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Land
Special Issues
A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space
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A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 8 August 2024 | Viewed by 4345

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yangyi Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Urban Design, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: regional sustainable development; spatial modeling; statistics; spatiotemporal analysis; land-use policy; sustainability in land management processes and urban planning; urban sprawl; coupled human-natural systems; environmental countermeasures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Monika Kopecká

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geoinformatics, Institute of Geography, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Stefanikova 49, 814 73 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: land-use/land-cover change; landscape fragmentation; urban dynamics; ecosystem services; remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of livability in an urban context has increasingly become a central focus for researchers, policymakers, and urban planners. As the world’s population continues to urbanize at an unprecedented rate, the question of how to make cities more livable, sustainable, and equitable has risen as a key concern. Given this background, this Special Issue, “A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space”, aims to contribute to this crucial discourse by advancing urban planning strategies and practices.

The notion of a “livable city” encompasses a wide array of components, including environmental sustainability, social equity, economic viability, and cultural vibrancy. Thus, it is highly related to the spatial organizations of an urban environment, society, and economy, which constitute the essential targets of urban planning. Therefore, the concepts of rational land use and sustainable urban spaces are critical when addressing the multifaceted challenges that cities face today. As such, this Special Issue invites contributions that shed light on innovative urban planning strategies, policy interventions, and practical initiatives demonstrating the potential to transform cities into more livable spaces. Additionally, through articles with various foci, including empirical studies, theoretical explorations, and methodology contributions, this Special Issue aims to comprehensively evaluate current trends, challenges, and opportunities related to the concept of creating livable cities. We seek to foster a multidisciplinary dialogue that can inform and inspire urban planners, policymakers, and geographers committed to the vision of sustainable and equitable urban development.

The scope of this call encompasses (but is not limited to) the following areas:

  • Strategies for sustainable land use;
  • The impact of land-use regulations;
  • Innovative approaches to urban planning, design, and architecture;
  • New methods in urban spatial planning;
  • Smart city technologies in urban infrastructure management;
  • Addressing equity and inclusivity in urban development;
  • Economic impacts of urban planning decisions;
  • Public participation and governance in urban planning processes;
  • Adapting urban spaces to climate change challenges;
  • Strategies for resilient urban infrastructure.

Dr. Yangyi Wu
Dr. Monika Kopecká
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • rational land use
  • sustainable urban space
  • urban planning and design
  • spatial optimization
  • public participation and governance
  • land-use policy

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 5414 KiB  
Article
Evolutionary Characteristics of Urban Public Space Accessibility for Vulnerable Groups from a Perspective of Temporal–Spatial Change: Evidence from Nanjing Old City, China
by Ning Xu and Pu Wang
Land 2024, 13(7), 998; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070998 - 6 Jul 2024
Viewed by 316
Abstract
Social equity/inequity and equal/unequal rights to the city extend beyond the distribution of urban parks and green spaces, necessitating research on equitable accessibility to encompass a broader range of public spaces. However, previous research has predominantly focused on green spaces, neglecting other types [...] Read more.
Social equity/inequity and equal/unequal rights to the city extend beyond the distribution of urban parks and green spaces, necessitating research on equitable accessibility to encompass a broader range of public spaces. However, previous research has predominantly focused on green spaces, neglecting other types of public spaces. To address this gap, the present study takes the public space pattern of Nanjing Old City as the research object, employing the minimum distance method, the gravity potential method, and bivariate local Moran’s I to evaluate the matching relationship between the demand of socially vulnerable groups and the supply of public spaces, as well as its temporal–spatial evolution from 2010 to 2020. The results reveal spatial heterogeneity in the accessibility of public spaces for vulnerable groups at the block level, with 28.1% of the total number of blocks and 22.1% of the total area of blocks experiencing a supply–demand imbalance in 2010. From 2010 to 2020, under the rapid urban development, construction of public spaces, and the general decline in population density and proportion of vulnerable populations, the supply–demand imbalance has exacerbated the distribution of public spaces at both individual and aggregate levels. This imbalance is reflected in the deteriorated accessibility of public spaces for vulnerable groups. This study reveals the mismatches between development, population movement, and public space construction in the old city of Nanjing over the past decade, providing decision-making suggestions and foundations for the future optimization of public spaces, thereby offering an effective tool for assessing and improving the accessibility and equitable distribution of public spaces based on the needs of vulnerable groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space)
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24 pages, 1766 KiB  
Article
How Can Public Spaces Contribute to Increased Incomes for Urban Residents—A Social Capital Perspective
by Yiqing Su, Huan Xu and Xiaoting Zhang
Land 2024, 13(7), 945; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070945 - 28 Jun 2024
Viewed by 334
Abstract
The recovery of the global economy in the aftermath of COVID-19 faces enormous challenges. Ensuring stable income growth of the population has become an important means for developing countries to ensure sustained economic development. Raising the overall income of the population is a [...] Read more.
The recovery of the global economy in the aftermath of COVID-19 faces enormous challenges. Ensuring stable income growth of the population has become an important means for developing countries to ensure sustained economic development. Raising the overall income of the population is a public initiative that benefits all citizens; therefore, governments of developing countries should promote the implementation of relevant public policies and the provision of public goods to ensure that existing economic instruments can benefit the entire population. In this regard, public space, as a typical form of public good, may play an important role in promoting the benefits of existing economic policies for all residents. This paper examines how residents’ use of public space contributes to their income growth through social capital. Hypotheses are tested based on an econometric analysis of 1565 questionnaires received from Chinese workers. The results show that residents’ use of public space can indeed be an important way to increase their income, which is realized through the enhancement of social capital. The research presented in this paper provides a new influence variable of public space to improve residents’ income. Further, it improves people’s understanding of the three classical concepts—public space, social capital, and income—by establishing the logical connection and theoretical explanation of physical space, emotional space, and value space in human society. The conclusions of this paper highlight the important role of public space in urban and rural development planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space)
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25 pages, 13151 KiB  
Article
Spatial Quality Measurement and Characterization of Daily High-Frequency Pedestrian Streets in Xi’an City
by Linggui Liu, Yuheng Tu, Maoran Sun, Han Lyu, Peijie Wang and Jing He
Land 2024, 13(6), 885; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060885 - 19 Jun 2024
Viewed by 431
Abstract
Street space plays a crucial role in human activity and social life, forming an essential component of a livable and sustainable built environment. Consequently, its quality has garnered significant attention from researchers, designers, and policymakers who aim to achieve precise assessments of street [...] Read more.
Street space plays a crucial role in human activity and social life, forming an essential component of a livable and sustainable built environment. Consequently, its quality has garnered significant attention from researchers, designers, and policymakers who aim to achieve precise assessments of street infrastructure and conditions. This study presents a multi-dimensional framework for evaluating street space, considering factors such as access frequency, environmental quality, and amenity richness. By utilizing city-level path planning data, street view imagery, point of interest data, and social media check-in data, this framework assesses each street and assigns scores across these dimensions. These scores facilitate a human-centered analysis of the disparities in street usage and quality. The aggregation of results by administrative regions supports effective policy formulation and implementation. Application of this framework in Xi’an, China, reveals that only 6.95% of frequently visited streets exhibit high environmental quality and functional richness. This study underscores the potential of leveraging public data for detailed street space assessments to inform urban renewal policies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space)
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21 pages, 8245 KiB  
Article
Shopping Mall Site Selection Based on Consumer Behavior Changes in the New Retail Era
by Ruibin Zhou, Chenshuo Wang, Dongting Bao and Xiaolan Xu
Land 2024, 13(6), 855; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060855 - 14 Jun 2024
Viewed by 515
Abstract
As a product of the development of e-commerce over a specific period of time, the “new retail model” breaks the barriers between the traditional retail industry and e-commerce. Supported by Internet technology, it builds a new business model of “physical store + e-commerce [...] Read more.
As a product of the development of e-commerce over a specific period of time, the “new retail model” breaks the barriers between the traditional retail industry and e-commerce. Supported by Internet technology, it builds a new business model of “physical store + e-commerce + logistics” through the integration of online, offline, and logistics, which also leads to a great change in consumer behavior. Therefore, in order to meet consumer demand and achieve the long-term development of shopping malls, while taking into account the fair allocation of urban space resources, the indicators and methods of shopping mall site selection evaluation in the new retail era will be significantly different from traditional shopping mall site selection decisions. In this paper, the Wuhan East Lake Hi-Tech Zone is selected as the research object, and a comprehensive AHP-GIS assessment model is proposed. By investigating the impact of consumers’ behavioral changes on shopping mall location in the new retail era, a suitability evaluation system containing eight evaluation indicators is constructed, and the weights of each factor are determined using hierarchical analysis. At the same time, GIS is used to process the spatial analysis of the indicators, and combined with the weights of the factors, superposition analysis and quantitative research are carried out. Finally, based on the correlation analysis between ratings and customer flow, the suitability evaluation results are further supported in order to provide a more objective and scientific basis for the location of shopping malls from the perspective of the change in consumer behavior under the new retail model, and to put forward universal suggestions for the construction and development of shopping malls in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space)
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25 pages, 18237 KiB  
Article
An Assessment of Urban Residential Environment Quality Based on Multi-Source Geospatial Data: A Case Study of Beijing, China
by Shijia Zhang, Yang Xia, Zijuan Li, Xue Li, Yufei Wu, Peiyi Liu and Shouhang Du
Land 2024, 13(6), 823; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060823 - 7 Jun 2024
Viewed by 517
Abstract
Assessing the urban residential environment quality (REQ) is essential for advancing sustainable urban development and enhancing urban residents’ living standards. Traditional REQ assessments rely on statistical data, prone to delays and lacking holistic insight. This study takes residential blocks as the analysis units [...] Read more.
Assessing the urban residential environment quality (REQ) is essential for advancing sustainable urban development and enhancing urban residents’ living standards. Traditional REQ assessments rely on statistical data, prone to delays and lacking holistic insight. This study takes residential blocks as the analysis units and is conducted within the area of the Sixth Ring Road in Beijing. It synthesizes multi-source geospatial data to devise a comprehensive framework for assessing urban REQ, incorporating facets of environmental health and comfort, housing comfort, transportation convenience, city security, and life convenience. Utilizing the principle of minimal relative informational entropy, this study integrates the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with the entropy method to determine the weight of each evaluative criterion. Subsequently, a linear weighting technique is employed to ascertain the scores for each evaluative criterion, thus facilitating a detailed examination of the REQ. Finally, the research probes into the complex interrelation between the assessed REQ and the city’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and carbon emissions across varying scales. Findings reveal that (1) the overall REQ within Beijing’s Sixth Ring Road is superior at the center and diminishes towards the periphery. (2) The dispersion of environmental health and comfort and city security metrics is relatively uniform, showing minor variations; however, a marked disparity is observed in the distribution of housing comfort metrics. (3) Regions characterized by higher GDP tend to demonstrate relatively higher levels of the REQ. Conversely, areas boasting higher-quality urban REQ are more inclined to exhibit increased levels of carbon emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space)
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20 pages, 10979 KiB  
Article
Environmental Inequality in Peri-Urban Areas: A Case Study of Huangpu District, Guangzhou City
by Jing Shen, Shaogu Wang and Yuyin Wang
Land 2024, 13(5), 703; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050703 - 16 May 2024
Viewed by 813
Abstract
This research investigates environmental inequalities within Guangzhou’s Huangpu District against the backdrop of rapid urbanisation and industrial expansion in Asia. This study identifies environmental hotspots, particularly in socially vulnerable areas characterised by high industrial density, using a vulnerability framework and analysing census and [...] Read more.
This research investigates environmental inequalities within Guangzhou’s Huangpu District against the backdrop of rapid urbanisation and industrial expansion in Asia. This study identifies environmental hotspots, particularly in socially vulnerable areas characterised by high industrial density, using a vulnerability framework and analysing census and pollution data. Utilising satellite imagery, urban planning documents, and field research, we delve into the internal environmental conflicts arising from industrial land use. Our findings reveal how diverse stakeholders, guided by their rationales and interests, collectively contribute to spatial inequalities within a market-driven context. Importantly, we emphasise that environmental inequality transcends mere conflicts of interest among stakeholders and is fundamentally shaped by the prevailing market-oriented spatial development model in peri-urban areas. This model results in urban segmentation, socio-economic stratification, and an uneven distribution of environmental risks and resources. Our study advocates for a paradigmatic shift in China’s peri-urban spatial development and the integration of environmental protection and social equity alongside economic growth. We recommend moving away from short-term speculative practices and promoting long-term, community-engaged urban renewal strategies that harmonise economic progress with improved living standards and environmental sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space)
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17 pages, 285 KiB  
Article
Effects of Affordable Housing Land Supply on Housing Prices: Evidence from 284 Cities in China
by Xue Han and Changchun Feng
Land 2024, 13(5), 580; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050580 - 27 Apr 2024
Viewed by 760
Abstract
The policy objectives of affordable housing programs in China are two-fold: on the one hand, they are designed to assist low- and moderate-income families and reduce inequality; on the other hand, they are intended to lower commodity housing prices. However, the effects of [...] Read more.
The policy objectives of affordable housing programs in China are two-fold: on the one hand, they are designed to assist low- and moderate-income families and reduce inequality; on the other hand, they are intended to lower commodity housing prices. However, the effects of affordable housing land on housing prices, particularly the between-city variation and the mechanisms behind the market effects, have not been sufficiently examined, making it difficult to evaluate the housing policy and improve it accordingly. In this study, we address these gaps by using a prefecture-level panel dataset covering 2009–2020, obtained from national land and housing transaction information platforms. We use a threshold model to investigate the threshold effect of population size and a mediating model to uncover the channels through which the supply of affordable housing land affects housing prices. The results confirm that the affordable housing land supply can have a beneficial influence in terms of slowing down the increase in housing prices. The population size plays a significant role in explaining the between-city market effect variations. In cities with a population greater than 10.78 million, increasing the supply of affordable housing land would cause the housing prices to increase. Meanwhile, in cities with smaller populations, increasing the supply of affordable housing land could lower the housing prices. The underlying mechanisms of the market effects vary across cities with different population sizes. Although affordable housing land crowds out commodity housing land in all cities, housing demand diversion only exists in cities with a smaller population. At present, China is experimenting with city-specific housing policies; our findings imply that decision makers should explore additional policy options, besides building on incremental construction land, in order to make housing more affordable in supercities in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Livable City: Rational Land Use and Sustainable Urban Space)
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