and psychology—were identified. Second, NB was categorized into three levels: attachment, enjoyment, and oneness with nature. Third, the variability of these bonds across three spatial scales—building, street, and neighborhood—was tested to assess their spatial relevance. The findings reveal that the strength and form of NB differ significantly across spatial contexts, shaping how individuals emotionally and behaviorally connect to urban places. By integrating NB into the spatial understanding of PA, this research provides a framework for urban designers and environmental psychologists to better interpret and enhance human–nature relations in the built environment. Full article

This study examines spatial patterns and self-reported user experiences within the Balkan Campus of Trakya University as a single, context-specific case. The aim is to describe how campus-scale spatial configuration and user perceptions appear within this setting, without pursuing broader generalization. Methods: Space Syntax metrics (integration, connectivity, visibility) and a cross-sectional survey were used to document campus-level spatial characteristics and participants’ experiences. Spatial measures were not matched to individual movement paths; thus, all patterns reflect descriptive co-occurrences rather than causal or generalizable relationships. Results: The campus displayed a center–periphery structure shaped by its historical and linear development. Higher integration, connectivity, and visibility values occurred in areas respondents described as either clear or unclear for navigation, showing context-specific overlaps between spatial structure and perception. Regression analyses indicated associations between user satisfaction and wayfinding difficulty, availability of social spaces, and cleanliness–hygiene conditions. Positive evaluations appeared to occur somewhat more often near social and green areas, consistent with observations in previous campus-based studies but only within this site. Conclusions: All findings are limited to the physical and institutional characteristics of the Balkan Campus. The study provides a strictly context-bound, exploratory description of how spatial configuration and reported experiences appear within this single campus setting. Full article

China’s urban development model has shifted from incremental expansion to inventory quality improvement. The demand for planning and allocation of spatial resources has moved from “having or not having” to “being good or not”, and the importance of planning, implementation, evaluation, and feedback in urban spatial planning and construction has gradually increased. How to accurately allocate resources in response to the public’s demands for urban construction and effectively enhance the public’s satisfaction and sense of gain regarding urban construction has become an important issue in current planning decisions. To strengthen public perception and feedback in spatial planning governance, this paper conducts empirical research on methods such as the subjective and objective perception differences of urban public service facilities by using the social satisfaction survey data from the East Lake High-tech Development Zone of Wuhan. Thereby, it identifies the characteristics of subjective and objective perception differences of urban public service facilities and puts forward targeted optimization methods for planning decisions. This paper can provide a reference for the precision planning and decision-making of public service facilities in the next step. Full article

Public spaces in peri-urban towns are becoming key focal points of urban regeneration in China due to their geographic advantages, resource endowments, and diverse populations. Substantial investments have been made to improve residents’ living environments and well-being. As over-commercialized urban centers increasingly face congestion and homogenization, the distinctive landscapes and authentic everyday life of peri-urban towns are attracting growing attention from tourists. Understanding both residents’ and visitors’ perceptions of these public spaces is therefore essential for successful regeneration. This study examines Nanquan Street, which lies ina peri-urban heritage town in Wuxi, Jiangnan region, China. Drawing on user-generated content from major Chinese social media platforms (Xiaohongshu and Dianping) and field observations guided by the AEIOU framework, a three-stage grounded theory approach was employed to identify the key factors influencing user satisfaction. The analysis identified twelve sub-dimensions grouped into three overarching categories: foundational preconditions, social developmental factors, and spatial-operational factors, which collectively shape sustained satisfaction in Peri-urban heritage towns. By translating the satisfaction model into sustainable design strategies, this study proposes a set of renewal pathways applicable not only to Nanquan Street but also to similar peri-urban towns facing comparable challenges. Emphasizing multi-user experience, low-intervention strategies, and contextual adaptability, this research contributes to theoretical understandings of sustainable renewal in peri-urban towns. It provides actionable guidance for balancing everyday life, cultural heritage, and sustainable tourism development. Full article

This study evaluates the spatial equity of community parks in Al-Khobar City, Saudi Arabia, by examining their proximity, availability, distribution, accessibility, and user satisfaction. Ensuring equitable access to public open spaces is vital for promoting urban liveability and achieving the sustainability objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. A mixed-methods approach integrating Geographic Information System (GIS)-based spatial analysis with a structured user survey was applied. GIS was used to map park locations, calculate per capita green space, and assess accessibility within a 500 m walking radius, while survey data from 300 respondents captured user satisfaction and perceptions of community park dimensions and indicators. The results reveal pronounced spatial disparities across neighbourhoods, with more than twenty areas lacking any park access and several others falling below the 5 m² per capita standard. In contrast, centrally located neighbourhoods demonstrate adequate provision and higher satisfaction levels. These findings indicate a fragmented and inequitable park distribution that limits community well-being and social inclusion. The study concludes that integrating GIS-based evidence with community feedback can inform data-driven planning policies and promote equitable, accessible, and sustainable community parks. The proposed framework offers a replicable model for assessing urban green space equity in other Saudi and Middle Eastern cities. Full article

Amid urbanization, historic districts serve as key carriers of urban cultural memory, confronting dual challenges of integrating tradition with modernity and balancing cultural inheritance with spatial renewal. Enhancing residents’ satisfaction with cultural spaces is crucial for improving their quality of life and promoting the sustainable development of urban culture. However, existing research lacks systematic analysis of the intrinsic relationship between residents’ needs and spatial satisfaction, focusing on holistic conservation or spatial design. Using ERG Theory and taking Longweiguan Historic and Cultural District in Dali, China, as the case, this study explores how residents’ needs and cultural space satisfaction interact via theoretical construction and empirical analysis. It establishes a 20-index satisfaction evaluation system, adopting field surveys, in-depth interviews and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for quantitative analysis. Findings: (1) Residents reported moderate-to-high overall satisfaction with cultural spaces, where relatedness needs demonstrated the most significant impact on satisfaction, while growth needs scored lowest. (2) Existence needs directly affect satisfaction through basic elements like spatial safety and indirectly strengthen relatedness needs. (3) Cultural industry spaces hinder satisfaction due to disconnected innovation and resident participation. Thus, a “safety–social interaction–innovation” strategy is proposed to support the living conservation and sustainable development of historic districts. Full article

Urban street sweeping infrastructure plays a critical role in municipal solid waste management by mitigating particulate matter resuspension and preventing contaminant mobilization into water bodies, thereby supporting public health and environmental sustainability. The primary objective of this study is to develop a dynamic evaluation model for urban street sweeping services in four localities of Bogotá, Colombia. Operating system variables are integrated with citizens’ perceptions to capture their coupled socio-environmental behavior. The methodology comprised four phases: a global literature review, a citizen-perception survey, the development of a dynamic simulation model integrating perceptions, and a statistical analysis of all collected data. The results demonstrate that technical efficiency in street sweeping operations, measured through the street cleanliness index, is insufficient to ensure service sustainability without incorporating citizen perception metrics. The model reveals that geometric, spatial, and climatic factors reduce the street cleanliness index by up to 100%, highlighting infrastructure vulnerability to external conditions. Model validation exposes a critical gap between operational cleanliness and citizen perception, with decreases of up to 64.2% in comprehensive service evaluation. The inclusion of perception indicators (Cronbach’s α = 0.770) underscores the significance of variables such as service punctuality and personnel attitude in determining citizen satisfaction and overall service assessment. The dynamic model constitutes a robust decision-support tool for optimizing resource allocation, mitigating socio-environmental impacts, and strengthening institutional legitimacy in urban infrastructure maintenance. Nevertheless, limitations in representing external factors (informal commerce and illegally parked vehicles) and spatial heterogeneity in cleanliness indices suggest future research directions incorporating stochastic modeling approaches and longitudinal studies on citizen perception dynamics. Full article

The urban street environment strongly influences pedestrian satisfaction, with visual perception elements playing a pivotal role. Historic districts serve not only as carriers of urban culture but also as key tourism resources, where spatial quality directly shapes visitor experience and city image. This study takes the Shenyang Fangcheng historic district as a case, combining field surveys and questionnaires to gather pedestrian satisfaction data, while applying semantic segmentation of street imagery to quantify visual elements. Using correlation analysis and multiple regression models, the research systematically reveals relationships and mechanisms linking visual elements with pedestrian satisfaction. Results show that an increase in landmark buildings and landscape features enhances legibility and attractiveness; optimizing spatial configuration improves openness and walking comfort; and reducing vehicle presence strengthens perceived safety and overall experiential quality. By integrating subjective perceptions with objective visual indicators, this study offers empirical evidence and methodological innovation to support enhancement of walkability and promote human-centered street design in historic districts. Full article

With the acceleration of urbanization, urban renewal and the renovation of old residential communities have become important measures to enhance the quality of cities and improve the living conditions of residents. How to scientifically identify and evaluate the environmental factors of public spaces and their impacts from the perspective of residents’ demands and satisfaction remains an important issue that urgently needs to be addressed in the current research field. This research takes the urban renewal project in Tiantuo Area, Nankai District, Tianjin, as an example by using questionnaire surveys, PLS-SEM and IPMA, and other multivariate statistical analysis methods to systematically explore the influence mechanism factors such as space accessibility, spatial usability, spatial maintainability, environmental comfort, and site safety on residents’ satisfaction. These findings reveal the following: (1) Space Accessibility has a significant direct positive impact on residents’ satisfaction. (2) Emotional Perception plays a complete mediating role in the relationship between Site Safety and residents’ satisfaction. (3) Emotional Perception has a complementary mediating effect in the relationship between Space Usability, Space Maintainability, Environmental Comfort, and Resident Satisfaction. (4) The renovation of old urban residential communities should give priority to improving space maintainability, especially focusing on the green landscape maintenance status, life-supporting infrastructure maintenance degree, and the maintenance status of entertainment and fitness facilities. Secondly, the space accessibility should be optimized and improved. In the future, in terms of the Physical Space, we should focus on the rationality of road network layout and strengthen the maintenance and management of public facilities. In terms of the Perceptional Space, the flatness of pavement should be optimized and the construction of security systems should be strengthened. In terms of the Psychological Status, a multi-party resident participation mechanism can be established to encourage residents to participate in the decision-making and construction of community public affair. As has been noted, this research quantitatively analyzed the key factors influencing residents’ satisfaction and their respective impact intensities and proposed prioritized and targeted optimization strategies for the existing situation. The research results are expected to provide a theoretical basis and practical decision-making reference for the optimization of public space environmental quality. Full article

Background: The implementation of effective, non-pharmacological interventions for enhancing cognitive function is a critical area of research. This pilot study evaluates the usability, feasibility, and acceptance of two novel immersive virtual reality (IVR) memory tasks designed for cognitive training. Materials and Methods: Thirty-three healthy young volunteers (mean age 20 ± 1.5 years) participated in a single session that included two IVR tasks: a “Virtual Face Name Memory Task” for long-term associative memory and a “Virtual Object Location Memory Task” for visuo-spatial working memory. The session, lasting approximately 30 min, was conducted using a Meta Quest 2 headset. To evaluate usability and feasibility, several standardized questionnaires were administered, including the User Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire, NASA Task Load Index, User Experience Questionnaire, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, and System Usability Scale. Cognitive performance was measured through accuracy rates and the number of tasks completed. Results: Questionnaire results revealed an overwhelmingly positive user experience and high usability. Participants reported low frustration and a minimal incidence of cybersickness, confirming the procedure’s feasibility. Performance-wise, participants demonstrated high accuracy in immediate associative memory tasks (names: 80%, occupations: 95%) and visuospatial working memory tasks (change detection: 88–92%, localization: 90–95%). Associative memory performance declined after a 10 min delay (names: 49%, occupations: 59%) but improved significantly in the delayed recognition task (names: 76%, occupations: 88%). Conclusions: This pilot study provides compelling preliminary evidence for the usability and feasibility of two novel IVR memory tasks for cognitive training. The positive user experience, minimal cybersickness, and low frustration ratings indicate that the procedure is a feasible and engaging tool for cognitive intervention. Full article

Industrial tourism has become an increasingly important means of promoting corporate identity and fostering public engagement, yet many factory tours suffer from fragmented layouts, congestion, and low visitor engagement. This study addresses these challenges by developing a hybrid framework that integrates expert-driven spatial zoning with bottom-up visitor analytics. Using an optical lens manufacturer in Taiwan as a case study, we applied a three-step process: (1) Delphi-based zoning of key subareas into functional zones, (2) empirical analysis of visitor movement, feedback, and shadowing data, and (3) computational spatial evaluation through Visibility Graph Analysis (VGA). The findings revealed thematic inconsistencies, overlooked exhibits, and bottlenecks that disrupted narrative flow and reduced engagement. Spatial reorganization—such as relocating interactive subareas to visually integrated zones—enhanced circulation, storytelling alignment, and experiential coherence. A complementary service blueprint linked spatial redesign to operational delivery, ensuring consistency between frontstage activities and backstage support. The data-driven spatial analytics validated the effectiveness of this study’s hybrid approach—combining expert-driven insights with grounded visitor behavior data—to optimize factory tours. Spatial efficiency contributes to reduced energy use and congestion, participatory experiences enhance education and inclusivity, and improved visitor satisfaction strengthens brand resilience and economic viability. The framework thus provides a replicable and sustainable model for industrial tourism development across diverse manufacturing sectors. Full article