Search Results (782)

As urbanization processes are no longer characterized by simple linear expansion but exhibit leaping, edge-sparse, and discontinuous features, spatiotemporally continuous impervious surface coverage data are needed to better characterize urbanization processes. This study utilized GAIA impervious surface binary data and employed spatiotemporal aggregation methods to convert thirty years of 30 m resolution data into 1 km resolution spatiotemporal impervious surface coverage data, constructing a long-term time series annual impervious surface coverage dataset for the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. Based on this dataset, we analyzed urban expansion processes and landscape pattern indices in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, exploring the spatiotemporal response relationships of ecological environment changes. Results revealed that the impervious surface area increased dramatically from 7579.3 km² in 1985 to 37,484.0 km² in 2020, representing a year-on-year growth of 88.5%. Urban expansion rates showed two distinct peaks: 800 km²/year around 1990 and approximately 1700 km²/year during 2010–2015. In high-density urbanized areas with impervious surfaces, the average forest area significantly increased from approximately 2500 km² to 7000 km² during 1985–2005 before rapidly declining, grassland patch fragmentation intensified, while in low-density areas, grassland area showed fluctuating decline with poor ecosystem stability. Furthermore, by incorporating natural and social factors such as Fractional Vegetation Coverage (FVC), Habitat Quality Index (HQI), Land Surface Temperature (LST), slope, and population density, we assessed the vulnerability of urbanization development in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. Results showed that high vulnerability areas (EVI > 0.5) in the Beijing–Tianjin core region continue to expand, while the proportion of low vulnerability areas (EVI < 0.25) in the northern mountainous regions decreased by 4.2% in 2020 compared to 2005. This study provides scientific support for the sustainable development of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration, suggesting location-specific and differentiated regulation of urbanization processes to reduce ecological risks. Full article

Simulation has become a pivotal tool in the design, analysis, and optimization of the built environment, and has been widely adopted by professionals in architecture, engineering, and urban planning. These techniques enable stakeholders to test hypotheses, evaluate design alternatives, and predict performance outcomes prior to construction. Applications span energy consumption, airflow, thermal comfort, lighting, structural behavior, and human interactions within buildings and urban contexts. This study maps the scientific landscape of simulation research in the built environment through a bibliometric analysis of 12,220 publications indexed in Scopus. Using VOSviewer 1.6.20, it conducted citation and keyword co-occurrence analyses to identify key research themes, leading countries and journals, and central publications in the field. The analysis revealed seven primary thematic clusters: (1) human-focused simulation, (2) building-scale energy performance simulation, (3) urban-scale energy performance simulation, (4) sustainable design and simulation, (5) indoor environmental quality simulation, (6) building aerodynamics simulation, and (7) computing in building simulation. By synthesizing these trends and domains, this study provides an overview of the field, facilitating greater accessibility to the simulation literature and informing future interdisciplinary research and practice in the built environment. Full article

High-quality green gardens can markedly enhance the quality of life and mental well-being of their users. However, health and lifestyle constraints make it difficult for people to enjoy urban gardens, and traditional methods struggle to offer the high-fidelity experiences they need. This study introduces a 3D scene reconstruction and rendering strategy based on implicit neural representation through the efficient and removable neural radiation fields model (NeRF-RE). Leveraging neural radiance fields (NeRF), the model incorporates a multi-resolution hash grid and proposal network to improve training efficiency and modeling accuracy, while integrating a segment-anything model to safeguard public privacy. Take the crabapple tree, extensively utilized in urban garden design across temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. A dataset comprising 660 images of crabapple trees exhibiting three distinct geometric forms is collected to assess the NeRF-RE model’s performance. The results demonstrated that the ‘harvest gold’ crabapple scene had the highest reconstruction accuracy, with PSNR, LPIPS and SSIM of 24.80 dB, 0.34 and 0.74, respectively. Compared to the Mip-NeRF 360 model, the NeRF-RE model not only showed an up to 21-fold increase in training efficiency for three types of crabapple trees, but also exhibited a less pronounced impact of dataset size on reconstruction accuracy. This study reconstructs real scenes with high fidelity using virtual reality technology. It not only facilitates people’s personal enjoyment of the beauty of natural gardens at home, but also makes certain contributions to the publicity and promotion of urban landscapes. Full article

Dark skies, a vital natural and cultural resource, have been increasingly threatened by light pollution due to rapid urbanization, leading to ecological degradation and biodiversity loss. As a key strategy for sustainable regional development, dark sky parks (DSPs) not only preserve nocturnal environments but also enhance livability by balancing urban expansion and ecological conservation. This study develops a novel framework for evaluating DSP suitability, integrating ecological and socio-economic dimensions, including the resource base (e.g., nighttime light levels, meteorological conditions, and air quality) and development conditions (e.g., population density, transportation accessibility, and tourism infrastructure). Using the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as a case study, we employ Delphi expert consultation, GIS spatial analysis, and multi-criteria decision-making to identify optimal DSP locations and prioritize conservation zones. Our key findings reveal the following: (1) spatial heterogeneity in suitability, with high-potential zones being concentrated in the GBA’s northeastern, central–western, and southern regions; (2) ecosystem advantages of forests, wetlands, and high-elevation areas for minimizing light pollution; (3) coastal and island regions as ideal DSP sites due to the low light interference and high ecotourism potential. By bridging environmental assessments and spatial planning, this study provides a replicable model for DSP site selection, offering policymakers actionable insights to integrate dark sky preservation into sustainable urban–regional development strategies. Our results underscore the importance of DSPs in fostering ecological resilience, nighttime tourism, and regional livability, contributing to the broader discourse on sustainable landscape planning in high-urbanization contexts. Full article

The research is grounded in the perspective of urban historical landscape (HUL), exploring the connections between cultural heritage and a broader urban context, as well as the general public and communities. It also focuses on small cultural heritage sites (SCHSs) in urban areas that have been overlooked in previous studies. By integrating various types of data, an assessment framework and methodology comprising six dimensions and 24 indicators were established and applied to the empirical research of 30 SCHSs in the Beijing section of the Grand Canal. The empirical research demonstrated the operability, effectiveness, and flexibility of the HUL assessment for SCHSs. The research findings are as follows. (1) The method provides differentiated recommendations for the formulation of tailored policies and planning management schemes based on heritage types, conservation levels, and the urban districts in which they are located. (2) The comprehensive quality of the open spaces where SCHSs are situated is critical for the cognition of the general public and community residents. (3) The overall conservation of the community areas containing SCHSs is highly significant, and the linkage between social development levels and cultural resources enhances public cognition of the SCHSs. (4) Cluster analysis offers guidance for the refined improvement of different SCHSs. The research aims to establish an action-oriented assessment framework, with a dimensional framework responding to the requirements of HULs and allowing for indicator flexibility. This study is significant for supporting the conservation and utilization of SCHSs in urban areas and for promoting their sustainable development. Full article

Air pollution monitoring in ungauged zones presents unique challenges yet remains critical for understanding environmental health impacts and socioeconomic dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean region. This study investigates air pollution patterns in northwestern Syria during 2019–2024, analyzing NO₂ and CO concentrations using Sentinel-5P TROPOMI satellite data processed through Google Earth Engine. Monthly concentration averages were examined across eight key locations using linear regression analysis to determine temporal trends, with Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients calculated between pollutant levels and five meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation) to determine the influence of political governance, economic conditions, and environmental sustainability factors on pollution dynamics. Quality assurance filtering retained only measurements with values ≥ 0.75, and statistical significance was assessed at a p < 0.05 level. The findings reveal distinctive spatiotemporal patterns that reflect the region’s complex political-economic landscape. NO₂ concentrations exhibited clear political signatures, with opposition-controlled territories showing upward trends (Al-Rai: 6.18 × 10⁻⁸ mol/m²) and weak correlations with climatic variables (<0.20), indicating consistent industrial operations. In contrast, government-controlled areas demonstrated significant downward trends (Hessia: −2.6 × 10⁻⁷ mol/m²) with stronger climate–pollutant correlations (0.30–0.45), reflecting the impact of economic sanctions on industrial activities. CO concentrations showed uniform downward trends across all locations regardless of political control. This study contributes significantly to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), providing critical baseline data for SDG 3 (Health and Well-being), mapping urban pollution hotspots for SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities), demonstrating climate–pollution correlations for SDG 13 (Climate Action), revealing governance impacts on environmental patterns for SDG 16 (Peace and Justice), and developing transferable methodologies for SDG 17 (Partnerships). These findings underscore the importance of incorporating environmental safeguards into post-conflict reconstruction planning to ensure sustainable development. Full article

Urban green spaces are increasingly recognized as important habitats for pollinators, and wildflower seed mixes marketed as pollinator-friendly are gaining popularity, though their actual conservation value remains poorly understood. This study provides the first systematic screening of commercially available seed mixes in Portugal, evaluating their taxonomic composition, origin, life cycle traits, and potential to support pollinator communities. A total of 229 seed mixes were identified. Although these have a predominance of native species (median 86%), the taxonomic diversity was limited, with 91% of mixes comprising species from only one or two families, predominantly Poaceae and Fabaceae, potentially restricting the range of floral resources available to pollinators. Only 21 seed mixes met the criteria for being pollinator-friendly, based on a three-step decision tree prioritizing native species, extended flowering periods, and visual diversity. These showed the highest percentage of native species (median 87%) and a greater representation of flowering plants. However, 76% of all mixes still included at least one non-native species, although none is considered invasive. Perennial species dominated all seed mix types, indicating the potential for the long-term persistence of wildflower meadows in urban spaces. Despite their promise, the ecological quality and transparency of the seed mix composition remain inconsistent, with limited certification or information on species origin. This highlights the need for clearer labeling, regulatory guidance, and ecologically informed formulations. Seed mixes, if properly designed and implemented, represent a largely untapped yet cost-effective tool for enhancing the pollinator habitats and biodiversity within urban landscapes. Full article

Urban parks are an important component of public urban spaces, which directly impact the living experiences of residents and the urban image. High-quality urban parks are crucial for enhancing the well-being of residents. This study selected Fukuoka, Japan, as the study site. Five urban parks were chosen to evaluate landscape visual quality by using the Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) method. The Semantic Differential (SD) method was used to get sample subjective landscape features. Meanwhile, sample objective landscape features were obtained by using semantic segmentation techniques in deep learning and combined with spatial analysis to understand their distribution. A regression model was established, which used the SBE values as the dependent variable and subjective landscape features as the independent variables to analyze the relationship between urban park landscape visual quality and subjective landscape features. The regression analysis revealed that sense of layering, harmony, interestingness, sense of order, and vitality were the core factors influencing visual quality. All five features had a significant positive impact on landscape visual quality. The sense of order was the most influential factor, which would be the key to enhancing the landscape perception experience. Moreover, the XGBoost model and SHAP value from machine learning were used to reveal the nonlinear relationships and significant threshold effects between urban park visual quality and five objective landscape features: openness, greenness, enclosure, vegetation diversity, and Shannon–Wiener diversity index. This study showed that when openness exceeded 0.27, the positive effect was significant. The optimal threshold for the greenness was 0.38. Vegetation diversity and enclosure had to be below 0.82 and 0.58, respectively, to have a positive impact. Meanwhile, the positive influence of the Shannon–Wiener diversity index reached its maximum at a value of 1.37. This study not only establishes a systematic method for diagnosing landscape problems and evaluating landscape visual quality but also provides both theoretical support and practical guidance for urban park landscape optimization. Full article

Agroecological transitions in collective urban gardens in Toulouse region were studied through the prism of global health (2011–2022). The specific meaning of “global health” in the context of urban gardens concerns the health of gardeners (well-being and physical health), plants, soil, and animals, as well as the interactions between humans and non-humans, which are crucial for gardeners. A sociotechnical research project was developed on four different collective gardening sites, consisting of the following: 1. surveys issued to 100 garden stakeholders to highlight issues and practices, participation in meetings with the social centers in charge of events, and focus groups; 2. participative agronomic and environmental measurements and field observations, including soil quality analyses; and 3. analysis of the available documentary corpus. In order to produce the results, these three research methods (surveys, agronomy, document analysis) were combined through a transdisciplinary approach, in that both the field experimentation outcomes and retrieved scientific publications and technical documents informed the discussions with gardeners. Consideration of the four different sites enabled the exploration of various contextual factors—such as soil or air quality—affecting the production of vegetables. A rise in the concerns of gardeners about the impacts of their activities on global health was observed, including aspects such as creating and enjoying landscapes, taking care of the soil and biodiversity, developing social connections through the transmission of practices, and regular outside physical activity and healthier eating. The increased consideration for global health issues by all stakeholders promotes the implementation of agroecological practices in gardens to improve biodiversity and adherence to circular economy principles. Four concepts emerged from the interviews: health, production of vegetables, living soil, and social interactions. Notably, nuances between the studied sites were observed, according to their history, environment, and organization. These collective gardens can thus be considered as accessible laboratories for social and agroecological experimentation, being areas that can strongly contribute to urban ecosystem services. Full article

Land requirements and impacts from future development are a significant concern throughout the world. In Florida (USA), the state’s population increased from 18.8 M to 21.5 M between 2010 and 2020, and is projected to reach 26.6 M by 2040. To accommodate these new residents, 801 km² of wetlands were converted to developed uses between 1996 and 2016. These conversions present a significant threat to Florida’s unique ecosystems and highlight the need to prioritize conservation and water resource protection, both for the natural and human services that wetland and upland landscapes provide. To better understand the relationship between future development and water resources, we used future development and event mean concentration (EMC) models for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida (USA) to assess impacts from development patterns on water quality/runoff and water resource protection priorities. This study found that if future development densities increased by 30%, reductions of 7713 acres for developed land, 17,768 acre feet of stormwater volume, ~88k lb/yr total nitrogen, and ~15k lb/yr total phosphorus could be achieved. It also found that urban infill, redevelopment, and stormwater management are essential and complementary tools to broader growth management strategies for reducing sprawl while also addressing urban stormwater impacts. Full article

Understanding how people perceive urban streetscapes is essential for enhancing the visual quality of the urban environment and optimizing street space design. While perceptions are shaped by the interplay of multiple visual elements, existing studies often isolate single semantic features, overlooking their combinations. This study proposes a Landscape Element Combination Extraction Method (SLECEM), which integrates the UniSal saliency detection model and semantic segmentation to identify landscape combinations that play a dominant role in human perceptions of streetscapes. Using street view images (SVIs) from the central area of Futian District, Shenzhen, China, we further construct a multi-dimensional feature–perception coupling analysis framework. The key findings are as follows: 1. Both low-level visual features (e.g., color, contrast, fractal dimension) and high-level semantic features (e.g., tree, sky, and building proportions) significantly influence streetscape perceptions, with strong nonlinear effects from the latter. 2. K-Means clustering of salient landscape element combinations reveals six distinct streetscape types and perception patterns. 3. Combinations of landscape features better reflect holistic human perception than single variables. 4. Tailored urban design strategies are proposed for different streetscape perception goals (e.g., beauty, safety, and liveliness). Overall, this study deepens the understanding of streetscape perception mechanisms and proposes a highly operational quantitative framework, offering systematic theoretical guidance and methodological tools to enhance the responsiveness and sustainability of urban streetscapes. Full article

A key challenge is how to effectively conserve habitats and biodiversity amid widespread habitat fragmentation and loss caused by global urbanization. Despite growing attention to this issue, knowledge of the seasonal dynamics of habitats remains limited, and conservation gaps are still inadequately identified. This study proposes a novel integrated framework, “Habitat Suitability–Risk–Quality”, to improve the assessment of the seasonal bird habitat quality and to identify priority conservation habitats in urban landscapes. The framework was implemented in Wuhan, China, a critical stopover site along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. It combines the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the seasonal habitat suitability, the Habitat Risk Assessment (HRA) model to quantify habitat sensitivity to multiple anthropogenic threats, and a refined Habitat Quality (HQ) model to evaluate the seasonal habitat quality. K-means clustering was then applied to group habitats based on seasonal quality dynamics, enabling the identification of priority areas and the development of differentiated conservation strategies. The results show significant seasonal variation in habitat suitability and quality. Wetlands provided the highest-quality habitats in autumn and winter, grasslands exhibited moderate seasonal quality, and forests showed the least seasonal fluctuation. The spatial analysis revealed that high-quality wetland habitats form an ecological belt along the urban–suburban fringe. Four habitat clusters with distinct seasonal characteristics were then identified. However, spatial mismatches were found between existing protected areas and habitats of high ecological value. Notably, Cluster 1 maintained high habitat quality year round, spanning 99.38 km², yet only 46.51% of its area is currently protected. The remaining 53.16 km², mostly situated in urban–suburban transitional zones, remain unprotected. This study provides valuable insights for identifying priority habitats and developing season-specific conservation strategies in rapidly urbanizing regions, thereby supporting the sustainable management of urban biodiversity and the development of resilient ecological systems. Full article

Urban forests have a definition that has developed over time. Initially defined as urban greenery or as a measure of human impacts from urbanisation on forest systems, urban forests have varying definitions and are more often referred to for urban greenery. This urban greenery and measures of outcomes in sustainability terms are in urban landscapes and surroundings. With more specific definitions according to forest system definitions the complexity, multiple functions and advanced outcomes and functions of urban forest systems compared to other urban green space (UGS) types is more clearly understood. This article, using a literature review, discusses the definition of urban forests influencing how their impacts are measured, expected, and optimised. With clarified definitions, urban forest quality is considered in the literature review by search terms and topics of selected articles. Examples of selected indicators of the quality of urban forests and then of software and metrics used to plan and design urban greenery are presented. Refined wilding as a concept for urban functional biodiversity is then compared and used as a conceptual frame to analyse findings and prove the relevance and contribution of knowledge of the concept itself. Indicators of measures are provided, and they lead to a suggestion for clearer defining of urban forests. The findings can influence planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of urban forests as a higher-quality UGS type with multiple functions. Urban forests require improved defining of the value, quality, and coverage of their UGS type to be optimised. Refined wilding can give conceptual guidance for understanding the multiple and advanced functions that urban forest biodiversity provides for urban landscapes and populations. Urban tree canopy and urban forest systems in an urban landscape, as compared to other UGSs that connect to forested areas, either urban or peri-urban, are important differentiating definitional factors. Different metrics encourage a measure of this difference. The human realities of an urban landscape and population will determine whether and how a forest system can exist in a suburban landscape and are influential as to whether an urban tree canopy compared to a multifunctional diverse stratified semi-natural system of wild native and non-native varieties is established and can be maintained. The importance of maintaining newly established and existing urban forests and trees is a significant factor. Full article

As urbanization has accelerated, rail transit has evolved from being a mere means of transportation to a public area that houses the city’s cultural memory and serves as a crucial portal for the public to understand the culture of the city. As an urban public space with huge passenger flow, the metro (or subway) cultural space has also become a public cultural space, serving communal welfare and representing the image of the city. It is currently attracting more and more attention from the academic community. Wuhan, located in central China, has many subway lines and its engineering construction has set several national firsts, which is a typical sample of urban subway development in China. In this study, we use Python 3.13.0 crawler technology to capture the public’s comments on cultural space of Wuhan metro in social media and adopt SnowNLP sentiment score and LDA thematic clustering analysis to explore the overall quality, distinct characteristics, and deficiencies of Wuhan metro cultural space construction, and propose targeted design optimization strategies based on this study. The main findings are as follows: (1) The metro cultural space is an important window for the public to perceive the city culture, and the public in general shows positive perception of emotions: among the 16,316 data samples, 47.7% are positive comments, 17.8% are neutral comments, and 34.5% are negative comments. (2) Based on the frequency of content in the sample data for metro station exit and entrance space, metro train space, metro concourse and platform space, they are ranked as weak cultural spaces (18%), medium cultural spaces (33%), and strong cultural spaces (49%) in terms of the public’s perception of urban culture. (3) At present, there are certain deficiencies in Wuhan metro cultural space: the circulation paths in concourses and platforms are overly dominant, leaving little space for rest or interaction; the cultural symbols of metro train space are fragmented; the way of articulation between cultural and functional space in the metro station exit and entrance space is weak, and the space is single in form. (4) Wuhan metro cultural space needs to be based on locality landscape expression, functional zoning reorganization, innovative scene creation to optimize the visual symbol system and behavioral symbol system in the space, to establish a good image of the space, and to strengthen the public’s cultural identity and emotional resonance. Full article

As an important green infrastructure, urban greenways can provide a range of socio-ecological benefits and play an important role in improving the urban ecological environment and enhancing the quality of living. Currently, the relationship between service quality and the actual benefits of greenways has not been sufficiently explored in urban greenway research. This study introduces the concept of “efficiency”, determines service efficiency and service effectiveness as the evaluation dimensions, selects 4 first-level indicators and 12 second-level indicators to evaluate the service efficiency of greenways, and constructs an evaluation model using a combination of subjective and objective assignments. This study uses the overall service effectiveness index and the efficiency–effectiveness balance index to measure the overall performance of the greenway space in the hope of revealing the key factors and reasons that affect the service effectiveness of the greenway and providing a theoretical basis for optimizing the planning and management of the greenway. Using ArcGIS network analysis technology, image semantic segmentation technology, a questionnaire survey, network text analysis, and other methods to quantify the indicators, this paper conducts an empirical study on four municipal greenways in Nanjing. This research shows that the factors affecting the service effectiveness of greenways mainly include the landscape environment, greenway functions, transportation conditions, and supporting facility factors. The contradiction between the single-function positioning and the variety of user needs is the main reason for the imbalance between the efficiency and effectiveness of urban greenways. This study provides a new path to quantify greenway service effectiveness and enriches the greenway evaluation theory. Full article