Search Results (351)

This article explores the concept of textuality as embedded within contemporary architecture, understood as the capacity of buildings to generate meanings, narratives, and interpretations that transcend their physical and functional dimensions. An interdisciplinary approach is adopted, integrating architectural theory, semiotics, hermeneutics, and cultural studies, positioning architecture as a form of symbolic production deeply intertwined with current social and technological contexts. The primary aim is to demonstrate how certain paradigmatic buildings operate as open texts that engage in dialogue with their users, urban surroundings, and cultural frameworks. The methodology combines theoretical analysis with an in-depth study of three emblematic cases: the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Seattle Public Library. The findings reveal that these buildings articulate multiple layers of meaning, fostering rich and participatory interpretive experiences that influence both the perception and construction of public space. The study concludes that contemporary architecture functions as a narrative and symbolic device that actively contributes to the shaping of collective imaginaries. The article also identifies the study’s limitations and proposes future research directions concerning architectural textuality within the context of emerging digital technologies. Full article

While the explosive growth in e-commerce stresses urban logistics systems, city planners lack of fine-grained data in order to anticipate and manage the resulting freight flows. Using a three-stage analytical approach combining descriptive zonal statistics, hotspot analysis and different regression modeling from univariate to geographically weighted regression, this study integrates one year of parcel deliveries from a leading courier with open spatial layers of land-use zoning, census population, mobile-signal activity and household income to model last-mile demand across different land use types. A baseline linear regression shows that residential population alone accounts for roughly 30% of the variance in annual parcel volumes (2.5–3.0 deliveries per resident) while adding daytime workforce and income increases the prediction accuracy to 39%. In a similar approach where coefficients vary geographically with Geographically Weighted Regression to capture the local heterogeneity achieves a significant raise of the overall R² to 0.54 and surpassing 0.70 in residential and institutional districts. Hot-spot analysis reveals a highly fragmented pattern where fewer than 5% of blocks generate more than 8.5% of all deliveries with no apparent correlation to the broaden land-use classes. Commercial and administrative areas exhibit the greatest intensity (1149 deliveries per ha) yet remain the hardest to explain (global R² = 0.21) underscoring the importance of additional variables such as retail mix, street-network design and tourism flows. Through this approach, the calibrated models can be used to predict city-wide last-mile demand using only public inputs and offers a transferable, privacy-preserving template for evidence-based freight planning. By pinpointing the location and the land uses where demand concentrates, it supports targeted interventions such as micro-depots, locker allocation and dynamic curb-space management towards more sustainable and resilient urban-logistics networks. Full article

Public open spaces have recently attracted significant attention in the national development programs aimed at improving urban livability and quality of life in Saudi Arabia. While many studies have examined the design quality of public open spaces in the country, a contextualized evaluation index that takes into account users’ preferences and the nation’s social context is still lacking. This gap calls for additional field studies to better understand users’ needs and their interactions with the current urban design practices of public open spaces. This study provides deeper insights into the design quality of public open spaces in Saudi Arabia. The study first identified 16 attributes of design quality of public open spaces, and then assessed a case study, Alrabie Park in Al-Khobar city, based on field observation and a survey of users’ satisfaction levels in relation to these quality attributes The findings revealed that the average of users’ satisfaction was 3.76 out of 5.0, indicating a neutral to satisfied response. Key strengths were noted in accessibility and users’ comfort, while areas needing improvement included environmental quality and amenities and services. The study recommends the development of a national evaluation index for public open spaces to create inclusive, safe, and vibrant environments that reflect Saudi Arabia’s urban and socio-cultural context. It also emphasizes the importance of community engagement in this regard to ensure that the design of public spaces aligns well with the users’ needs and helps to create sustainable urban spaces in the city. Full article

The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region faces persistent challenges of inequality, climate change vulnerability, and deteriorating air quality. The Aburrá Valley, where Medellín is located, is a narrow tropical valley with complex topography, strong thermal inversions, and unstable atmospheric conditions, all of which exacerbate the accumulation of pollutants. In Medellín, ${\mathrm{NO}}_2$ concentrations have remained nearly unchanged over the past eight years, consistently approaching critical thresholds, despite the implementation of air quality control strategies. These persistent high concentrations are closely linked to the variability of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and are often intensified by prolonged dry periods. This study focuses on a representative street canyon in Medellín that has undergone recent urban interventions, including the construction of new public spaces and pedestrian areas, without explicitly considering their impact on ${\mathrm{NO}}_x$ dispersion. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, this work evaluates the influence of urban morphology on ${\mathrm{NO}}_x$ accumulation. The results reveal that areas with high Aspect Ratios (AR > 0.65) and dense vegetation exhibit reduced wind speeds at the pedestrian level—up to 40% lower compared to open zones—and higher ${\mathrm{NO}}_2$ concentrations, with maximum simulated values exceeding 50 μg/m³. This study demonstrates that the design of pedestrian corridors in complex urban environments like Medellín can unintentionally create pollutant accumulation zones, underscoring the importance of integrating air quality considerations into urban planning. The findings provide actionable insights for policymakers, emphasizing the need for comprehensive modeling and field validation to ensure healthier urban spaces in cities affected by persistent air quality issues. 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

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

Rapid urbanization in China has driven substantial rural population out-migration, raising concerns about its implications for the governance of land commons in villages. While existing studies have acknowledged the effects of migration on rural resource management, little attention has been paid to its influence on the self-governance of rural public open spaces (POSs). This study adopts the social–ecological systems (SES) framework to examine how rural out-migration shapes POS self-governance mechanisms. Based on survey data from 594 villagers across 198 villages in Taigu District, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and a mediation model grounded in the SES framework were employed for analysis. The results indicate that rural out-migration does not exert a direct impact on POS self-governance. Instead, it negatively influences governance outcomes through full mediation by villager organizations, the left-behind population, collective investment in POSs, and self-organizing activities. Notably, the mediating roles of the left-behind population and self-organizing activities account for 67.38% of the total effect, underscoring their critical importance. Drawing on these insights, the study proposes four policy recommendations to strengthen rural POS self-governance under conditions of demographic transition. This research contributes to the literature by being the first to incorporate an external social factor—rural out-migration—within the SES framework in the context of POS governance, thereby advancing both theoretical and practical understandings of rural commons management. Full article

In recent years, the concept of the commons has gained relevance across academic, legal and civic spheres as an alternative framework for managing shared resources. Rooted in Elinor Ostrom’s seminal work on collective governance, contemporary debates on the commons increasingly challenge the traditional binary of private versus public ownership by foregrounding the social function of these resources and the role of their communities in their administration. Urban commons, in particular, have emerged as dynamic spaces of experimentation, where local actors reclaim underutilised or abandoned assets and activate them through bottom-up processes of care, cultural production, and civic innovation. While international literature provides a robust conceptual foundation for understanding commoning practices, their practical implementation mostly depends on local specificities, such as legal and social contexts. Despite the important milestone of the Rodotà Commission’s proposal (2007) and Law 168/2017 on collective domains, the Italian regulatory framework remains highly fragmented, with regional and municipal regulations pioneering policies and practices frequently driven by community-led efforts to redefine the use and governance of public assets. This paper contributes to the growing debate on urban commons by investigating how, since 2011, experiences of collaborative care of the commons in Southern Italy have rekindled interest in the issue raised in 2007, highlighting a strong connection between the regulatory and social dimensions of these processes. The study develops a methodological framework—the COMmons Places ASSessment (COMPASS)—to evaluate the enabling conditions and governance dynamics of these processes. The research specifically focuses on five case studies in the Campania region, where diverse actors have mobilised to reclaim and transform public heritage through cultural, social, and creative activities. From the results, insights on collective management practices emerge potentials and criticalities of the analysed governance, as well as of the designed decision-making process and their effectiveness for the open, participatory, and sustainable management of urban commons. Full article

Several studies in the literature have emphasized that public open spaces, such as recreational parks in residential neighborhoods, play a crucial role in enhancing social interaction among residents. As such, access to these parks is a key factor that may influence their use and, in turn, affect the quality of social engagement within the community. Traditional approaches to park accessibility, which focus solely on physical distance, have notable limitations, as proximity alone does not reliably predict park usage. Therefore, physical accessibility should be complemented by assessments of perceived or psychological accessibility. This study is designed to propose a framework for enhancing social interaction through improved access to recreational parks in the residential neighborhoods of the Dammam Metropolitan Area (DMA). It employs a mixed-methods approach comprising two primary methodologies: (1) observational behavioral mapping to identify key influencing factors based on user activities within the selected case study areas, and (2) an end-user questionnaire survey analyzed through inferential statistics, specifically Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), to assess residents’ perceptions of park accessibility and social interaction. The results indicate that adequate park maintenance significantly improves physical accessibility, while elements such as safety are essential for fostering psychological comfort. The ANOVA results yielded an F-value of 4.72 and a p-value of 0.00, confirming a statistically significant effect of the park’s physical features on facilitating social contact among local residents. The study presents a framework that integrates key demographic and social factors influencing park usage, advocating for infrastructure improvements aligned with user perceptions to foster greater community engagement. It highlights that addressing psychological barriers is just as important as making physical enhancements to achieve effective park accessibility. By combining physical design, demographic insights, and user experiences, the framework serves as a practical guide for planning inclusive and socially responsive public spaces. This research contributes to the fields of urban planning, social sustainability, and environmental psychology by offering localized insights and practical tools for implementation. Future research is recommended to further refine urban strategies that promote equitable access to recreational parks, particularly by addressing demographic-specific needs and psychological barriers that influence social interaction in open spaces. Full article

With accelerating urbanization, the outdoor thermal environment has become a critical factor affecting the thermal comfort of public spaces, particularly in high-density commercial districts and pedestrian-concentrated areas. To enhance thermal comfort and livability in public outdoor space, this study proposes a thermal demand-responsive design approach that integrates thermal conditions with pedestrian flow dynamics. A commercial pedestrian mall featuring semi-open public spaces and air-conditioned interior retail areas was selected as a case study. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted based on design-phase documentation and field measurements to model the thermal environment. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was employed to assess thermal comfort levels, and thermal discomfort was further quantified using the Heat Discomfort Index (HI). Simultaneously, pedestrian density distribution (λ) was analyzed using the agent-based simulation software MassMotion (Version 11.0). A demand of thermal comfort (DTC) index was developed by coupling UTCI-based thermal conditions with pedestrian density, enabling the spatial quantification of thermal demand across the whole commercial pedestrian mall. For example, in a sidewalk area parallel to the main street, several points exhibited high discomfort levels (HI = 0.95) but low pedestrian volume, resulting in DTC values approximately 0.2 units lower than adjacent zones with lower discomfort levels (HI = 0.7) but higher foot traffic. Such differences demonstrate how DTC can reveal priority areas for intervention. Key zones requiring thermal improvement were identified based on DTC values, providing a quantitative foundation for outdoor thermal environment design. This method provides both a theoretical foundation and a practical tool for the sustainable planning and optimization of urban public spaces. Full article

This study examines culture-led urban regeneration as a strategy for revitalizing Meezan Chowk, a historically significant yet deteriorating public space in Quetta, Pakistan. Once a central site of social and commercial exchange, the area suffered from infrastructural decline, overcrowding, and the erosion of its architectural identity. The research proposes a design intervention to restore the site’s heritage value while enhancing its functional and social relevance. A qualitative approach is adopted, incorporating surveys, focus group discussions, and site observations to assess user needs and spatial dynamics. A SWOT analysis serves as the analytical framework to identify the site’s internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. By utilizing the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and OpenStreetMap data, further information can enhance understanding of the site’s urban morphology. The proposed design integrates vernacular elements, such as arched facades, shaded corridors, and communal courtyards, with contemporary features, including cafes, local artisan shops, and accessible public amenities. Full article

Historic centres are extremely complex parts of contemporary cities, particularly from morphological, architectural, and cultural points of view, where a significant proportion of the land area may be occupied by built heritage sites that require protection and conservation. These urban contexts are also characterised by scarce green and public open spaces endowment, a high proportion of private property, and high levels of natural risk exposure. From a climate change adaptation perspective, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as measures to manage urban ecosystems to address environmental and societal challenges. To overcome the conflicting objectives of climate change adaptation and built heritage preservation, this study proposes a three-step methodology applied to the historic centre of Catania (Italy): (i) Land-Use/Landownership and Land Cover/Maintenance and Quality analyses; (ii) Land Transformability Assessment; (iii) Land Transformation Scenarios Assessment. According to this methodology, five Land Transformation Scenarios have been drawn up: (1) NbS full installation; (2) NbS installation with some limitations; (3) NbS installation after re-arrangement; (4) NbS installation strongly limited; (5) NbS installation not viable. This approach allowed us to identify the most feasible and suitable buildings and open spaces, while distinguishing public and private properties, to implement a more comprehensive integration of NbS and built heritage preservation in historic cities for mutual benefits. Full article

The inequity in the distribution of green spaces in megacities has a detrimental effect on the physical and mental well-being of their inhabitants, highlighting the necessity for careful and strategic urban planning, along with appropriate regulatory interventions. Nevertheless, scholarly articles addressing the equity of access to urban green spaces primarily concentrate on urban parks, with limited studies examining the influence of alternative types of green spaces. This research initially recognized and categorized informal green spaces (IGS) located within the Third Ring Road of Chengdu, utilizing the UGS-1m dataset and area of interest (AOI) data, in accordance with a well-defined classification framework. Then, the G2SFCA method and Gini coefficient were employed to assess the impact of IGS on the green space accessibility, especially scenario analysis of open and shared use of green space. The findings indicate that (1) IGS in the narrow sense constitute 21.2% of the overall green spaces within the study area, resulting in a reduction of the Gini coefficient by 0.103; (2) IGS in the broad sense, including public affiliated green spaces, shows an even more positive effect on improving the equity of green space supply, with a reduction of the Gini coefficient by 0.28; (3) there exists great spatial disparity in accessibility improvement effect by different types of IGS, so public policies must be customized to reflect local circumstances, taking into account the practicality and associated costs of management and maintenance of various IGS as well as accessibility enhancement; (4) certain older residential areas may not be amenable to effective enhancement through the use of IGS alone, and these should then adopt a multidimensional greening strategy such as green-roof. The findings of this research offer valuable insights for the planning and management of green spaces in densely populated urban environments, thereby aiding in the development of more refined models for the development of “Garden Cities”. Full article

It is essential to emphasize the significant impacts of climate change, which are evident in the form of severe and prolonged droughts, hurricanes, snowstorms, and other climatic disturbances. These challenges are particularly pronounced in urban environments and among human populations. The situation is further aggravated by the increasing utilization of available open spaces for residential and industrial development, leading to heightened energy consumption, elevated pollution levels, and increased carbon emissions, all of which negatively affect public health. The primary objective of this review article is to provide a comprehensive evaluation of current research, with a particular focus on the innovative use of residual biomass from urban vegetation for biochar production in the United States. This research entails an exhaustive review of existing literature to assess the implementation of a carbon-negative wood biomass biochar system as a strategic approach to sustainable urban management. By transforming urban wood waste—including tree trimmings, construction debris, and storm-damaged timber—into biochar through pyrolysis, a thermochemical process that sequesters carbon while generating renewable energy, we can leverage this valuable resource. The resulting biochar offers a range of co-benefits: it enhances soil health, improves water retention, reduces stormwater runoff, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions when applied in urban green spaces, agriculture, and land restoration projects. This review highlights the advantages and potential of converting urban wood waste into biochar while exploring how municipalities can strengthen their green ecosystems. Furthermore, it aims to provide a thorough understanding of how the utilization of woody biomass biochar can contribute to mitigating urban carbon emissions across the United States. Full article

This paper explores the innovative integration of digitalization and gamification in urban design to address social sustainability challenges in rapidly evolving cities. Using Gensen, a metaverse platform launched in 2024, as a case study, the research investigates how the convergence of virtual environments and real urban spaces can foster new forms of social interaction, spatial usage, and community engagement. The motivation behind this study is to assess the potential of gamification in enhancing social sustainability within digitalized urban contexts. By introducing the opening event, “Treasure Hunting”, established by Gensen, the study examines how users engage with existing urban settings through a gamified approach. The research investigates how gameful design, facilitated by digitalization, can transform public spaces into more dynamic environments that encourage diverse participation while also addressing emerging risks such as spatial inequality resulting from varying levels of access to digital tools and literacy. The research questions focus on how gamification can bridge these gaps and contribute to creating more inclusive urban environments. In conclusion, the study argues that current gamified design approaches, based on digitalization, often overlook the playfulness inherent in physical environments and human interaction. However, a bottom-up approach that emphasizes individuals’ understanding of the inherent playfulness in existing urban spaces is still lacking. This aspect needs further exploration to inform and enhance gameful design strategies aimed at promoting social sustainability in urban development. Bridging this gap is essential for integrating digital interventions into everyday life, ultimately achieving a more effective gameful design in urban contexts. Full article