Journal of Urban Planning and Development

Improving walkability is critical for sustainable and livable urban development. Although numerous measures for walkability have been developed by researchers from different fields, systematic classification and comparisons are lacking. Few studies have discussed the inconsistency in the factors that influence walkability in different social contexts. To address these gaps, this study identified the significant researchers, keywords, and citations from papers that were collected between 2014 and 2021 through a bibliometric analysis to provide a basic understanding of walkability research. Then, subjective and objective, and neighborhood and street level measurement methods were distinguished for targeted use. Finally, the built environment factors and social factors that were found in the existing studies that influenced walkability were discussed separately. The findings of this study could help researchers from different fields to select the appropriate methods and factors and remind them that the sociocultural and socioeconomic causes of local differences should be fully considered in walkability assessments. In addition, due to the advantages of low cost and high efficiency, the automatic virtual audit should be recommended for future walkability studies.

During the life cycle of an urban regeneration project, stakeholders enter and exit the project, which has different impacts on its sustainable development. However, few researchers have studied the dynamic changes in stakeholder relationships during a project’s life cycle before they discussed the management of the stakeholders. To bridge this research gap, this study established a framework to conduct dynamic stakeholder relationship analysis for urban regeneration projects based on social network analysis (SNA), which has been widely and successfully applied to stakeholder relationship analysis. A case analysis of the Enning Road regeneration project in Guangzhou, China was applied to illustrate the application of this framework. In this example, 18 major stakeholders and the relationships among them were identified via case-based content analysis. Indexes, such as network density, average distance, nodes of centrality, and stakeholder influence index that denote the network structure and stakeholder characteristics were obtained and analyzed, which provided implications to improve the management of the stakeholders in the project. This study indicated the values of dynamic stakeholder relationship analysis for the management of stakeholders in urban regeneration projects and could provide a useful guide for researchers and practitioners to conduct dynamic stakeholder relationship analysis to facilitate sustainable urban regeneration.

It is believed that having urban parks that residents are keen to visit will promote walking and daily exercise, thereby impacting the general health of the population. We conducted studies on three historical parks in Beijing (the Summer Palace, Beihai Park, and the Temple of Heaven) with the aim of exploring the influence of urban historical parks on the physical activity and public health of local residents and to develop recommendations for the management and revitalization of urban historical parks. We investigated the physical activity of residents in the parks, the characteristics of the parks, and the general health of the public. We applied statistical methods for correlation analysis and found that, (1) in famous historical parks, the frequency of physical activity of residents is positively related to the time cost to travel to the park, quietness, attractiveness of the scenery, and ancient trees; (2) physical health is positively correlated with air quality and usual companion; (3) mental health is positively correlated with education, frequency of physical activity, space size, and aesthetic landscape; (4) the influence of historical parks on physical activity and public health can vary from park to park because of specific features; and (5) the impact of the typical characteristics of historical parks on promoting physical activities and health is not obvious, except in a quiet atmosphere, which causes a higher frequency of physical activity in historical parks. The most important functions of an urban historical park are to spread cultural connotations, create a cohesive society, and promote the conservation and revitalization of historical sites instead of merely a place to encourage physical activity.

People usually take point of interest (POI) accessibility into consideration when choosing a residential location. Based on a digital map and actual traffic time costs, this paper measures the accessibility of residential communities to the urban center, employment center, and other related POIs in Hangzhou, China. Furthermore, three different models of geographically weighted regressions are constructed in order to explore the dynamic impact of the accessibility of POIs on housing prices. The results show that the geographically and temporally weighted regression model has the best goodness of fit. The evolution of POI accessibility is an essential driving force for the temporal–spatial differentiation of housing prices; significant differences also exist in their impact on residential prices across time and space. The residential prices in Hangzhou present an evolving multicenter spatial distribution pattern. In addition to the accessibility of central business district (CBD) and employment concentration, the quality of education resources and access to convenient transportation have become more prominent in terms of the impact on housing prices over time.

The impacts of COVID-19 on for-hire vehicle (FHV) (e.g., Uber/Lyft, often referred to as transportation network companies in other locations) and taxi use have been relatively understudied compared with transit and personal vehicles. This study analyzed and estimated the changes in ridership for taxis and FHVs in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine whether it had disproportional impacts on these competing modes, how these impacts varied over time and space, and the associated factors. Data supporting the analyses came from the Taxi and Limousine Commission, the COVID-19 Data Repository, Google's Community Mobility Reports, the American Community Survey, and the Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output. Temporal change was measured by the daily taxi/FHV ridership deviation from a defined baseline, which showed that COVID-19 more negatively impacted taxis than FHVs. Temporal moving average models were then employed, which showed that COVID-19 had different temporal impacts on taxis and FHVs in relation to the parameters’ significance, magnitude, and temporal correlation patterns. In general, taxi/FHV ridership dropped when people spent more time at home and the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was greater. The spatial variation in taxi/FHV ridership was measured by the coefficient of variation. Spatial regression models indicated that the land use of a zone affected taxi/FHV ridership during the pandemic. In addition, a zone with more carless/car-free households, older persons, or more children enrolled in school was more likely to experience a decrease in taxi/FHV ridership. A zone with more workers who commuted by walking or taking transit (excluding taxis) in pre-COVID times was more likely to see a decrease in taxi/FHV ridership. A zone with more people working from home pre-COVID, was more likely to see an increase in FHV ridership. The models showed that COVID-19 had greater spatial impacts on taxis than FHVs. Based on these results, this study provides insights as to what factors affected ridership of the two competing travel modes and suggests actions that transportation authorities could take to reduce temporal and spatial impact disparities.

China’s central government has chosen the real estate industry as a pillar industry for achieving rapid economic growth. Local city governments also generally enlarge their scales of urban real estate investment to boost their political performance within the Chinese promotion tournament. To identify and separate the governmental interactive strategy of a particular city from the spatial dependence effects of urban real estate investment in its neighboring cities, we applied empirical data to various spatial econometric models with different spatial weighting matrices that incorporated the physical distances between cities and the differences in their population sizes and administrative divisions. There is evidence of spatial dependence effects. In terms of both population size and administrative divisions, these effects are mainly the result of governmental interactive strategies in addition to the First Law of Geography. Such strategies are positive and complementary because a city makes corresponding decisions to increase its real estate investments as its neighboring cities increase their scales of urban real estate investment.

With the decrease in Taiwan’s total population and its dense concentration in metropolises, an imbalance between urban and rural development has emerged. Meanwhile, regional revitalization (RR) and the regeneration of local industries have been considered sustainable methods for regional development. However, a complete evaluation system is still needed to determine suitable directions and models for RR projects. Based on successful RR projects and indicators of the RR database in Taiwan, this study categorizes 55 projects into four types of RR. The association rules method is adopted to explore the relationship between the indicators and the RR types. Subsequently, an artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed to predict the future adoption of revitalization development. The results confirm that the characteristics of different regions are closely related to RR development. On the other hand, the findings reveal that the ANN model can verify the prediction accuracy of future RR models. This study also proposes a double-diamond framework to evaluate and improve the prediction of RR development, which is expected to help the government develop plans and devise strategies in different regions in the future.

In recent decades, rapid urbanization has presented many social, economic, cultural, environmental, and physical challenges and threats in big cities. Sustainable small city development (SSCD) is a sustainable utilised way for reducing the rural–urban population from rural settlements to big cities. In this regard, this research looks to analyze the role of five dimensions—economic, cultural, social, environmental, and physical indicators—in the Golbaf city development in Kerman County, Kerman province, Iran. For this purpose, this paper presents a scientific sustainable model in small cities development using the size of the sample (374 residents). These 374 cases have been selected by the Cochran formula. The SPSS software package 23 has been used to analyze data (T regression test). This research uses the analytic hierarchy process model to prioritize factors affecting the development of Golbaf city. In addition, this research has used the Friedman test to evaluate the similarity of important factors. The results of the research indicate that the environmental indicator is in the first rank and the two indicators of culture and economy are in the next rank of factors affecting the development of Golbaf city.

Abstract

Despite over two decades of equity applicability in an inclusive agenda, its attainment in urban areas remains disputable. That is why addressing the subject using one component would not be viable unless it remains inequitable. The main aim of this grounded theory research is to assess the relationship between equity analysis and the urban environment. Accordingly, this study highlights the significant concepts through three major views for achieving equity in urban settings based on conducting a systematic review of the relation. Thereafter, this study, through investigating modifying aspects based on relative approaches, methods, and models of applying equity in the urban context, revealed the eight key interventions into three comprehensive design strategies to rectify the gap between theory and practice. Consequently, the three comprehensive design strategies have been developed by an implementation process to outline the high level of equity in urban systems.

Practical Applications

The concept of equity has become necessary in the urban disciplines because the issue can raise concern regarding the effects of urban design on different social groups. Accordingly, the relationship between equity analysis and the urban environment has been assessed by proposing three comprehensive strategies. The strategies have been intended to simplify the relation, guide the reader in carrying out the assessment, and outline the high level of equity in urban systems. The results have been derived by integrating the theoretical outcomes and proposed modifications with the planning process to represent desired outcomes and reliable solutions. The developed strategies consolidate equity in the urban setting thru environmental stability, independent trips, and community involvement in the design process by applying the modifying factors as practical tools. The outcomes of this study can be useful for urban researchers, urban planners, and decision-makers interested in detecting effective solutions for achieving environmental equity in practice.

Abstract

In rapidly developing large cities, land functions change rapidly and are mixed. It is essential to obtain accurate functional area maps to evaluate the urbanization process and its impacts on rational urban planning. Many studies have verified the usability of point of interest (POI) data in identifying functional areas. However, few studies have considered the impact of the size differences of the entity objects represented by POIs on the functional categories. A new scoring evaluation model that combines the area score and the normalized kernel density value was constructed to identify urban functional areas. The area score was obtained based on the building vector data and the constructed ambiguity function. The kernel density value was obtained by kernel density analysis of various POIs. The two factors were combined to calculate the influencing scores. Functional areas were identified by the proportion of the influencing scores. Compared with the traditional model based on the quantity of POIs and tested in the system of different functional zones, the scoring evaluation model improved the overall accuracy by 17.4%, and the kappa coefficient increased from 0.51 to 0.73, with strong robustness. Therefore, the model constructed can provide an accurate full-coverage regional functional area map, which can help planners obtain urban spatial structures and make scientific decisions.

Practical Applications

Based on POI data, a scoring evaluation model was constructed to identify urban functional areas (commercial zones, public service zones, residential zones, industrial zones, transportation zones, and scenic zones). The principle of the model was to multiply the area score of each POI by the normalized kernel density value to obtain the impact score of each point and to identify functional areas by calculating the proportion of the impact score of various functional POIs in each plot. The area score was obtained based on the building vector data and the constructed ambiguity function, and the kernel density were obtained by the kernel density analysis of various POI data. The overall recognition accuracy of this model was 83.7%, which is suitable for different functional area systems and research areas. In urban research and planning, this model can be used to quickly obtain information on functional areas based on POI data to master the spatial pattern of the region and analyze the functional structure in depth to make scientific decisions.

Abstract

Retail clusters lead to the establishment of cluster hierarchies and significantly influence the neighborhood economy and job market, mobility patterns, land-use change, and residents’ quality of life. The prosperity or decline of retail clusters depends on the volume of retail sales. Few studies have investigated how commercial environments and agglomeration change retail sales while considering cluster hierarchies. This study compared the effects of commercial environments and agglomeration of retail stores on sales across retail cluster hierarchies at the district-level, neighborhood-level, and traditional market-level retail clusters in Seoul in 2019. Multilevel regression models were utilized to identify the effects of retail type-level and retail cluster-level factors on retail sales with diverse geographical data. The empirical models confirmed that commercial environments and agglomeration had an uneven effect on the variations in retail sales across different hierarchies. Specifically, dense and mixed land use, a higher proportion of the floating population, and higher land prices were significantly correlated with higher retail sales. The positive or negative effect of the proximity of small retail stores to large-scale retail stores and the density and mixture of retail stores on retail sales varied with the local context of the retail cluster hierarchies. The findings of this study show that considering the local contexts and features of retail cluster hierarchies is crucial for designing effective policies to ensure that retail sectors prosper across their cluster hierarchies.

Practical Applications

This study focuses on the effect of commercial environments and agglomeration on local retail sales, considering cluster hierarchies in Korea in the year 2019. The key findings from empirical models suggest a few insightful implications for the practical community. First, dense land development positively affected the local retail sales. Thus, strategies for land-use development should be harmonious with spatial patterns of retail sales. Second, a higher floating population has been beneficial for retail prosperity. Therefore, the pedestrian-friendly urban design would effectively support retail stores. Third, the presence of public transit is not directly linked with the better economic performance of retailers. Enhancing the accessibility of public transit improves higher retail sales. Fourth, large retailers were not always competitors of small- and medium-sized retail stores. The shopping behavior of large retailers and small, local retail stores within specific local contexts would determine the variation of neighborhood retail sales. Finally, cooperation among relevant policy authorities needs the prosperity of retail sectors because diverse commercial environments and contexts of retail agglomeration determine retail sales.

Since China’s reform and opening up, the domestic economic structure has undergone significant changes, and the industrial system has gradually developed to the tertiary industry. As the core of the tertiary sector and service industry, tourism has, therefore, entered a stage of vigorous development. At the same time, in the context of promoting new-type urbanization, industrial parks created by the theory of industry-urban integration have entered a new stage of development. Due to the respective characteristics of industrial parks and tourism, tourism industrial parks with comprehensive coverage and a strong driving ability have gradually formed under the promotion of industry-urban integration. As a new carrier of the tourism industry, tourism industrial parks are being built all over China. However, due to the differences in the development level of each region, how to improve the competitiveness in the construction of tourism industrial parks has become a problem worth studying. Based on the diamond model in the competitiveness theory, this paper first improves the model according to the actual situation and constructs the competitiveness evaluation index system of tourism industrial parks from the perspective of new-type urbanization. Second, the weight of each index is calculated using the Analytic Network Process (ANP), and then the competitiveness evaluation model is constructed by the matter-element method. Finally, the evaluation model is verified by taking the Suining city Tourism Industrial Park as an example, and corresponding improvement suggestions are put forward for this case. At the same time, the feedback from this evaluation process also provides a scientific method and theoretical basis for enhancing the competitiveness of tourism industrial parks and provides a new idea for the future development of such parks.

This study measured the residential satisfaction of residents in six urban renewal projects in Chongqing, China with the aim of determining which social factors should be prioritized during urban renewal. Based on an analysis of 1,086 responses to a questionnaire survey conducted among residents at different stages of the urban renewal process, multilevel linear models were used to examine the determinants of residential satisfaction after urban renewal; model results showed that 49 predictor variables explained 32.29% of residential satisfaction values in the hierarchical regression latent models. Two findings from the empirical analysis are: (1) “Social networks and social protections” represented the strongest predictor of residential satisfaction, followed in order of strength by “social reciprocity and trust,” “community participation and accessibility,” and “sense of community and community cohesion”; and (2) keeping all five social factors balanced is essential for urban renewal projects, since having only one or two strong social factors will not contribute to higher residential satisfaction if the other factors are weak. Urban renewal studies of this kind are essential for monitoring trends in residential satisfaction.

A new realm in spatial planning defies administrative boundaries and adopts larger territories than cities, which encompasses city clusters where cities can both compete and cooperate rather than compete as individual entities. In that regard, various approaches to the delineation of functional regions and “mega” regions have been proposed in time, based on population and employment, the urban landscape, or the interactions between regions in terms of intracity travel or migration flows. This paper proposes a methodology to delineate functional regions as well as megaregions based on the pattern of intercity freight flows and a composite economic indicator, exemplified by a case study of Turkey. A four-step delineation method is proposed in which population and trips are used initially to rank the cities and their hinterlands. Second, hierarchical clustering is carried out to delineate new clusters based on flows, and the resulting clusters are used to delineate functional regions for regional planning purposes. Third, a composite economic indicator (income and wealth index, IWI) is employed to refine and finalize the boundaries, thus ensuring the functional zones’ homogeneity as economic clusters. In the last step, megaregions are pinpointed based on the cities of the functional regions using two criteria: IWI (≥0.4089) and GDP (TRY ≥18.3 million) in 2015. The defined regions represent a new geographical scale in regional planning that can aid the central government in addressing leading regional issues: for example, prioritizing governmental investments that are subsidized by national funds aimed at the alleviation of regional inequalities. A future study may focus on the effect of regional economic inequalities on internal migration flows.

Using the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) in 2017, this study constructs a network of intercity flows of hukou conversion intentions to analyze the geographical patterns and influencing factors of intercity hukou conversion intentions. A spatial econometric origin–destination flow model (spatial OD model) is employed to examine the effects of origin cities, destination cities, individual-level factors, and network autocorrelation among flows, improving the model performance by introducing the spatial dependence among origins and destinations. It reveals that Beijing and Shanghai act as the national hukou attraction centers, and cities with high hukou attractiveness are mainly distributed in the eastern coastal region and higher administrative levels. The network autocorrelation is embodied in the origin and destination dependence, impacting the unbalanced distribution of hukou conversion intention flows. The intercity flows of hukou conversion intentions are affected by the population sizes and socioeconomic factors of origin and destination cities, together with demographic attributes, social security conditions, and migration features. The unbalanced spatial pattern and the significant network autocorrelation of intercity hukou conversion intentions provide policy implications for China’s hukou system reform.

Abstract

Digital economy has been given a critical mission and momentum to promote high-quality integrated development in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Based on previous research on the spatial distribution of the digital economy and urban networks, this paper creatively utilized the data on human resource needs in the digital economy to compare the urban network. Using Kriging interpolation, network density, clique analysis, GIS technology, and other tools and methods, the evolution of network characteristics and the structure of digital economy companies in the Yangtze River Delta were described. The study found that (1) the digital economy of the Yangtze River Delta cities has developed rapidly, but the industry segmentation, spatial distribution, and scale are not balanced; (2) the networked pattern of the digital economy has taken shape, and the collaborative governance effect of the digital economy network based on the human resource supply chain and the urban network is beginning obviously; and (3) the core cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou still occupy a dominant position in the digital economy, although there have been formed several cliques, most cities in the network have not yet been able to form subclusters independently.

Practical Applications

The urban agglomeration spatial structure attracts scholars, urban managers, and policymakers. Many scholars have researched the network structure of urban agglomerations from transportation and population flow perspectives. It is a new attempt to analyze the urban system through the spatial relationship of human resource demand. In recent years, as a new development content, the digital economy has attracted the attention of urban managers and markets around the world. From the perspective of urban planning, describing the network distribution of digital economy enterprises' human resource needs in the urban agglomeration space is conducive to better grasping the structural characteristics of China's Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and understanding the urban system within the urban agglomeration. At the same time, it also provides a basis for the organization and resource allocation of the digital economy in space.

This paper examines population redistribution and urban growth in Nanjing—an ancient capital and a new Tier-1 city in China—from 1990 to 2015, focusing on the dynamic processes of urbanization and suburbanization. We rely on China’s census and survey microdata and the shift–share method to investigate population changes and spatial expansion in the city. The results show that Nanjing has been suburbanizing since the 1990s, accentuated by two distinct periods. In the 2000s, intracity migration led to urban spatial expansion and the population of the inner suburbs grew much faster than that of the city center. Urban residents moved from the city center to the inner suburbs for better living conditions. In the early 2010s, urban growth was fueled by rural–urban migration for employment and city-living after the relaxation of migration rules. Population growth was concentrated in the newly developed outer suburbs. In both periods, the suburbs were the main area of population growth, consistent with the trend of China’s traditional Tier-1 cities. Urban growth and population redistribution were led by two countervailing processes—the suburbanization of urban residents and the urbanization of rural–urban migrants. Unlike most US cities, Nanjing has kept its high population density in the city center despite the continued suburbanization. These findings illustrate the unique pattern of China’s urban growth and provide important implications for urban planning.

Recently, China’s urban construction has gradually shifted from incremental development to quality improvement, and urban residents’ demand for a better travel environment has become stronger. Therefore, as the main carrier of urban slow traffic and an important part of public space, streets are gradually becoming the focus of urban planning. This study starts from the perspective of the residents’ needs and selects the measurement indicators from multiple dimensions. The combination of big data analysis and field observations makes up for the shortcomings in the subjective methods, single measurement dimensions, and low data accuracy in previous studies and provides a comprehensive measurement method for the spatial quality of typical streets in China, and provides theoretical support and a scientific basis for urban sustainable development. This study used the Bijiashan Block, Hefei, Anhui Province, China, as an example. Based on the street view big data and technologies, such as point of interest (POI) spatial analysis, road network accessibility analysis, and machine learning algorithm, this study conducted a quantitative evaluation of the street space quality from four dimensions: (1) visual perception; (2) functional attribute; (3) road network structure; and (4) spatial form. In addition, quantitative measurements of pedestrian walking characteristics are conducted based on pedestrian flow rate and walking speed. Correlation and regression analyses are adopted to explore the correlation between street space quality and pedestrian walking characteristics and the impact of each indicator. The results indicate that street richness, green visibility, POI density, and vehicle interference degree show a significant correlation with walking characteristics and indicators, such as street accessibility and functional mixing degree that are believed by the public to affect walking characteristics show no significant correlation with street scale.

Abstract

Most of the activities and land use in a city represent a part of the human spatial experience. Over time, this connection between people and land use turns into a sentimental phenomenon called “longing for place,” or nostalgia. This phenomenon and its types (restorative and reflective) represent psychological, social, communicative, and spatial dimensions. This paper addresses the following problem: There is a decrease in city open public spaces that have positive memories and are dedicated to social activities in high-density population areas. The paper assumes: There is a possibility to employ nostalgia as an indicator to reuse the obsolete spaces. The main objective of this study is to find out the main activities that were preferred by elderly users of obsolete public open spaces and how these memories had mental images that affected their lives. It is an attempt to explain the relationship between nostalgia and a space’s performance, and to determine the impact of the older users who have positive memories to reuse their obsolete open spaces. This paper depended on descriptive and empirical approaches. Its conclusions are: Nostalgia mostly seeks to glorify and recall the positive spatial memory of the past. Its quality increases and decreases according to the level of the impression and performance that is stored in the users’ minds and beings. Naturally, the space’s performance has generated memories and mental images. Thus, whenever there was a longtime positive performance of a space, the nostalgia and its mental images were stronger. The spatial memories stay in the minds even if the space has passed from its original use and its life cycle of performance is finished. Therefore, nostalgia can employ restoratively or reflectively, or together as a mechanism to reuse the obsolete open public space.

Practical Applications

The paper focuses on employing nostalgia as a mechanism to remake a place by enabling decision-makers (planners and designers) to involve the community in designing reuse of the obsolete place or public space. This mechanism encourages democratic planning and design. The practical steps of this mechanism include asking the older users of space about: (1) Their real spatial activities and experiences and fixing their mental images on the drawn general plan (map of old space). (2) Their judgment on the quality of the obsolete space’s performance, through a questionnaire form. (3) Knowing their desire to reuse the obsolete space with the same use, a new use, or a new and old use combined. The responses, which are calculated on the sketches of the obsolete space, and the respondents’ answers in the questionnaire are determined to assess the strength of the space’s characteristics, users’ judgment on the quality of performance, and the strength of their desires to change the use. The results of this mechanism will involve three options: keep the old use (restorative), when positive and real memory was stronger; change it to a new (reflective) when negative memory was stronger; or combine the old and the new within a hybrid type.

Abstract

The continuity of urban activities is provided by a well-oriented transportation network, making sustainable transportation systems a prominent component of sustainable urban development. Moreover, urban public areas involve squares that serve as the focal point of social life. As a result, providing efficient transportation infrastructure for communities with the help of different modes of transportation becomes a key issue to increase the accessibility levels of these squares. To clarify, urban squares serve as the focal point of social life, necessitating effective access to these squares with well integrated and different modes of transportation. Starting from this viewpoint, this article aims to identify statistically significant factors affecting mode choice behavior of visitors for their trips to the following five squares: Eminönü, Çemberlitaş, Sirkeci, Beyazıt, and Sultanahmet, located in the historical peninsula of Istanbul. This way, the accessibility levels of these squares could be verified with regard to three modes of transportation: walking, private automobile, and public transport. According to the findings of the multinominal logistic regression model, location of home, monthly transport cost, and age are the three factors that have the highest statistically significant marginal effects on the ratios of walking, driving, and using public transport. Unlike prevailing cases in the provinces of developed countries, our findings suggest that education level is not one of the statistically significant parameters that shape the related modal split trends in Istanbul, Turkey.

Practical Applications

Urban squares serve as focal points for social life, necessitating effective access with well-integrated, multimodal transportation network in urban spaces. From this point forth, this article aims to detect the prominent factors shaping the modal split tendency of the visitors when arriving at urban squares located in the historical peninsula of Istanbul. In this way, the accessibility levels of these squares could be verified with regard to three modes of transportation: walking, private automobile, and public transport. According to the preliminary findings of this study, the factor called location of home mostly affects the walking habits of the square visitors, while monthly transportation cost mostly determines the usage of private automobiles in arriving at urban squares. Furthermore, interestingly, age is the leading factor shaping the modal split trend of the usage of public transportation. Unlike the prevailing cases in the provinces of developed countries, our findings suggest that education level is not one of the prominent parameters in our case. In light of these views, the dynamics of urban square arrivals are highly different in the cases of developed countries when compared with those in developing countries, which has been empirically verified by our findings.

The reason for constructing urban features is to enhance the happiness of local residents in a city. It can also enhance the favorability of the floating population to a city and attract population inflow. In order to clarify the differences of satisfaction with urban features (SWUFs) between natives and floating population and explore their influencing mechanisms. On the bases of a large-scale questionnaire survey data involving 11 cities in the pilot city of an urban physical examination conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development of the People’s Republic of China in 2019, this paper used the hierarchical linear model (HLM) to empirically analyze the perception and influencing factors of SWUFs of the floating population and local people. The conclusions are as follows: (1) there are obvious differences between the natives and floating population's SWUFs. And the floating population's evaluation of the urban features is more convincing; (2) the higher level of the city's economy and the higher protection rate of the historic district will both take the higher the SWUFs of the floating population; and (3) floating populations are more sensitive than locals when it comes to perceiving urban features. Based on these conclusions, this paper suggests that the government should start more from the perspective of floating populations when planning and designing urban landscapes and fully consider the influencing factors affecting the satisfaction of floating populations with urban features. In addition, this study can enrich the literature of subjective research on urban features and provide practical suggestions for the concept of people-centered urban construction.

The lower reaches of the Yellow River are characterized by a dense population, large resource consumption, fragile ecological environment, and unreasonable land use structure. Their economic development and urbanization are faster than those of cities in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out systematic research on the development of new urbanization in this region, providing scientific reference to optimize the urban spatial layout and promoting sustainable urban development in this region, and to effectively promote the ecological protection and high-quality development of the lower Yellow River and even the whole Yellow River basin. Combining the evaluation index system, ArcGIS and panel data model were used to systematically analyze the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of new urbanization development in the lower reaches of the Yellow River region and its influencing factors from 2012 to 2019. The results show that new urbanization in the lower reaches of the Yellow River has been continuously improved, and the unbalanced development of new urbanization in 14 prefecture-level cities has exacerbated, with the coefficient of variation characterized by a “U-shaped” trend of first falling and then rising. The spatial difference is significant, and gradually exhibits a step-down spatial layout with Zhengzhou and Jinan as the growth poles, presenting a “dumbbell” distribution as a whole. The level of economic development, urban–rural income gap and infrastructure level act as positive roles in advancing the development of new urbanization in the region, while the urban–rural living gap has a negative inhibitory effect, among which the level of economic development exerts the most significant impact. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively improve the quality of urbanization development in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and to accelerate industrial transformation, upgrading and green development, and promoting regional integration and urban–rural integration.

Air connectivity is a crucial factor for economic development, especially for a free port city such as Hong Kong. This paper examines the role changes of Hong Kong in providing connectivity for the international market that originates from regional airports in Mainland China. The time-dependent earliest arrival time method is employed to assess its connectivity levels compared with other Chinese air gateways in 1998 and 2018, with measurement of three indicators: accessibility, dependency, and centrality. Empirical evidence demonstrates that extensive progress of accessibility and dependency has been presented in both Hong Kong and other Chinese gateways as for liberal arrangements after 2001, while foreign transfers are still an inescapable theme to strengthen air connections. In addition, Hong Kong retained its hub status even while deemed inferior to Beijing and Shanghai in the international market of Mainland China, especially for the Northeast and East Coastal region and air travel to Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. What is more, although Hong Kong benefited from its massive traffic generation, major air gateways would be dispersedly located across Mainland China with the rise of central China, geographical proximity effect, and differential market cultivation.