Search Results (1,335)

Urban public spaces function as complex social and spatial systems, serving as fundamental elements in preserving cultural heritage and fostering democratic participation and urban stability. The dominant valuation methods depend on economic principles that prioritize financial returns and property values over social, ecological, and cultural aspects. This study examines the distinction between social value, which is based on personal experiences and social connections, and fair value, which relies on market operations and financial regulations. The research investigates how valuation practices affect spatial justice and urban governance through a conceptual framework and four empirical case studies: Syntagma Square in Athens, the metro station areas, the city of Barcelona, and waterfront redevelopment projects in Thessaloniki, London, and Mumbai. The official valuation systems we studied conceal the political elements of space while preserving social inequalities and forcing out the requirements of local communities. The proposed solution establishes an integrative, pluralist valuation system that incorporates qualitative, temporal, and ethical elements, supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda. The framework transforms public space discussions from commercialized urban resources into communal civic systems, creating sustainable cities for all. Full article

Historic and cultural towns in China are crucial carriers of vernacular heritage, yet many unlisted historic buildings remain highly vulnerable to urbanization and fragmented governance. This study takes Xiangzhu Town in Zhejiang Province as a case study and develops a multidimensional evaluation framework—integrating value, morphology, and risk—to identify conservation priorities and guide adaptive reuse. The results highlight three key findings: (1) a spatial pattern of “core preservation and peripheral renewal,” with historical and artistic values concentrated in the core, scientific value declining outward, and functional diversity emerging at the periphery; (2) a morphological structure characterized by “macro-coherence and micro-diversity,” as revealed by balanced global connectivity and localized hotspots in space syntax analysis; and (3) differentiated building risks, where most assets are low to medium risk, but some high-value ancestral halls show accelerated deterioration requiring urgent action. Based on these insights, a collaborative framework of “graded management–classified guidance–zoned response” is proposed to align systematic restoration with community-driven revitalization. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the value–morphology–risk approach for small historic towns, offering a replicable tool for differentiated heritage conservation and sustainable urban–rural transition. Full article

Under the accelerating urbanization, the evolution of public spaces in traditional villages increasingly diverges from social needs. The top-down governance model fails to adequately address the actual needs of indigenous residents, highlighting the necessity for structural analysis and optimization from an integrated physical–social perspective. This study, focusing on traditional villages in Beijing’s Fangshan District, constructs a three-tier model (village-street-node) by integrating Social Network Analysis (SNA) and space syntax theory. It analyzes the relationship between the accessibility and traffic potentiality of linear and point-based public spaces across the region and the frequency/scope of villagers’ daily activities. The findings reveal that within the linear belt-like spatial layout of traditional villages in western Beijing, historical spaces situated within the core residential areas demonstrate high stability and integrity, serving as primary venues for villagers’ daily activities. In contrast, historical spaces located at the periphery of settlements suffer from low utilization rates and even exhibit social segregation. Additionally, deficiencies in spatial choice, intermediary nodes, and functionality within settlements are identified as key factors contributing to social segregation in public spaces. Finally, the study proposes targeted policy recommendations for the preservation and sustainable development of traditional villages. Full article

Urban green spaces are essential for mitigating the heat island effect, supporting ecosystem services, and maintaining biodiversity. The distribution, fragmentation, and connection of the green spaces significantly impact the behavior of species in cities, serving as key indicators of environmental resilience and ecological benefits. However, current studies, as well as planning standards, often prioritize green spaces independently through their coverage or density, overlooking the importance of continuity and its impact on thermal regulation and accessibility. In this research, urban “hidden green corridors” refer to the unrecognized but functionally significant pathways that link fragmented green spaces through ecological behaviors, which enhance both biological and human habitats. This research focuses on developing an agent-based simulation (ABS) model based on the Physarealm plugin in Rhino, which can assess the effectiveness of these hidden corridors in different urban settings by integrating geographic information systems (GIS) and space syntax. Based on three case studies in Italy (Lambrate District, Bolognina, and Ispra), the simulation results are further interpreted through the AI agentic workflow “SOFIA”, developed by IMM Design Lab, Politecnico di Milano, and compared using manual analysis as well as mainstream large language models (ChatGPT 4.0 Web). The findings indicate that the “hidden green corridors” are essential for urban heat reduction, enhancement of urban biodiversity, and strengthening ecological flows. Full article

Urban lawns are a predominant form of vegetation in sports grounds and greenbelts. Nitrogen (N) fertilization is widely used to sustain lawn productivity. However, it also promotes nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. The microbial mechanisms underlying N₂O emissions from fertilized lawn soils remain poorly understood. In this study, we conducted a controlled incubation experiment with four N application rates [0 (N0), 100 (N100), 200 (N200), and 300 kg·ha⁻¹·yr⁻¹ (N300)] to investigate N₂O emissions and associated microbial processes in urban lawn soil. Biological inhibitors combined with high-throughput sequencing were used to quantify the inhibitor-sensitive fraction of fungi and bacteria contributing to N₂O emissions. Our results showed that N fertilizer significantly increased N₂O emissions, with the highest emission observed under N200. The fungi inhibitor-sensitive fraction accounted for ~45% of total N₂O emissions, significantly higher than that of bacteria (~31%). Dominant fungal phyla included Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota, with N fertilization significantly increasing the relative abundance of Ascomycota and decreasing that of Basidiomycota. Redundancy analysis revealed strong positive correlations between Ascomycota abundance and N₂O emissions across N treatments. At the genus level, Pyrenochaetopsis, Myrothecium, and Humicola were positively associated with N₂O production and identified as key functional taxa. These findings demonstrate that moderate N fertilization can disproportionately stimulate fungal-driven N₂O emissions in urban lawns. The results provide a scientific basis for optimizing N fertilization strategies in green spaces, with implications for N policy and sustainable landscape management. Full article

China has entered a period of urban renewal, with the focus shifting from large-scale incremental construction to both upgrading existing building quality and adjusting incremental structures. There are three main types of urban renewal: demolition and reconstruction, comprehensive improvement, and organic renewal. The latter systematically optimizes and enhances urban functions, spaces, and culture through gradual renovation methods and is, therefore, suitable for use in ancient cities. To promote organic renewal, the problem of limited space resources must first be addressed, which can be resolved to a certain extent by the moderate development of underground spaces; preliminary evaluations of the development potential are also required. In consideration of the demands of organic renewal, we constructed a novel indicator system for evaluating underground space development potential (USDP) in ancient cities that assesses two dimensions: development demand and development suitability. A multi-factor comprehensive evaluation method was adopted to quantify the indicators of USDP, taking Shaoxing Ancient City (SAC) as the case study. According to the USDP evaluation, SAC can be divided into four kinds of areas: high-potential, general-potential, low-potential, and prohibited development areas. High-potential areas accounted for 16.38% of the total evaluation area and were primarily concentrated in or near key locations: train transit stations (Shaoxing Railway Station), public service facilities, evacuated land, and cultural and tourism facilities around historic districts (Shusheng Guli Historical and Cultural Street). The proposed development strategies for these areas included the interconnection of metro stations, redevelopment of relocation-related and vacated land, construction of underground cultural corridors, and supplementation of parking facilities. For developed underground spaces with low utilization efficiency, functional renewal and management improvement measures were put forward. Our method of evaluating the USDP of ancient cities and the strategies proposed to optimize the utilization of underground space can provide reference examples for SAC and other similar ancient cities. Full article

Urban agriculture in space-constrained cities requires compact, reproducible propagation systems. Therefore, the aim of this Technical Note is to design, implement, and functionally validate a low-cost, modular hydroponic chamber (SSHG) for early-stage vegetative propagation. This system couples DHT11-based temperature/RH monitoring with rule-based actuation—irrigation 4×/day and temperature-triggered ventilation—under the control of an Arduino Uno microcontroller; LED lighting was not controlled nor analyzed. Two 15-day trials with basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) yielded rooting rates of 61.7% (37/60) and 43.3% (26/60) under a deliberate minimal-input configuration without nutrient solutions or rooting hormones. Environmental summaries and spatial survival maps revealed edge-effect patterns and RH variability that inform irrigation layout improvements. The chamber, bill of materials, and protocol are documented to support replication and iteration. Thus, the SSHG provides a transferable baseline for educators and researchers to audit, reproduce, and improve small-footprint, controlled-environment propagation. Beyond its technical feasibility, the SSHG contributes to sustainability by leveraging low-cost, readily available components, enabling decentralized seedling production in space-constrained settings, and operating under a minimal-input configuration. In line with widely reported hydroponic efficiencies (e.g., lower water use relative to soil-based propagation), this open and replicable platform aligns with SDGs 2, 11, 12, and 13. Full article

Climate change and urbanization are intensifying the urban heat island effect and negatively impacting outdoor thermal comfort in cities. Innovative planning strategies are required to design more livable and resilient urban spaces. Building on a state of the art of current Urban Digital Twins (UDTs) for outdoor thermal comfort analysis, this paper presents the design and implementation of a functional UDT prototype. Developed for a pilot area in Huelva, Spain, the system integrates real-time environmental data, spatial modeling, and simulation tools within an open-source architecture. The literature reveals that while UDTs are increasingly used in urban management, their application to outdoor thermal comfort remains limited and technically challenging, especially in terms of real-time data, modeling accuracy, and user interaction. The case study demonstrates the feasibility of a modular, open-source UDT capable of simulating mean radiant temperature and outdoor thermal comfort indexes at high resolution and visualizing the results in a 3D interactive environment. UDTs have strong potential for supporting microclimate-sensitive planning and improving outdoor thermal comfort. However, important challenges remain, particularly in simulation efficiency, model detail, and stakeholder accessibility. The proposed prototype addresses several of these gaps and provides a basis for future improvements. Full article

Rapid urbanization has resulted in widespread habitat loss and fragmentation, threatening global biodiversity. Urban parks serve as essential refuges for wildlife within cities, particularly for birds, which are sensitive indicators of ecosystem health and habitat quality. In recent years, numerous Chinese cities have begun integrating biodiversity-friendly design approaches into new park development. However, the effectiveness of these strategies remains insufficiently evaluated. This study assesses the ecological performance of newly built parks by examining 11 recently constructed parks (within the past decade) and 9 historical parks in Zhengzhou, China’s high-density urban area. Monthly bird surveys were conducted across all 20 parks from May to December 2020, covering breeding, post-breeding, and overwintering seasons. Our findings reveal that new parks significantly outperformed old parks in bird abundance, species richness, Shannon diversity index, and functional diversity. Analysis of environmental variables at both local (within-park) and landscape (1-km buffer) scales showed that habitat diversity and multi-layered vegetation structure were the most influential local factors promoting bird diversity, while green space connectivity was the primary landscape-scale contributor. Notably, neither park area nor age significantly predicted diversity patterns. Based on these results, we propose three key planning strategies: (1) enhancing habitat diversity within parks to support species from various ecological niches; (2) implementing multi-layered vegetation planting to provide diverse food resources and nesting opportunities; (3) improving green space connectivity to facilitate species movement and population persistence within urban environments. These findings provide valuable insights for designing more effective biodiversity-friendly urban green spaces. Full article

Historic and cultural towns are undergoing spatial restructuring and memory ruptures in the context of urban–rural transformation. Collective memory depends on the continuity of public space, with generational differences playing a key role in its transmission. This study uses Menghe Town in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, as a case to explore the role of public space in collective memory transmission through interviews, emotional mapping, and intergenerational co-construction analysis. The findings show the following: (1) Interviews and emotional mapping reveal that memories of traditional spaces like farmland have weakened, while emerging public spaces such as squares and walkways have become new memory nodes, reflecting a dynamic “carrying-transformation-reproduction” mechanism. (2) Intergenerational emotional mapping reveals that the transformation of spatial functions has driven the reconstruction of cultural identity, shifting villagers’ sense of place from clan and production-based spaces to modern public spaces. (3) Intergenerational emotional mapping and co-construction analysis reveal significant generational differences in memory perception and spatial use: the older generation relies on ancestral halls and farmland, the middle generation on factories and streets from the “agriculture-to-industry” period, and the younger generation on modern facilities like squares and schools. This study proposes the “Narrate—Preserve—Participate” model, explaining memory transmission across generations and offering insights for intergenerational collaboration and differentiated preservation in public space planning. Full article

Urban development is the planned growth of cities that takes into account ecological issues, the needs of urban life, social and technical equipment standards, and quality of life. However, as a result of policies implemented by decision-makers and users, both planned and unplanned, urban space is expanding spatially outwards from the city, while also experiencing densification in vacant areas within the city and functional transformations in land use. This process, known as urban sprawl, has been intensely debated over the past century. Making the negative effects of urban sprawl measurable and understandable from a scientific perspective is critically important for sustainable urban planning and management. Transportation surfaces hold a significant share in the land use patterns of expanding cities in physical space, and accessibility is one of the main driving forces behind land use change. Therefore, the most significant consequence of urban sprawl is the increase in urban mobility, which is shaped by the needs of urban residents to access urban functions. This increase poses risk factors for the planning period in terms of time, cost, and especially environmental impact. Urban space has a dynamic and complex structure. Planning is based on being able to guess how this structure will change over time. At first, geometric models were used to study cities, but as time went on and the network of relationships became more complicated, more modern and technological methods were needed. Artificial Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines, Agent-Based Models, Markov Chain Models, and Cellular Automata, developed using computer-aided design technologies, can be cited as examples of these approaches. In this study, the temporal change in urban sprawl and its relationship with influencing factors will be revealed using the SLEUTH model, which is one of the cellular automata-based urban simulation models. Erzurum, one of the medium-sized metropolitan cities that gained importance after the conversion of provincial borders into municipal borders with the Metropolitan Law No. 6360, has been selected as the case study area for this research. The urban sprawl process and determining factors of Erzurum will be analyzed using the SLEUTH model. By creating a simulation model of the current situation within the specified time periods and generating future scenarios, the aim is to develop planning decisions with sustainable, ecological, and optimal size and density values. Full article

This paper presents a phase-based analysis of the spatial and architectural development of underground stations in the Warsaw Metro, focusing on 28 non-transfer stations constructed between 1983 and 2019. The research examines how design and functional solutions evolved over five construction phases in response to changing engineering methods, organizational frameworks, and urban contexts. A comparative analytical framework was developed, incorporating quantitative and qualitative parameters related to spatial layout, access schemes, and interior design features. The methodology combines archival documentation analysis, in situ field surveys, and typological classification. Findings reveal a clear trajectory from utilitarian, dual-purpose stations emphasizing structural durability and civil defense, toward more user-oriented designs prioritizing accessibility and intuitive navigation. Later phases show an expansion of multifunctional elements, including retail spaces, reflecting contemporary trends in metro station design. It contributes to a broader understanding of how adaptive design strategies enable metro infrastructure to respond to evolving urban needs and challenges, highlighting the importance of contextual integration for future metro developments. Full article

With the increasing importance of urban green spaces in leisure, ecology, emergency management, and other functions, urban forest parks play a key role in enhancing urban tourism resilience. Tourists are closely related to this, but current research lacks discussion on the sustainable development of urban forests and tourism resilience from the perspective of tourist demand. Therefore, this study took Kunming Xishan Forest Park as an example, conducted a questionnaire survey of 385 tourists, and identified tourist demands and weights through in-depth analysis using the KANO model and AHP. The results data show that among the 23 demand indicators across five dimensions, six are must-be qualities, eight are one-dimensional qualities, six are attractive qualities, and three are indifferent qualities. Based on the AHP analysis, we further investigated the weight of each demand indicator. The results of this study not only provide practical support and strategic guidance for the spatial planning and design of urban forests, thereby enhancing the sustainable development of urban tourism resilience, but also contribute to theories of urban tourism resilience and offer a reference source for other cities with similar aspirations. Full article

This research explores the visual and non-visual (circadian) perception of light in humans and their brain responses in the urban spaces of two contrasted cities: Madrid and Toledo, in Spain. Lighting has been demonstrated to induce the synthesis of neurotransmitters, which can function as regulators or disruptors of our biological system, causing diseases due to the alteration in our circadian rhythms; these responses are contingent upon the technical properties of the lighting (type of incidence, intensity, colour temperature, and primarily, wavelength), as well as the time and duration of exposure. In Madrid, we analyse Gran Vía, an iconic and busy avenue with high commercial and touristic activity. This has resulted in an excess of illumination, which has a notable impact on the night environment and, in particular, on the biology of the human beings who transit and inhabit these areas. In contrast to Toledo—a small, protected city (a UNESCO World heritage site since 1986) that has maintained a low population density, controlled commercial areas, and a low level of urban lighting at night—Madrid represents an opposite situation. In Madrid, measurements of both lux and light spectrum were taken to demonstrate the excessive light incidence, along with the high emission of short-wavelength light produced by LED screens, which, at night, disrupt our circadian cycle. This paper demonstrates how artificial light at night (ALAN) affects human circadian rhythms. Furthermore, this study suggests directions for urban lighting design, considering human circadian rhythms. Full article

The rapid growth of the aging population, alongside functional decline and more older adults living independently, has increased demand for age-friendly infrastructure and walkable communities. This study proposes a quantitative framework to assess how multi-scale built environments influence older adults’ walkability, addressing the scarcity of scalable and interpretable models in age-friendly urban research. By combining the cumulative opportunity method, street-scene semantic segmentation, XGBoost, and GeoSHapley-based spatial effect analysis, the study finds that (1) significant spatial disparities in walkability exist in Xiamen’s central urban area. Over half of the communities (54.46%) failed to meet the minimum threshold (20 points) within the 15 min community life circle (15-min CLC), indicating inadequate infrastructure. The primary issue is low coverage of older adults’ welfare facilities (only 16.26% of communities are within a 15 min walk). Despite renovations in Jinhu Community, walkability remains low, highlighting persistent disparities. (2) Communities with abundant green space are predominantly newly developed areas (64.06%). However, these areas provide fewer facilities on average (2.3) than older communities (5.7), resulting in a “green space–service mismatch”, where visually appealing environments lack essential services. (3) Human perception variables such as safety, traffic flow, and closure positively influence walkability, while visual complexity, heat risk, exposure, and greenness have negative effects. (4) There is a clear supply and demand mismatch. Central districts combine high walkability with substantial older adults’ service demand. Newly built residential areas in the periphery and north have low density and insufficient pedestrian facilities. They fail to meet daily accessibility needs, revealing delays in age-friendly development. This framework, integrating nonlinear modeling and spatial analysis, reveals spatial non-stationarity and optimal thresholds in how the built environment influences walkability. Beyond methodological contributions, this study offers guidance for planners and policymakers to optimize infrastructure allocation, promote equitable, age-friendly cities, and enhance the health and wellbeing of older residents. Full article