Search Results (586)

Walking plays an important role in improving public health and creating more livable cities. Participatory planning incorporates the local knowledge and preferences of residents, community organizations, and other stakeholders into the identification of walking routes. However, whether these routes are actually used after implementation remains insufficiently understood. Using Fukuoka, Japan, where community walking maps and routes have been developed through local participation for over two decades, this study combines these participatory walking routes with crowdsourced walking data, built environment indicators, and spatial analysis to substantiate their actual use and inform route improvement. The results show that these routes generally have higher walking usage than the citywide average, although substantial spatial differences remain. Hotspot routes were concentrated around waterfront areas, commercial districts, and public transport hubs, whereas coldspot routes were more common in suburban, mountainous, and island areas. Route usage was positively associated with street visibility, land-use diversity, population density, and public transport accessibility. Significant spatial dependence and heterogeneity further indicate that these associations vary across urban contexts. These findings highlight the value of local knowledge in identifying walking routes and the value of crowdsourced walking data in evaluating their actual use. Communities can build on this approach by involving local people in identifying walking routes and then using crowdsourced behavioral data to evaluate and refine them, supporting better walking environments. Full article

Rapid peri-urban sprawl is intensifying flood risk by replacing natural landscapes with dense, impervious residential developments. Thailand’s land use regulations require a 5% minimum green space allocation for new housing developments as a measure to promote livability and well-being. Green space also has the potential to sustainably manage stormwater runoff, but for Thailand’s peri-urban development, the question remains whether 5% green space is sufficient to reduce flood risk. As such, this study critically evaluates whether this 5% green space guideline is sufficient for peri-urban runoff and flood management in peri-urban Pathum Thani, particularly given the acceleration of Bangkok’s urban sprawl over the past 30 years. Using a multi-scalar framework, we integrated GIS spatial analysis of 164 gated communities (1995–2025) with site-specific PCSWMM hydrologic modeling to test baseline conditions and Nature-based Solution (NbS) interventions against 5-, 10-, 50-, and 100-year design storms. Findings reveal developers generally adhere to the 5% guideline, thereby addressing policy while maximizing salable land space. PCSWMM simulations show the 5% baseline alone does not adequately manage runoff, with localized residential flooding expected for a 5-year design storm under current baseline conditions. Scenario testing indicates a hybrid grey–green infrastructure approach would optimally manage flooding. Given economic barriers to expanding open space, converting roads to permeable pavements offers a possible optimization strategy. Ultimately, static area-based regulations remain insufficient; policies must transition to performance-based volumetric retention targets to mitigate downstream flooding and foster resilient communities. Full article

Urban green spaces (UGSs) are vital for enhancing a city’s resilience and livability; however, their functionality is increasingly jeopardized by drought, particularly in water-scarce regions. This study evaluates drought impact on UGSs in Metropolitan Adelaide, Australia, a representative semi-arid urban system, using satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time-series data spanning 2000–2020. Vegetation dynamics were analyzed through Seasonal-Trend decomposition using Loess (STL), standardized anomaly assessment, lagged Pearson correlation, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, and Mann–Kendall trend analysis. To isolate climatically sensitive signals, 29 urban lawn patches were examined separately from mixed urban canopy, given their shallow root systems and direct dependence on surface moisture. NDVI declined by approximately 0.09 units during the Millennium Drought (2001–2009), with summer greenness deficits reaching 24% below the 20-year benchmark. Temperature was the dominant driver of lawn NDVI variability (r = −0.863, R² = 74.5%), substantially exceeding the effect of rainfall (r = 0.156, R² = 2.4%). El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycles modulated vegetation responses, with La Niña years supporting recovery and El Niño years amplifying decline. Post-drought recovery remained incomplete, with NDVI deficits of 8–20% persisting through 2020; full recovery was observed only in 2017, coinciding with the highest recorded summer rainfall. No significant directional trend was detected over the full study period (Mann–Kendall τ = 0.005, p = 0.908). These findings demonstrate that heat, rather than water limitation alone, is the primary driver of vegetation stress in urban systems, highlighting the benefits of integrated management strategies that address both warming and moisture deficits to sustain urban green infrastructure under future climate conditions. We introduce the concept of “urban greenery drought,” referring to a form of vegetation stress in managed urban landscapes where greenness is reduced primarily by elevated temperature and atmospheric demand despite water availability. Full article

Copenhagen is often regarded as a pioneer city in climate change adaptation and green–blue infrastructure deployment. However, when addressing extreme environmental problems such as heavy rainfall flooding and urban heat island effects, many interventions remain site-specific and insufficiently connected across spatial scales. This article investigates how Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) can be structured as an integrated spatial infrastructure system to enhance climate resilience and urban livability in Copenhagen. The research combines theoretical analysis, comparative project studies, GIS-based spatial analysis, and a multi-criteria evaluation matrix. Building on this method, a multi-scalar framework for NBS interventions is developed, which consists of site prioritization at the Meso scale, development strategies at the Micro scale, and NBS spatial design at the Nano scale. With the assessment criteria adapted from the UNalab project Nature-Based Solutions Technical Handbook Factsheets, the results demonstrate that Nano-scale design strategy can enhance green connectivity, create new inclusive urban public spaces, transform existing industrial areas, and improve new streets and parks for climate resilience. The Meso-scale distributed measures deliver localized benefits such as infiltration and flood buffering, while the most effective strategies integrate cross-scalar NBS interventions within a connected network. The case of Nordhavn is analyzed through multi-criteria selection and multifunctionality assessment as a qualitative process for a better demonstration of the practical application of NBS prioritization and spatial design analysis. Full article

The scarcity of resources is a major challenge for the livability of cities and sustainable urbanization. This study explores the socioeconomic dimensions of water scarcity in four low-income neighborhoods of Amman, the capital of Jordan, using a qualitative approach. The study investigates how water scarcity intersects with socioeconomic vulnerability, spatial injustice, and behavioral adaptation. The main research findings are that income, the quality of the neighborhood, and infrastructure access commonly shape residents’ coping strategies and perceptions of fairness. While households adopt a range of adaptive behaviors, limited affordability and institutional neglect intensify existing inequalities. Temporal shifts in service provision, spatial disparities within and between neighborhoods, and gaps in awareness and governance deepen the sense of water insecurity. The study concludes that water scarcity in Amman is not only a technical or economic challenge but a socially embedded problem that requires equity-oriented policies, participatory planning, and spatially targeted investments. Full article

Urban noise pollution is considered to be a significant challenge to neighborhood livability, particularly in cities with limited noise governance. This has resulted in raising the environmental noise as a critical health and livability concern. Existing approaches rely on decibel thresholds that fail to capture the spatial, social and perceptual complexity of noise conditions at the neighborhood scale. This study offers a multi-criteria soundscape framework integrating acoustic measurements and urban parameters (urban design, landscape, regulations and perception). The aim is to support the optimal location for noise planning. The framework was applied as a pilot study across five residential neighborhoods in Tripoli, Lebanon. The OpeNoise mobile application was used across four temporal sessions. Recordings were combined with qualitative resident interviews. Average Equivalent Continuous Sound level LAeq(t) values ranged from 60.3 to 76.8 dBA. While all neighborhoods exceeded the World Health Organization WHO guidelines, acoustic severity alone did not determine the best case for intervention. The neighborhood with the highest measured noise did not achieve the highest priority score. This demonstrates that decibel planning is insufficient. The alignment of acoustic severity, feasibility, and community demand is more effective for intervention. The framework’s criteria are based on observable urban indicators, suggesting applicability to similar urban contexts, further pending validation. Full article

Digital street-view imagery delivers computationally enabled fine-grained quantitative perception of urban landscape, supporting the refined assessment of urban spatial quality, ecological livability, and socio-economic externalities for socio-environmental sustainability. Taking Shanghai as the research area and 500 m × 500 m grid cells as basic analytical units, this study adopts the Segformer machine learning segmentation algorithm to accurately extract visual features of urban green infrastructure from massive Baidu street-view images. Combined with visitor volume and real estate transaction data, this paper systematically explores vitality effects and sustainable economic compensation of Green View Index (GVI) via the spatial hedonic model. Multi-model comparison verifies that the double-logarithmic framework is optimal for street-view visual data. Two empirical models are constructed to eliminate multicollinearity and differentiate effects of integrated built environments and segmented visual elements. The results indicate that Shanghai’s vitality presents a polycentric agglomeration pattern, while GVI shows a scattered spatial distribution, with strong spatial correlation in urban cores and weak linkage in suburbs. GVI acts as a determinant of block vitality, outperforming land use diversity and commercial density. A 1% increase in the GVI improves block vitality by 6.21% in C gradient, with positive effects concentrated on outer-ring green belts and inhibitory impacts in remote suburbs. Multi-scale analysis from 500 m to 5000 m confirms green optimization brings stable residential premiums, generating sustainable economic compensation to offset urban renewal costs. This study proposes a digital-imagery-based paradigm for GVI benefit evaluation and provides empirical evidence for the planning of ecologically sustainable communities. Full article

Tourism industry development has become an important driver of regional economic transformation and urban functional restructuring, while urban livability is a key indicator of high-quality urban development and residents’ well-being. However, the spatially heterogeneous and cross-regional effects of tourism development on urban livability remain insufficiently understood. This study examines 28 cities in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Urban Agglomeration, China, from 2000 to 2024. Using kernel density estimation, a two-way fixed effects model, and a spatial Durbin model (SDM), this study investigates the spatiotemporal evolution, spatial spillover effects, and moderating mechanisms of tourism industry development on urban livability. The results show that both tourism industry development and urban livability exhibit significant spatial disparities. Tourism industry development enhances local urban livability, while generating negative spillover effects on neighboring cities, indicating a spatially asymmetric “local gain-neighbor suppression” pattern. Public service provision and infrastructure connectivity amplify the positive effects of tourism development on urban livability. These findings highlight that tourism-led improvements in urban livability are spatially uneven and conditioned by regional development capacity. The study contributes to understanding tourism-livability interactions at the urban agglomeration scale and provides implications for coordinated regional governance. However, this study cannot fully capture micro-level transmission mechanisms due to limitations. Full article

Waterfront space is an important spatial carrier that reflects the quality of the human settlement environment. In the stage of stock-based urban renewal, value evaluation is the primary task for achieving the “precise optimization” of waterfront spaces. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, this study constructs a waterfront space value evaluation system covering basic support value, livability value, and well-being value. Taking the Suzhou Creek waterfront space in Shanghai as a case study, this research integrates data such as street-view images and Weibo check-in records, and applies deep learning, natural language processing, and other techniques to evaluate waterfront space value. Correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and spatial autocorrelation analysis are used to explore the factors associated with waterfront space value. The results show that waterfront space value presents significant spatial differences, with the eastern area near the Huangpu River showing a markedly higher value than the western area. Spatial value is associated with street environment, facility services, spatial morphology, functional experience, and spatial attractiveness. In addition, the results of spatial autocorrelation analysis indicate that optimizing functional experience and facility services in the eastern core area is of great importance, while improving online popularity and attractiveness in the western area is also important for promoting coordinated development between the eastern and western areas. The findings provide a reference for future waterfront space evaluation and offer scientific support for urban renewal and policy-making. Full article

This study investigates the conceptual and practical interlinkages among four major urban paradigms—smart cities, sustainable cities, livable cities, and X-minute cities—using bibliometric co-occurrence and citation analyses. A total of 1439 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus (1979–2024) were examined to map the thematic overlaps and emerging clusters among these city concepts. The findings reveal that smart cities constitute the most interconnected paradigm, appearing in 980 publications and functioning as a technological bridge to sustainability, livability, and proximity-based planning. The smart–sustainable city nexus, evidenced by 530 shared publications, dominates the literature. By contrast, livable cities and X-minute cities represent emerging, human-centered niches with significant growth potential. The findings offer a conceptual framework for integrated urban planning and policy, demonstrating how these paradigms collectively address the complexities of contemporary urbanization. Rather than adopting singular models, urban leaders are encouraged to formulate hybrid planning agendas that reflect local needs while aligning with global urban sustainability objectives. This study calls for a comprehensive understanding of urban development paradigms. Full article

Place attachment contributes to urban resilience, identity, and well-being by fostering a sense of belonging and emotional connection to place. In contexts of urban transformation and socio-spatial inequality, understanding its determinants is essential for improving urban livability and inclusive urban environments. This study examines how women’s place attachment is influenced by individual, social, and built-environment factors in middle-income central and peri-central neighborhoods of Santiago, Chile. A key contribution is the inclusion of personal values in explaining place attachment, extending previous socio-spatial research. Data were collected through simple random sampling from 586 women residing in six middle-income neighborhoods of Santiago. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze relationships between individual characteristics, personal values, social cohesion, accessibility, and subjective and objective built-environment conditions. Results show that working outside the home, length of residence, personal values, social cohesion, accessibility, aesthetic quality, and perceived comfort and insecurity significantly influence women’s place attachment. Built-environment characteristics related to accessibility and comfort emerge as key mechanisms shaping emotional attachment to urban neighborhoods. Findings highlight the importance of improving accessibility while maintaining neighborhood residential structure in middle-income areas undergoing urban transformation. Overall, the study provides empirical evidence on socio-spatial processes shaping women’s place attachment and contributes to understanding spatial equity, urban well-being, and inclusive urban environments in a Latin American metropolis. Full article

The intensification of agriculture and large-scale rural development policies present major challenges to the sustainability of agroecosystems worldwide. In China, the ‘Rural Revitalization Strategy’ has reshaped rural landscapes, yet its net impact on the interplay between agricultural production, ecosystem health, and human well-being remains poorly quantified at a national scale. This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of Rural Ecological Livability (REL)—an integrated measure of agroecosystem health and quality of life—and identifies its key agro-ecological and socioeconomic drivers across 31 Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2020. We employed an innovative evaluation framework and a nested-weight spatial Durbin model to analyze these complex interactions. Our findings reveal a significant, yet spatially uneven, improvement in REL, with a persistent gradient between developed coastal regions and inland agricultural provinces. Forest coverage and moderate climatic conditions were key positive local drivers of REL. Crucially, our model uncovers significant negative spatial spillovers, demonstrating that intensified agricultural mechanization in one province can degrade the ecological livability of neighboring agroecosystems, likely through increased market competition and resource pressure. These results reveal a critical tension between local agricultural modernization and regional environmental sustainability. They underscore the necessity for agri-environmental policies that transcend administrative boundaries and manage landscape-level spillovers to achieve truly sustainable agroecosystem management. Full article

The coordinated development of urban renewal (UR) and ecological resilience (ER) is essential for regional sustainability and livable city construction. Based on data from 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) during 2012–2023, this study constructs the UR indicator system from the dimensions of urban infrastructure construction, social function development, and cultural and leisure facility construction. ER is evaluated in terms of resistance, adaptability, and recoverability. The spatiotemporal evolution of their coupling coordination degree (CCD) is then examined. In addition, the XGBoost-SHAP model is employed to identify the threshold of digital technological innovation (DTI) on CCD and its interactions with different development conditions. The results show that (1) CCD remained relatively low but improved slowly during the study period. UR lagged behind ER in most cities, indicating that insufficient UR development capacity was the main constraint on coordination between the two systems. (2) CCD exhibited a pronounced core–periphery pattern, with high-value areas mainly concentrated in provincial capitals and centrally administered municipalities within the YREB. (3) DTI was positively associated with CCD and exhibited a nonlinear pattern with a model-derived turning point, while the strength and pattern of this association varied across different development contexts. These findings enrich the understanding of UR-ER coordination and offer policy implications for sustainable urban governance. Full article

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDSs) represent a contemporary and eco-friendly method for managing surface water, with the goal of reducing flooding impacts while preserving the environment and enhancing water quality and biodiversity. In Bari, recurrent flooding stemming from water stagnation, extreme weather, and urban development poses challenges to sustainable growth. This study applies the ‘Sponge city’ concept to address these issues through an evaluation of current urban permeability and the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) to reduce runoff and manage underground flows. By assessing the climatic conditions and hydrological factors contributing to urban stagnation, this project seeks to create a resilient urban environment capable of adapting to climate change and effectively mitigating both significant and minor rainfall events. It aims to reduce runoff, while also promoting groundwater recharge and alleviating saline contamination effects in coastal areas, ultimately enhancing the safety and livability of urban landscapes. Full article

The Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) represents a major national effort to enhance environmental sustainability and urban livability in Saudi Arabia. Despite its ambitious targets, limited empirical research has evaluated its spatial performance and social impacts. This study assesses the progress of SGI implementation in Riyadh by examining the spatial distribution, accessibility, and equity of urban green spaces (UGS), alongside residents’ perceptions of their quality. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based spatial analysis with a structured survey of 180 residents. Spatial indicators were evaluated against the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark of 9 m² per capita and the SGI target of 28 m² per capita. The results reveal that although total green space has increased between 2018 and 2024, its distribution remains uneven, with high-density neighborhoods consistently falling below recommended standards. Survey findings indicate high satisfaction with recreational and environmental benefits, but lower satisfaction with facilities and public engagement. The study highlights that increasing total green space alone does not ensure equitable access and emphasizes the need for population-sensitive planning strategies. These findings provide practical insights for improving the spatial equity and effectiveness of urban greening initiatives and contribute to broader sustainable urban development goals. Full article