江南水乡 滨水公园

The spatial genes of rural settlements show a lot of different traditional settlement traits, which makes them a great starting point for studying rural spatial morphology. However, qualitative and macro-regional statistical indicators are usually used to find and extract rural settlement spatial genes. Taking Yubei Village in the Nanxi River Basin as an example, this study combined remote sensing images, real-time drone mapping, GIS (geographic information system), and space syntax, extracted 12 key indicators from five dimensions (landform and water features (environment), boundary morphology, spatial structure, street scale, and building scale), and quantitatively “decoded” the spatial genes of the settlement. The results showed that (1) the settlement is a “three mountains and one water” pattern, with cultivated land accounting for 37.4% and forest land accounting for 34.3% of the area within the 500 m buffer zone, while the landscape spatial diversity index (LSDI) is 0.708. (2) The boundary morphology is compact and agglomerated, and locally complex but overall orderly, with an aspect ratio of 1.04, a comprehensive morphological index of 1.53, and a comprehensive fractal dimension of 1.31. (3) The settlement is a “clan core–radial lane” network: the global integration degree of the axis to the holy hall is the highest (0.707), and the local integration degree R3 peak of the six-room ancestral hall reaches 2.255. Most lane widths are concentrated between 1.2 and 2.8 m, and the eaves are mostly higher than 4 m, forming a typical “narrow lanes and high houses” water town streetscape. (4) The architectural style is a combination of black bricks and gray tiles, gable roofs and horsehead walls, and “I”-shaped planes (63.95%). This study ultimately constructed a settlement space gene map and digital library, providing a replicable quantitative process for the diagnosis of Jiangnan water town settlements and heritage protection planning.

The diversity and heterogeneity of the water network environment in the Jiangnan region have fostered highly distinctive water town settlement spaces. Scientific research on the interactions between water system environments and human settlement spaces is of great significance to the high-quality development of urban-rural integration in the Yangtze River Delta. However, current academic research on the spatial patterns of Jiangnan water town settlements under the influence of “water system-human settlement” coupling remains unsystematic. Therefore, this study takes the Eco-Green Integrated Development Zone (EGIDZ) of the Yangtze River Delta—located in the core area of Jiangnan water towns—as a case study, and uses Geographic Information System (GIS) software combined with the landscape pattern index analysis method to study the spatial typologies and structural characteristics of the “water system-human settlement” coupling in 29 towns within EGIDZ. The study reveals the following. 1) The settlement spaces within the EGIDZ of the Yangtze River Delta generally exhibit an agglomeration pattern characterized by ‘single-core large-scale aggregation with multi-core small-scale dispersion,’ among which linear settlements (including low-density and medium-density ones) have the widest distribution, accounting for 45.2%. 2) The water system environment has a significant impact on the spatial forms and characteristics of settlements in the region; these variations in the pattern of Jiangnan water networks determine the basic type characteristics of settlement spaces (point-like, linear, clustered). 3) Jiangnan water town settlements are constantly evolving alongside natural environments and human activities. The natural environment, especially the water system environment, determines the spatial distribution of early settlements, while human activity factors such as agricultural production and infrastructure construction drive the evolution and development of settlement spatial structures. This study further clarifies the inherent order of commonalities and differences in the spatial typologies and structural characteristics of settlements in Jiangnan water towns, providing a reference framework for future policies on protecting distinctive settlements in “new Jiangnan water towns” and methods for landscape construction.

Traditional Jiangnan water towns in China serve as important cultural heritage sites and tourist destinations. Existing studies have revealed a potential connection between environmental elements and spatial perception in these towns. However, there remains a lack of research systematically investigating whether and how these environmental elements influence subjective evaluation indicators, such as spatial attractiveness, and the mechanisms underlying the interactions between these elements. To further understand these mechanisms, we used Nanxun Old Town as our study site, employed computer vision techniques to perform semantic segmentation on street-view images, extracted the visual proportions of environmental elements, and conducted quantitative correlation analysis with subjective attractiveness evaluations. The findings indicate that different environmental elements in water towns shape spatial imagery in diverse ways, thereby influencing perceived attractiveness. Firstly, though space-defining elements such as buildings and water generally contribute positively to perceived attractiveness, their proportions should be controlled within a reasonable range to maintain a spatial scale that aligns with the traditional imagery of water towns. Secondly, foreground elements like boats and lanterns, although occupying a smaller proportion, can effectively enhance the space when properly combined. Finally, the influence of elements such as bridges and buildings depends on the specific viewing distance and angle. These findings, based on an interpretable analytical framework, reveal that the effects of environmental elements on spatial attractiveness are context-dependent and nonlinear, varying with their proportions, combinations, and perspectives. This approach offers a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms by which environmental elements shape spatial attractiveness, providing a scientific foundation for regulating key visual components and optimizing spatial composition for sustainable traditional water town environment management.

Jiangnan water towns, as distinctive cultural landscapes in China, are confronting the dual challenge of surging tourist flows and imbalances in spatial distribution. Research on pedestrian dynamics has so far offered narrow coverage of influencing factors and limited insight into underlying mechanisms, falling short of a systemic perspective and an interpretable theoretical framework. This study uses Nanxun Ancient Town as a case study to address this gap. Pedestrian trajectories were captured using temporarily installed closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras within the scenic area and extracted using the YOLOv8 object detection algorithm. These data were then integrated with quantified environmental indicators and analyzed through Random Forest regression with SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) interpretation, enabling quantitative and interpretable exploration of pedestrian dynamics. The results indicate nonlinear and context-dependent effects of environmental factors on pedestrian dynamics and that tourist flows are jointly shaped by multi-level, multi-type factors and their interrelations, producing complex and adaptive impact pathways. First, within this enclosed scenic area, spatial morphology—such as lane width, ground height, and walking distance to entrances—imposes fundamental constraints on global crowd distributions and movement patterns, whereas spatial accessibility does not display its usual salience in this context. Second, perceptual and functional attributes—including visual attractiveness, shading, and commercial points of interest—cultivate local “visiting atmospheres” through place imagery, perceived comfort, and commercial activity. Finally, nodal elements—such as signboards, temporary vendors, and public service facilities—produce multi-scale, site-centered effects that anchor and perturb flows and reinforce lingering, backtracking, and clustering at bridgeheads, squares, and comparable nodes. This study advances a shift from static and global description to a mechanism-oriented explanatory framework and clarifies the differentiated roles and linkages among environmental factors by integrating video-based trajectory analytics with machine learning interpretation. This framework demonstrates the applicability of surveillance and computer vision techniques for studying pedestrian dynamics in small-scale heritage settings, and offers practical guidance for heritage conservation and sustainable tourism management in similar historic environments.

Abstract The ecological security pattern (ESP) is considered an effective method to balance urban development and ecological protection. Integrating water-related ecosystem services (ESs) into the ESP construction process is essential for protecting urban water systems. In this study, Yuecheng District, a typical Jiangnan water town, was selected as the study area. We combined water-related ESs hotspots, landscape connectivity analysis and ecological resistance surfaces to identify areas that should be prioritized for restoration. The results indicated that (1) 25 ecological sources were identified, mainly distributed in the central canal water network area and the southern mountainous area; (2) we extracted 51 ecological corridors, with 44 of these being blue ecological corridors overlapping with rivers; (3) we developed a spatial optimization scheme known as “two belts, one circle and three zones” based on the ESP. This study offers valuable insights for sustainable planning and refined river and lake management in Jiangnan Water Town.

No abstract available

No abstract available

No abstract available

This study proposes a multidimensional framework for measuring sense of place continuity in traditional settlements—a quality defined as the persistence of place identity cues that enable recognition and meaning making amid urban transformation. Under rapid urbanization, sense of place in traditional townscape is increasingly at risk of erosion. As a form of “living heritage”, it plays a vital role in sustaining social interaction and cultural memory. By leveraging machine learning algorithms with large language models, the study develops an AI-enhanced methodology to advance the computational understanding of “place”, enabling both diagnosis of current conditions and evaluation of continuity. Jiangnan water-town was selected as the study area known for its strong place identity. The framework utilizes multi-source urban data and develops a series of python-based tools to extract spatial, visual, and semantic features using deep convolutional models and natural language processing techniques. These are then compared against reference profiles derived from preserved environments to assess the continuity of sense of place. This study offers a novel pathway for quantifying previously intangible qualities, supporting data-informed urban design and assessment in the context of urbanization. It also contributes to a theoretical reconsideration of authenticity in place-making, shifting emphasis from formal imitation to continuity rooted in local context and lived experience.

The Jiangnan Canal extends through a water town wetland where millions of lakes and mountains form a beautiful natural land base with abundant resources and easy travel access. Such an ecological foundation helps develop gardens throughout Jiangnan. This article classifies gardens with educational functions along the Jiangnan Canal from four aspects: A classification of gardens in Jiangnan divides them into temple gardens, ancestral temple gardens, academic gardens, and commemorative gardens. This work examines how temples utilized education during rituals and gatherings, environmental management activities, and religious worship ceremonies. The discussion explores the psychological effects of garden environments on visitors through Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, which studies how specific forms connect to educational functions. This analysis summarizes why Jiangnan Canal garden educational activities continue flourishing while presenting future directions for sustaining contemporary Jiangnan Canal landscape education.

No abstract available

: [Objective] The agricultural landscape within the canal basin represents a fusion of natural and cultural elements shaped by centuries of agricultural activity. With significant social, cultural, and environmental values, such agricultural landscape has contributed to sustainable agricultural production, water management, and cultural heritage preservation. The Jiangnan water network area has long been one of China’s most prosperous areas. Its unique resources, shaped by historical development, have given rise to valuable examples of agricultural heritage. Over thousands of years, continuous development in this area has fostered a distinctive local landscape, notably the polder field characteristic of canal basins. Jiangnan’s agricultural development stands as one of the most distinctive agricultural development paradigms in China. However, rapid urbanization has led to increased heterogeneity, disorder, and passivity in local agricultural landscape, threatening the unique patterns of pond field and water town emblematic of the Jiangnan Canal Basin. Understanding how urbanization has influenced these landscape changes and analyzing underlying driving mechanisms are crucial for preserving local heritage while promoting balanced urban-rural integration. [Methods] Taking Wujiang District in Suzhou, a representative area with the aforesaid agricultural landscape, as an example, this research employs ArcGIS spatial analysis to process and analyze remote sensing images of the area. Local land use is categorized into three main types: Town (impermeable surfaces), farmland (arable land), and water system (water body, ice, and wetland). By comparing land use classification maps from different periods, the research reviews land use transitions among towns, water systems, and farmlands, highlighting the evolution characteristics of agricultural landscape in Wujiang Section of Jiangnan Canal Basin across historical stages. Historical maps and data are also utilized to analyze the spatial patterns of agricultural landscape and land partitioning in Wujiang District. This approach aids in revealing the temporal dynamics and underlying mechanisms driving landscape changes over

Anchang historical town, a historic Jiangnan water town in Shaoxing city, Zhejiang province, China, is home to well-preserved heritage buildings dating back to the Northern Song dynasty (960 – 1127). Despite preservation efforts, environmental factors, such as high humidity, heavy rainfall, and prolonged sunlight exposure continue to cause material degradation. Addressing the deterioration challenges requires comprehensive analysis and diagnosis to identify root causes and ensure the sustainable restoration of these cultural relics. To investigate the deterioration of historical buildings in Anchang historical town, the research team employed instrument-based detection, software simulations, data integration, and other methods. Two cultural heritage buildings were selected as case studies: the former site of the Bank of China at Wangjiaqiao (BCW building) and the residence of He Gongsheng at Siqiao (HGS building). In this study, a comprehensive analysis was conducted at both macro- and micro-levels, utilizing building models and incorporating environmental parameters. Macroenvironmental factors, such as regional temperature, sunlight, climate, humidity, and soil type were examined. Simultaneously, microenvironmental data, including wall materials, wall temperature, wall humidity, and sunlight exposure, were collected to analyze the impact of factors such as site selection, proximity to water bodies and vegetation, building layout and orientation, and window placement. By employing statistical analysis, inductive reasoning, and other techniques, the study identifies the mechanisms underlying wall damage and predicts future trends. Ultimately, this study aims to provide data-driven insights for the development of scientifically sound preventive conservation strategies for cultural relics and buildings, thus guiding future restoration efforts.

Ancient canal towns in Jiangnan have become important tourist destinations due to their unique water town scenery and historical value. Creating a unique tourist image boosts these ancient towns’ competitive edge in tourism and contributes significantly to their preservation and growth. The vast amount of data from social media has become an essential source for uncovering tourism perceptions. This study takes two ancient towns in Shanghai, Zhaojialou and Fengjing, as case study areas. In order to explore and compare the destination images of the towns, in the perception of tourists and in official publicity, machine learning approaches like word embedding and K-means clustering are adopted to process the comments on Sina Weibo and publicity articles, and statistical analysis and correspondence analysis are used for comparative study. The results reveal the following: (1) Using k-means clustering, destination perceptions were categorized into 16 groups spanning three dimensions, “space, activity, and sentiment”, with the most keywords in “activity” and the fewest in “sentiment”. (2) The perception of tourists often differs significantly from the official promotional materials. Official promotions place a strong emphasis on shaping the image of ancient towns based on their historical resources, presenting a more general picture. Tourist perception, which is fragmented, highlights emerging elements and the experiential activities, along with the corresponding emotional experiences. (3) Comparing the two towns, Fengjing Ancient Town stands out, with more diverse tourist perceptions and richer emotional experiences. This underscores the effectiveness of tourism activities that use space as a media to evoke emotions, surpassing the impact of the spaces themselves.

This paper presents an in-depth study and analysis of the spatial distribution of urban landscapes in Jiangnan cities under the influence of geomorphology and extracts the characteristics to explore the construction mechanism from the perspective of spatial functionality based on the analysis of the process and content of landscape construction. The construction of cities and ponds originated from political influence, environmental constraints, and architectural techniques; the landscape pattern of the combined shape and complementary potential originated from the creation of various types of gardens in various dynasties; the complementary planning of landscape, the traffic creation of the plain and water network, and the production factors of agriculture and sanitation influenced the construction of the countryside landscape; the traditional view of feng shui, poetry and painting, the eight scenes of the city and countryside, and other humanistic intentions influenced the overall situation of the town and the landscape. This paper extracts and analyzes the spatial distribution characteristics of Jiangnan city landscape from several perspectives, and the results can clearly show the distribution of landscape features under the influence of geomorphology and can give the best layout suggestions. From the perspective of spatial variability, the main features of traditional landscape construction in Jiangnan are analyzed through three levels: the characteristics of the process of humanized landscapes evolving into natural landscapes, the comparative analysis of similarities and differences in the construction of cities and towns, and the characteristics of the system of regional landscape construction. Finally, the changes in the landscape pattern of the region under the influence of globalization are analyzed through the changing characteristics of landscape architecture.

No abstract available

No abstract available

No abstract available

Ribbon waterfront parks in hot summer and cold winter regions play a crucial role in microclimate regulation and thermal comfort enhancement due to the combined effects of water bodies and vegetation. This study focuses on ribbon waterfront parks in Hefei. This study investigates the influence of park environmental factors (e.g., plant community characteristics, spatial configuration of water bodies, and plaza layouts) on the summer thermal environment through field measurements and ENVI-met numerical simulations. Based on field studies and a literature review, five environmental factors were selected as test variables: water body direction (S), tree planting density and arrangement (A), square distribution form (B), square location (C), and pavement material (D). Using orthogonal testing, 64 different environmental scenarios under four distinct water body orientations were designed and simulated using ENVI-met (Version 5.6.1), followed by a quantitative analysis of the simulation results. The findings reveal that the interaction between water body orientation and prevailing wind direction significantly influences the cooling efficiency in both the upwind and downwind regions. In addition, through orthogonal testing, Range Analysis (RA), and analysis of variance (ANOVA), the order of magnitude of the effect of each experimental factor on the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) can be derived: density and form of tree planting (A) > pavement material (D) > location of the square in the park (C) > forms of distribution of squares in the park (B). Finally, this study suggests various environmental factor-setting schemes for ribbon waterfront parks that are tailored to distinct microclimatic requirements. It also provides design recommendations to improve thermal comfort in parks based on the orientation of different water bodies. Furthermore, it offers specific references and foundations for planning, designing, optimising, and renovating waterfront parks of similar scales.

Klungkung Regency is one of the districts in Bali which has many beaches that have the potential to be used as recreational areas. One beach is called Sidayu located in the southern part of Klungkung Regency. According to regional regulations, this beach is an area that can be potentially developed into a recreational area as it offers a beautiful vast rice field and ocean view. However, from observations, this beach has not yet plan well. There was no inadequate space arrangement and facilities to support recreational activities. This research aims to develop this beach into a recreational area by applying the waterfront park concept according to waterfront principles. The research method used is a qualitative descriptive method with data collection techniques including observation, interviews, and literature study. The research stages consist of inventory, analysis, synthesis, and concepts with the aspects studied being biophysical and socio-cultural aspects. There were two zones recommended, namely the active recreation zone without which is an undeveloped zone, and the passive recreation zone for development infrastructure. The circulation plan was divided into primary circulation, secondary circulation, and alternative assistance routes. The vegetation plan provided was carried out by maintaining the original vegetation and adding new vegetation according to its function and character. Part of the facility concept is the concept of supporting facilities and coastal protection infrastructure facilities. The product resulting from the research carried out is in the form of a recommended image of Sidayu Beach as a recreation park in the form of a site plan

With the rapid development of technological progress and smart city construction, the concept of sustainable cities is gradually being integrated into all aspects of urban construction. In this context, the public’s demand for high-quality and rich leisure experiences is increasing, and the design, management, and service standards of urban parks are also being upgraded. As an innovative product of the integration of ecological civilisation and information technology, smart interactive parks have become an important direction for promoting sustainable urban development, especially in the landscape design of waterside parks, which show unique significance. This study explores the application of the smart interactive concept in the landscape design of waterside parks from the perspective of sustainable cities, aiming to construct a set of evaluation frameworks to assess its effectiveness and value in urban development. Through in-depth analyses of the smart interaction concept and its application in landscape design, this study combines environmental psychology, landscape ecology, and GIS technology to propose innovative goals, strategies, and design methods for waterside smart interactive landscapes that can support the ecological and social needs of sustainable cities. Domestic and international case studies show that the successful application of smart interactive technologies in waterside parks not only improves environmental quality but also promotes economic development by enhancing the attractiveness of the parks, providing multiple values for sustainable cities. In the empirical research section, this paper takes Haeundae Waterside Park in South Korea as the object of investigation and constructs a design framework based on project selection and indicator quantification to further validate the effectiveness of the practical application of the smart interactive concept in waterside park landscape design. Based on the findings, this paper proposes a series of policy recommendations to promote the construction of smart interactive parks and sustainable urban development. These recommendations not only provide theoretical support for the future development of Haeundae Waterside Park but also provide a reference for the design and planning of public spaces in other cities around the world. By promoting the integration of smart interactive concepts with ecological sustainability, this study provides an innovative reference path for urban planners, landscape architects. and environmentalists to help realise the goal of a sustainable city with coordinated ecological, social, and economic development.

No abstract available

No abstract available

No abstract available

It is important for engineering applications that we evaluate the thermal environment based on long-term tracking and investment. Methods merging environmental, physiological, and psychological domains to implement a human-centered approach were applied in this study to assess the outdoor thermal environment in a park. The constant influence of humans in the outdoor environment can change people’s physiological, psychological, and thermal responses. Additionally, the relationship between human physiological, psychological, and thermal factors was explored in this study. The results of this study provide the following findings: (1) In summer, subjects’ skin temperature increased by 0.35 to 2.83 °C during a one-hour outdoor test without shelter, while when tree shade was provided, subjects’ skin temperature dropped by 0.50 to 1.87 °C (except for motion segments). (2) In winter, if subjects stayed outdoors for 1 h, their body segments’ skin temperature dropped by a maximum of 7.93 °C. (3) When subjects went outside, in the early stage, their thermal responses fluctuated for a long time. Therefore, TSV, TCV, and TAV should be measured after they stay outdoors for 45 to 55 min in future studies. (4) Different body segments show different sensitivities to hot or cold. Considering this, a new group of formulas for mean skin temperature calculation are proposed with high accuracy (winter: 0.95; summer: 0.89). (5) Data for the one-hour change in different assessment indicators provide a good viewpoint for park design considering multiple aims such as comfort (TCV), pleasure (EVI), and increasing energy (PFI). Overall, this study took Stalin Waterfront Park as a case study, and some suggestions involving landscaping nodes, space types, and facilities are offered. Moreover, this study provides a novel theory and reasonable method that can be referred to in urban planning and landscape design.

The design of waterfront parks is discussed with the aim of enhancing the ornamental nature of waterfront landscape greenery and enriching urban public space. In the urban waterfront, vegetation is a kind of landscape with various functions such as ecological, ornamental and aesthetic, which plays a pivotal role in improving people’s quality of life, ecological quality of life and urban image. Through the study of the basic principles and arrangement of waterfront urban landscaping, it has certain guiding significance for the planning and arrangement of waterfront park greenery.

With the rapid development of urban construction, the waterfront industrial heritage park has played an active role in shaping the city’s image, regional economic development and environmental improvement, and the continuation of the city’s waterfront history. The waterfront park based on industrial heritage using post-occupancy evaluation will help improve the sustainable management, maintenance, and design level of the project in the future. However, there is insufficient research on the waterfront industrial heritage park using post-occupancy evaluation. This paper takes Shanghai Houtan Park and Xuhui Binjiang Park, the representative industrial heritage parks in China, as the research objects. Through field investigation and nearly 200 questionnaires and interviews regarding user behavior, the importance of design elements (place characteristics, natural environmental characteristics, usability characteristics, and administrative characteristics) and the correlation of satisfaction help us to understand the use of the two parks and analyze and organize the survey data, carrying out the analysis of the questionnaire results using frequency analysis, IPA analysis, t-test, variance analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The research results include: (1) Both parks are mainly used by people in their twenties and forties, and the trail received the highest utilization rate as the main facility, while the visitor center in charge of guiding functions had the lowest utilization rate. (2) While Houtan Park received high satisfaction with natural environmental characteristics, it was found that Xu Hui Binjiang Park had relatively high satisfaction with the place and usability characteristics. (3) The natural environmental characteristics of Houtan Park have a positive impact on overall satisfaction and return visit satisfaction. Site characteristics and utilization characteristics of Xuhui Binjiang Industrial Park have a positive impact on overall satisfaction, while usability characteristics have a positive impact on return visit satisfaction. Finally, according to the questions and suggestions raised by users, an optimization strategy is proposed for the renewal of the park, and it is hoped that it can provide suggestions for the reconstruction and design of similar Chinese waterfront industrial heritage parks.

This study identifies waterfront parks as a specific type of park developed on waterfronts and examines the distinguishing features and values that set them apart from other parks. Through an analysis of waterfront parks completed and opened in New York City from 2010 to 2020, this research comprehensively explores the prominent design characteristics and trends in contemporary waterfront parks. The design trends and characteristics of the latest waterfront parks are as follows: Firstly, proposals for vertical structures that offer diverse experiences; Secondly, improved accessibility through the organic connection between the park structure and the surrounding urban fabric; Thirdly, the enhancement of ecological diversity and restoration of native landscapes; Fourthly, the integration of climate resilience design; Fifthly, the physical emphasis on historical heritage to highlight the sense of place; and Lastly, the provision of dedicated bicycle lanes and facilities for public waterfront transportation. Based on these findings, this study proposes the following implications for the design and planning of future waterfront parks: First, a continuous research on the design and construction techniques of waterfront parks; Second, administrative support and strategic planning to strengthen the connection between waterfront parks and the surrounding urban core; Third, the necessity for design research that enhances urban resilience through waterfront parks; and Finally, the establishment of overarching plans that encompass waterfront parks at both individual and city/regional scales.

Close contact with nature helps moderate public emotions and enhance happiness. As an important space for the public to connect with nature, the urban park waterfront environment plays a significant role. Studying the characteristics of landscape elements contributes to the optimization of the urban park natural environment. In this study, the waterfront spaces of 23 urban parks in Shenyang were selected in order to categorize urban park waterfront spaces from the perspective of landscape elements and to explore the relationship between the characteristics of landscape elements in different types of waterfront spaces and public visual satisfaction. Using qualitative analysis, typical spatial types were identified based on differences in landscape elements. Content analysis was used to extract and quantify the characteristics of landscape elements for various waterfront spaces. Through orthogonal experimental design, virtual scenarios were created to evaluate public satisfaction. Methods such as the least significant difference multiple comparison analysis (LSD) were applied to explore the effects of landscape element characteristics on satisfaction in different types and differences within groups. Among the four types of waterfront spaces identified in the experiment, the landscape elements that influenced spatial satisfaction were primarily concentrated in plant characteristics and pavement characteristics. In different types of spaces, the impact of landscape element factors at different levels varied. The study introduced virtual experiments to analyze the characteristics of landscape elements in waterfront spaces, which provided a new method for the satisfaction research of waterfront spaces. The results are a valuable guidance for the scientific classification of urban park waterfront spaces. A new perspective for enhancing the urban park waterfront landscape was supplied.

No abstract available

This study investigates the visitors’ satisfaction of Al Majaz Waterfront Park using the pull and push factor approach. The case study was selected as one of the most popular urban spaces for different activities in Sharjah. The main aim behind the study is to guide and support the development of the district, which can be taken as a reference for other public spaces. The paper presents the analysis of information collected based on a survey of 235 space users as well as seven specialized architects aiming for identifying possible pull and push factors in Al Majaz Waterfront urban space. The survey was designed to highlight the user’s perception regarding the overall environment based on the user experience of the place. Responses were summarized and categorized in terms of several dimensions.As a result, the research found that the users expressed many comments and suggestions that can be used as of push and pull factors to determine their satisfaction with the Al Majaz Waterfront. Factors such as (1) Various outdoor activities for different groups of people, (2) Greenery and natural environment and (3) protected pathways and routes for users are examples on how simple changes and factors could make a space more attractive to visitors. The identified factors could be useful both for researchers and designers to identify and fulfill the users’ satisfaction and visitor experience for the future preparation of public spaces in Sharjah and the UAE.

No abstract available

No abstract available

No abstract available

This study analyzes the process of transforming waterfront industrial heritage into parks in New York City, focusing on spatial design techniques, programming, and management strategies. In terms of spatial design, efforts were made to enhance openness and accessibility by improving physical access to the waterfront and strengthening connectivity through integration with urban planning. Strategies for maintaining the historical context while reinterpreting the space in a modern way included juxtaposing existing structures with new elements and incorporating design elements that reflect the materiality of the industrial facilities. Additionally, various environmental techniques, such as drainage systems, eco-friendly materials, and the creation of habitats, were employed to establish sustainable and environmentally friendly parks. Regarding programming, everyday cultural activities were combined with enhanced educational and marine recreation functions. In terms of management, various models of public-private collaboration were employed, with long-term funding secured through donations and revenue from on-site facilities. This study confirms that waterfront industrial heritage design differs from general industrial heritage regeneration, emphasizing the need for harmony with the waterfront environment and the preservation of public value. Furthermore, it identifies key challenges, including conflicts between private land ownership and public water resources, differences in park objectives based on the managing entity, and issues related to gentrification.

No abstract available

As an important type of linear cultural heritage and a waterfront landscape that integrates both artificial and natural elements, heritage canals provide the public with a multidimensional perceptual experience encompassing aesthetics, culture, and nature. There remains a lack of refined, micro-level studies on heritage canal landscapes from a multidimensional perspective of visual preference. This study focuses on a typical segment of the Grand Canal in China, specifically the ancient canal section in Yangzhou. We employed SegFormer image semantic segmentation techniques to interpret features from 150 panoramic images, quantitatively identifying the waterfront environmental characteristics of the heritage canal. Four perceptual dimensions were constructed: aesthetic preference, cultural preference, natural preference, and hydrophilic preference. Through a questionnaire survey and various statistical analyses, we revealed the relationships between visual preferences for the waterfront landscape of heritage canals and environmental characteristics. The main findings of the study include the following: (1) Aesthetic preference is positively correlated with cultural, natural, and hydrophilic preferences, while natural preference shows a negative correlation with cultural and hydrophilic preferences. (2) Aesthetic preference is influenced by a combination of blue-green natural elements and artificial factors. Natural preference is primarily affected by increased vegetation visibility, cultural preference is associated with a higher proportion of cultural facilities and high-quality pavements, and hydrophilic preference is linked to larger water surface areas, fewer barriers, and better water quality. (3) There are spatial differences in canal waterfront landscape preferences across different urban areas, with the old city exhibiting higher aesthetic, cultural, and hydrophilic preferences than the new city and suburban areas. Finally, this study proposes strategies for optimising and enhancing the quality of waterfront landscapes of heritage canals, aiming to provide sustainable practical guidance for the future planning and management of these heritage sites.

ABSTRACT Waterfront spaces in marine cities are crucial for urban health but often suffer from poor design, pollution, and inaccessibility. This study develops a multi-dimensional assessment framework using AHP-Fuzzy to evaluate waterfront landscape design. A three-level index system with 6 primary criteria and 30 secondary indicators was constructed. Expert consultations and pairwise comparisons calculated indicator weights, with consistency ratios (CR < 0.1) ensuring rationality. Field surveys in Busan’s Haeundae revealed “environment and public health” (weight: 0.3941) and “spatial accessibility” (0.2498) as the most critical factors. The framework improved public health outcomes by 23.7% compared to baseline scenarios. Proposed strategies include optimizing connectivity, enhancing ecosystem services, and integrating cultural elements. The study highlights the importance of evidence-based methodologies in translating design objectives into health-promoting interventions, emphasizing the need for human-centric and sustainable waterfront development.

Since the reform and opening up, the development approach targeting urban economic growth has led to a sharp increase in the proportion of impervious hardened surfaces in cities and significant waste of natural resources. The urgent need for water ecological civilization construction is of great significance to the continuation of human civilization in the long run. This paper focuses on the urban waterfront landscape design of the Chongqing Institute of Engineering section of the Huaxi River in Banan District, emphasizing the concept of “symbiosis”. Using site cultural symbols as a medium to connect the campus and the city on both sides of the river, returning the riverbank to the people, restoring the ecological space of the riverfront, enriching the landscape belt, promoting the protection of bird and fish habitats, and stimulating the vitality of the riverbank space; it aims to pave the way for ecological restoration, functional expansion, landscape renewal, and riverfront space activation at the study site.

In the process of "modern society", waterfront landscapes were born with the rapid development of society. With the improvement of people's material living standards, people's demand for innovative concepts has become increasingly strong. Today's waterfront landscapes should not stick to traditional landscape models, should fully tap imagination and creativity to meet people's spiritual and cultural needs Give landscape design greater sensibility as well as freedom of creation in order to better express fashionable sexual elements. Fernand Braudel believes that the change of fashion not only represents the sublation of the old, but also reveals the creation of the new. This article mainly explains the problems existing in today's waterfront landscape spatial interface design, and explains the interesting expression and displayed characteristics of fashionable elements in waterfront landscapes, or the design techniques for interpreting popular waterfront landscapes. At the same time, it shows that if a fashionable design is recognized in a certain period of time, it will have multiple communication paths. Especially in the information age, the most fashionable design style will usher in the fastest imitation. Finally, it is proposed that the new era should continue to use new ideas, new technologies, and new materials create more "fashionable" waterfront landscape design paradigms.

In urban waterfront space design, the expression of design language has different expressions at different times and in different regions. However, due to the globalization of the economy and the continuous emergence of new materials and new technologies, design is gradually converging, so localization, Regional and other typical landscape features are gradually being ignored. Once again, which is more important, formal beauty or functional beauty, is a topic of intense discussion among design practitioners today. This article focuses mainly on the inquiry of the relationship between the three major fields "waterfront landscape", "graphic language" and "spatial morphology", through the inductive refining of the graphical language and the integration of aesthetic elements into the design process, and the relatively systematic elaboration and analysis of the characteristics of the waterfront landscape space This leads to a model library of waterfront landscape spatial morphology at a small scale that is exclusive to the environmental design landscape discipline, and provides guiding suggestions for the subsequent design and application of waterfront landscape spatial morphology.

: Sponge city construction work is currently one of the focuses of all water ecological construction work in China's cities, and the urban waterfront landscape as the city adjacent to rivers, lakes, oceans and important landscapes, waterfront landscape planning and design work directly determines the actual charm of the city itself. In this paper, after sorting out the importance of the sponge city concept on waterfront landscape, according to the characteristics of sponge city, the sponge design of urban waterfront roads, squares and ecological corridor

Landscapes in urban waterfront spaces are of high societal value as they can meet people’s physical, psychological, and social needs for health and well-being, but the relationship between waterfront landscape features and public health benefits has yet to be clarified. From the perspective of blue health, this paper takes blue spaces along the Min River of Fuzhou City as the research object. It constructs the mediation model of “Waterfront landscape characteristic (WLC)→Water-friendly environmental preference (WEP)→Emotional benefit (EB)”. The role of WEP in the mechanisms linking WLC and EB in different waterfront spaces was explored through the quantification of indicators, questionnaires, and physiological measurements. The main results showed that (1) the ability of different types of waterfront spaces to arouse positive emotions in the population is characterized by blue-dominated space > co-dominated space > green-dominated space, while the opposite is true in terms of inducing negative emotions; (2) green visibility, blue visibility, naturalness, water-friendliness, and openness are all significantly related to EBs and could affect positive emotions either directly or mediated by WEPs, but openness seems not to affect negative emotions through WEPs; (3) cleanliness affects the population’s WEP for the coherence dimension, but has no significant role in improving EBs. This study could expand new ideas for research in habitat health, provide a reference for embodied evidence-based waterfront landscape design, and help promote the construction and development of healthy cities.

Mountainous cities are dominated by mountainous, hilly, and steep terrain, which brings certain complexity and particularity to the planning and construction of waterfront spaces in these cities compared to plain cities. Waterfront spaces, often serving as the core areas of city development, possess favorable location advantages and special attributes of water-land intersection, giving them more possibilities for functional transformation [1]. However, the ultimate goal of design is to provide users with a vibrant waterfront area. The design of waterfront spaces should focus more on people’s behavioral needs, allowing users to feel a good interaction between the place and their behavioral needs during space usage [2]. Therefore, the design incorporates human environmental behavior, increases interactive experiences, and enriches spatial interest.

: [Objective] Urban waterfront green spaces, as a typical representative of urban blue-green spaces, can serve as an important venue for the public to engage in various outdoor health-related activities. Although previous research has confirmed the close relationship between the diverse and complex landscape elements of waterfront green spaces and health behaviors, which mainly focuses on comparisons between overall waterfront green spaces, while seldom considering how landscape elements within these green spaces affect health behaviors. Meanwhile, restorative perception has been identified as a key factor influencing individual behavioral decisions in natural environments, which can provide a new perspective for exploring the relationship between the aforesaid landscape elements and health behaviors. Therefore, this research aims to delve into how landscape elements in urban waterfront green spaces influence public health behaviors from an internal spatial perspective, with restorative perception as a mediator. [Methods] This research takes Wuhan Shahu Park as an example and selects 93 landscape nodes within the park as the research objects. Initially, a DeepLabv3+ semantic segmentation model tailored for landscapes in waterfront green spaces is developed through manual training. This is coupled with MATLAB-based color quantification and assignment statistical techniques to comprehensively and meticulously quantify landscape elements across six dimensions: Space, nature, artificiality, waterfront characteristic, color and entity. Subsequently, field surveys are conducted to gather public assessments of restorative perceptions (being away, fascination, extent and compatibility) at landscape nodes. Behavioral observations are also employed to document specific instances of public engagement in restorative, physical, and social activities within these sites. Ultimately, data analysis methods, including multiple regression analysis and mediation effect analysis, are applied to explore the interrelationships among landscape elements, restorative perceptions, and health behaviors. [Results] Research findings are summarized

: With the continuous improvement of people's quality of life, more and more people pay attention to the comfort and perception of the surrounding environment. The current urban waterfront landscape design still focuses more on the visual experience of formal beauty, ignoring the connection between the waterfront landscape and people, so designers need to strengthen the perception of the environment, focusing on the sensory experience of landscape design and people's enjoyment of the environment at a high level. Therefore, the integrated use of multiple senses of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste will be a popular trend in waterfront landscape. This paper analyzes the importance of multi-sensory experience in the creation of waterfront landscape by reviewing the literature and sorting out the current research and problems of multi-sensory waterfront landscape

This article focuses on the transition of the natural landscape of Thessaloniki’s east waterfront to the artificial urban landscape that draws a straight line between water and land, while noting the developing rigid homogeneous multistorey buildings as a background image of the city in contrast to the former porosity and architectural variety of the late 19th-early 20th century mansions. The transition is captured either as a commentary on the new landscape or as a memoir of a lost era by cinematographers, such as Takis Kanellopoulos in his film “Parenthesis” (1968) and Theo Angelopoulos in his film “Eternity and a Day” (1998) and photographers of the 1960’s such as Socratis Iordanidis and Yiannis Stylianou. Cover image: Theo Angelopoulos, Populated manmade waterfront, Film still, Eternity and a Day, Thessaloniki, 1998

Urban areas are currently at a pivotal stage of renewal and enhancement of the human living environment. Waterfront zones, as critical spaces embodying regional culture and the spirit of place, hold significant practical value for research on spatial morphology evolution and landscape design. Responding to emerging demands for public waterfront spaces amid urban renewal, this study concentrates on the historical evolution patterns of waterfront spatial morphology, the theoretical framework of landscape resilience design, and its practical implementation. The objective is to establish a methodological system for waterfront landscape design that adapts to dynamic urban development, thereby providing theoretical support for improving the quality and sustainability of waterfront spatial environments.

This document explores a circular approach to the redevelopment of the city–port system of Reggio Calabria, an area characterized by complex challenges involving economic, social, and environmental needs. By developing a multidimensional decision-making process, three development scenarios were identified to support a sustainable transition. The methodology integrates both quantitative and qualitative assessments, actively involving the local community and stakeholders. The proposed methodology operationalizes the principles of the circular economy by aligning sustainable regeneration scenarios with local needs and environmental constraints. The integrated assessment ensures the applicability of circular models for the resilient redevelopment of the waterfront. The results demonstrate how this model can be applied to other Mediterranean port cities to promote sustainable and resilient regeneration.

Waterfront greenway is important spatial carriers for urban residents to engage in walking tours and fitness activities. Improving the quality of its walking spaces can have a positive impact on the mental well-being of pedestrians. This enhancement is a crucial aspect of building healthy cities. This study focused on urban waterfront greenway landscapes. Field surveys combined with questionnaire scales were used to assess pedestrians’ emotional perceptions, while concurrently collecting image data of waterfront greenway walking spaces. Semantic segmentation was employed to identify elements, and landscape metrics were calculated using relevant formulas. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between landscape metric features and emotional perceptions. And established a multiple regression model of pedestrian spatial perception on waterfront greenways to investigate the influence mechanisms of emotional perception and landscape metrics. The study indicates that greenness, proportion of water area, and vegetation diversity positively impact emotional perception of waterfront leisure greenway walking spaces, whereas path width negatively affects emotional perception. Specifically, the magnitude of influence is ranked as follows: greenness (0.491), proportion of water area (0.356), proportion of trails (−0.272), and vegetation diversity (0.130). The design guidelines for urban waterfront greenway spaces were proposed, guided by quantitative studies on landscape elements of waterfront greenway spaces and based on the measurement features of these elements. Moreover, the environmental experience of the waterfront green walking spaces was further enhanced, satisfying the public’s visual perception and psychological needs. The contribution of this study is to lay the foundation for the development of spatial control items for urban waterfront greenway.

No abstract available

No abstract available

Against the dual backdrop of global tourism transitioning toward high-quality sustainability and China’s deepening rural revitalization strategy, rural waterfront landscape spaces serve as quintessential venues for cultural-tourism integration. Their integrated development holds critical significance for rural revitalization. However, current rural waterfront cultural-tourism development commonly faces prominent issues such as excessive ecological intervention, cultural homogenization, and industrial monoculture. This study centers on the Slow Design philosophy, integrating theories such as anti-planning and living cultural transmission. Using the Fairy Lake Qixi Cultural Tourist Resort in Jiangxi as an empirical case, it employs literature review and field research to systematically explore the coupling relationship and adaptability between Slow Design and rural waterfront landscape spaces. A four-dimensional transformation strategy system—“ecological restoration—cultural revitalization—industrial integration—community participation”—is constructed. The study demonstrates that slow design—through low-intervention ecological restoration, dynamic preservation of local culture, diversified industrial synergy, and naturalized community participation—effectively addresses core challenges in Fairy Lake Qixi Cultural Tourist Resort, including ecological degradation, superficial cultural expression, and fragmented industries. This approach achieves multiple objectives: enhancing ecological resilience, transforming cultural value, optimizing industrial efficiency, and ensuring shared benefits for villagers. This research enriches the application framework of slow design in rural waterfront landscapes while providing a referenceable practical pathway for similar waterfront cultural tourism projects in southern China’s water network regions.

Shanghai’s historic Bund is one of the earliest examples of urban public space developed for recreational purposes in modern China. Drawing on the Riparian Rights, 1845–1930: General Collection from the Shanghai Municipal Archive, alongside other unpublished sources, this study reveals that the Bund’s promenade and lawns were not part of the original plan for the British settlement. Instead, these public features emerged in 1879, following three decades of protracted negotiation. This urban process involved four key stakeholders: The Bund lot holders, the Shanghai Municipal Council, the Shanghai Daotai, and the British consuls. While Bund lot holders repeatedly sought to privatize the waterfront, the other three parties collectively resisted, with the British consuls playing a decisive yet historically overlooked role. Theoretically, this study challenges dominant paradigms, such as the “impact and response” model and the “colonizer–colonized confrontation” framework, which often frame Western powers and indigenous populations in binary opposition. In contrast, it highlights the complexity of pluralistic negotiations within colonial urban contexts. Practically, the study emphasizes the value of such negotiation processes in shaping sustainable public spaces.

No abstract available

No abstract available

Urban renewal is a policy hot spot and a focus of work in the field of urban construction, which is realizing a major transformation from rough development to quality enhancement and organic renewal at the current stage. As an important waterfront space in Beijing, the Grand Canal is the memory and soul of Beijing’s development. The renewal of the public space along the canal play an important role for the overall renewal and development of the urban sub center. ‘Place attachment’ is an important theory to discover the emotional connection between people and places in the discipline of recreation geography. It has been used by relevant scholars at home and abroad to study human-land interaction in communities, urban parks and other places. Based on the problems of the public space such as inefficient use of residents and lack of emotional indentity and the growing needs of people for a better life, this study carries out the research on the renewal of urban waterfront public space along the grand canal based on place attachment, with the hope of addressing the lack of a sense of belonging and identity in the use of waterfront public space and supplement the updated method of public space in human-land interaction.

Abstract Waterfront public spaces and urban built environments are focal points in urban planning, yet more scholars need to focus on the coupling relationship between the two. Only through the coordinated development of these two can urban sustainability be promoted. Using vitality as a medium and drawing from the theory of coupling in physics, the study quantitatively analyzes the coupling and coordination degree between the built environment of 62 research units in the Shenzhen Bay waterfront area and the vitality of the adjacent waterfront public spaces. This is achieved by leveraging the population location big data from Baidu Huiyan, and vector data from Amap. The study finds that: (1) The overall coupling coordination degree between the public space vitality and built environment in the Shenzhen Bay waterfront area is relatively high, although the spatial distribution is uneven. (2) The built environment systems and waterfront public spaces of slightly and moderately discoordination units are predominantly in the process of development and construction, which manifests as a need for more completeness in the overall urban development. (3) Research units in an elementary coordination state mainly display that a moderate-intensity built environment has not spurred the vitality of waterfront public spaces. More units in a moderate coordination state show a relative lag in the urban built environment system. (4) Advanced coordinated and optimally coordinated study units are coordinated and co-developed with each other but can have a siphoning effect, leading to a less coordinated phenomenon in neighboring regions.

The urge for urban public space evolved in increasingly dense cities. Tirtonadi Dam Park is a waterfront-designed urban park located on Bengawan Solo riverbank area. To support the activities, adequate infrastructure must be provided. The objective of this study was to assess Tirtonadi Dam Park's service quality as an urban public space and suggest methods to improve it to promote local communities' economic development. The variables—infrastructure, access & linkage, comfort & images, use & activity—were evaluated and compiled into 16 indicators. Based on user perceptions, Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) was employed to determine the performance and importance levels of predetermined variables. The findings demonstrated that vegetation, infrastructure for the disabled, and drainage and water systems all dropped into the "concentrate here" quadrant, necessitating further development to enhance quality and add more supporting facilities.  Furthermore, the quality of security, environmental cleanliness, pedestrian paths, recreational facilities, informal sectors, lighting facilities, and transportation lies in the “keep up the good work” quadrant so that they should be maintained. Enhancing waterfront facilities with leisurely and recreational features can increase the number of visitors. Improving urban areas and incorporating the surrounding communities in all phases of development will be crucial, with the potential to enhance their economic circumstances.

The analysis and evaluation of the service capacity of an urban public space is of great importance for optimizing spatial design and ensuring sustainable regeneration of the space. Point-of-interest (POI) data analysis is a common method for evaluating the performance of public space since it contains various geographical information about specific facilities. However, this method is incapable of providing intuitive and clear feedback on the usage of the space, such as visitor experience and satisfaction levels. In this paper, we present a hybrid approach that combines POI data with questionnaire surveys to comprehensively analyze and evaluate the service capacity of the facilities in a waterfront public space. By taking the Changning section of the Suzhou Creek in Shanghai as an example, we evaluate and verify the utilization rate and satisfaction level of public facilities based on this hybrid approach with three satisfaction factors: accessibility, landscape visual quality, and service functions. The results reveal that the service space that can be reached on foot provides the most satisfaction in terms of accessibility, followed by the space that can be reached by bicycle. When it comes to landscape visual quality, visitors are more concerned with the view around the facility than with the greenery. Regarding service functions, the service facility with beverage outlets, fitness, and small gatherings is more appealing. The proposed approach will be useful for further developing advanced public space evaluation strategies with real-time feedback capabilities, as well as for the intelligent design and long-term regeneration of future public spaces.

Urban waterfront development had been a global trend in many cities around the world, not only in big cities but also in medium-sized cities, and even small towns. They have improved their waterfront area with good utilization in order to create attractive public spaces. Located on the most western tip of Sumatera Island in Indonesia, the riverbank area along Krueng Aceh River in Banda Aceh is undergoing to waterfront oriented and has enormous potential to be developed as waterfront public space. But in its implementation, there is still less waterfront utilization so which affects the lack of urban public space quality improvement along the riverbank. This paper presents the waterfront planning on Krueng Aceh River in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and provides a strategic plan as a new waterfront concept in terms of urban public space quality improvement that can be applied immediately.

Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia, Wuhan is constructed along the river, and its waterfront public space serves as the unique spiritual space that connects citizens with the city. This paper discusses the space construction concept of Wuhan River-beach from multiple aspects, such as understanding developments and evolutions of River-beach, enhancing city and river connection, highlighting local features and implementing supporting planning etc.

No abstract available

Post-industrial waterfronts have become key arenas of urban transformation, where heritage, public space and social equity intersect. This study examined the Xuhui Waterfront in Shanghai under the ‘One River, One Creek’ initiative, which converted former industrial land into a continuous riverfront corridor of parks and cultural venues. The research aimed to evaluate whether this large-scale renewal enhanced social equity or produced new forms of exclusion. A tripartite analytical framework of distributive, procedural and recognitional justice was applied, combining spatial mapping, remote-sensing analysis of vegetation and heat exposure, housing price-to-income ratio assessment, and policy review from 2015 to 2024. The results showed that the continuity of the riverfront, increased greenery and adaptive reuse of industrial structures improved accessibility, environmental quality and cultural enjoyment. However, housing affordability became increasingly polarised, indicating emerging gentrification and generational inequality. This study concluded that this dual outcome reflected the fiscal dependency of state-led renewal on land-lease revenues and high-end development. It suggested that future waterfront projects could adopt financially sustainable yet inclusive models, such as incremental phasing, public–private partnerships and guided self-renewal, to better reconcile heritage conservation, public-space creation and social fairness.

User-oriented public spaces are central to urban livability, as they address diverse needs, preferences, and everyday experiences while fostering inclusivity, accessibility, functionality, and comfort. These qualities enhance well-being and support sustainable urban development. Aligned with this perspective, the present study conducts a user-oriented post-occupancy evaluation of the regenerated Üsküdar waterfront in Istanbul, a historically layered district undergoing significant transformation. While urban waterfront regeneration is typically assessed through ecological, design, or economic lenses, socially grounded and user-oriented evaluations remain limited. This study addresses that gap by examining user perceptions across four key dimensions: demographic diversity, accessibility, spatial functionality, and environmental quality, using a structured questionnaire. Based on survey data from 100 users and supported by statistical analysis, the findings reveal strengths in aesthetic quality and multimodal accessibility, particularly through effective landscape design and integration with public transport. However, notable deficiencies persist in disability inclusion, sanitary infrastructure, safety, and comfort. These results underscore the importance of aligning physical interventions with users’ lived experiences. By placing user experience at the center of evaluation, the study offers actionable insights to guide more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable waterfront development in Istanbul and other similarly evolving urban contexts.

Urban waterfront public space is a key infrastructure for enhancing citizens’ well-being. However, rapid urbanization squeezes out blue and green spaces in cities, and extreme weather challenges exist in winter cities, resulting in unmet needs and a significant decline in citizens’ satisfaction. There is an urgent need to optimize design to bridge the gap between supply and demand. This study proposes a workflow for optimizing the design of waterfront spaces in winter cities based on the KANO-IPA model from the perspective of users’ demands. We constructed a systematic and comprehensive set of spatial demand indicators for waterfront public space in winter cities, covering seven demand dimensions and 42 indicators. A satisfaction survey was conducted across 12 sample reaches in northeastern China. We used the KANO model to classify the attributes of spatial demand indicators, then applied IPA analysis to evaluate them, and finally calculated priority indices to quantify their priority sequences. Based on this, we proposed three-phase optimization strategies: near-term priority upgrading, medium-term steady promotion, and far-term charm enhancement, offering recommendations for improving waterfront public spaces in winter cities. This study provides long-term support for urban regeneration, resource management, and waterfront public space design in winter cities.

No abstract available

No abstract available

As countries protect the rights of children and safeguard the rights and interests of children through laws, regulations, and policies, for the concept of children from "demand" to "respect rights", the understanding of "child-friendly" urban design planning concept is also deepening and strengthening, many large and medium-sized cities in China are active efforts to explore the construction of "child-friendly" city and community. This paper first analyzes the current situation of the waterfront area of Macao, then analyzes the concept of child-friendly areas through other cases, mainly focusing on the technical and ecological means of functional wetland, and builds the public space of the waterfront area of Macao, to provide suggestions for the construction of the waterfront area of the inner port of Macao.

Quality assessment of public spaces is critical in sustainably enhancing urban spatial quality. Existing studies focus on fundamental indicators (e.g., geographic accessibility, planning rationality, and social benefits) and often rely on geographic big data as the primary research input. However, multidimensional interactive analyses that integrate users, places, and spatial configurations are often lacking, making it hard to capture actual user needs and satisfaction levels precisely. To address this issue, we propose a multi-source data-driven approach for spatial quality evaluation, where three types of data (user satisfaction (people), points of interest (places), and urban morphology (space)) are combined. Through a comprehensive comparison of nine representative high-quality waterfront public spaces with multi-source data, common characteristics that are crucial for assessing waterfront public space quality in urban contexts have been analyzed and discussed. The results reveal three key factors significantly influencing waterfront public space quality: the spatial distribution, land-use attributes, and proportion of types of service facilities. First, service facilities with the highest user satisfaction tend to exhibit clustered spatial patterns. Second, municipal and commercial functions play a leading role in spatial quality. Thirdly, a suitable ratio of service facility types is advantageous for enhancing user satisfaction. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation requires consideration of facility distributions, urban morphologies, and surrounding land-use functions. The proposed multi-source data-driven approach holds great potential for developing innovative and sustainable waterfront design strategies.

No abstract available

This article selects as a case study the Suzhou Canal, one of the most important sections of the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal. It investigates how the Suzhou Canal is used as a driving factor to achieve canal-orientated urban waterfront regeneration based on the concept of everyday heritage. The article is presented in four sections. The first identifies the key characteristics of the global transformation of the canal-orientated urban waterfront. The second reviews the Suzhou Canal District’s historical morphological evolution from the Song dynasty (960–1279) to the 1950s. It then investigates the transition of Suzhou’s canal-orientated urban waterfront regeneration from a conservational approach to adaptive reuse of heritage policy from the 1960s to the present. The third section introduces the concept of ‘everyday heritage’ and explores how during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1912) the Suzhou Canal shaped everyday life in terms of the formal public courtyards and informal marketplaces along it. This canal-related architectural heritage reveals its crucial role in shaping human behaviours and everyday patterns in the time–space dimension. These findings help us better understand how to adaptively reuse canal-related urban heritage through the concept of everyday heritage and how to integrate it into contemporary canal-orientated urban waterfront regeneration strategies. In the fourth section, the article concludes by proposing corresponding recommendations for reusing canal heritage resources to reveal a new potential for economic, social and ecological recovery based on the concept of everyday heritage.

To address current ecological issues and a lack of historical preservation in Beijing’s waterfront, it has become necessary to establish an urban design project that optimizes these aspects. This study focuses on “Beijing’s Waterfront Overall Urban Design,” a project that integrates government requirements with Beijing’s waterfront urban design characteristics and problems to establish an urban layer system from two dimensions: historical and ecological. It explores how the urban layer system can be applied to Beijing’s overall waterfront urban design, from investigation to evaluation, analysis, visualization, and strategy development. First, an urban layer system for Beijing’s waterfront was established from a historical perspective, based on urban setting and construction stages and space utilization, referring to the literature and field surveys. The evolution of urban layers of waterbodies, the water–city relationship, and water functions was systematically analyzed. Second, an urban layer system was established for the ecological dimension of Beijing’s waterfront based on a literature review, expert interviews, and analytic hierarchy process methods. It included four urban layers: waterbody, greening, shoreline, and ecological function. The quality of the ecological urban design of 54 waterfront reaches in Beijing was evaluated using questionnaires and field surveys. Third, a series of urban layer maps was generated using the mapping method. Finally, urban design strategies were developed based on the combined historical and ecological characteristics and problems of Beijing’s waterfront. The results of this study and the concept of an urban layer system for waterfront urban design can benefit waterfront urban design projects and future studies.

Mega-event-led urban waterfront regeneration has played a key role in shaping public open spaces, particularly in newly developed areas within the Chinese context. However, public perceptions and their influence on the use of newly built open spaces created through mega-event-led regeneration have not been examined in existing research. To address this gap, this study establishes an integrated assessment framework to evaluate the quality of urban waterfront open spaces. A mixed methods approach was adopted, including direct observations and 770 online questionnaires collected between July and October 2024 at the South Bank of the Qiantang River (SBQR) in Hangzhou, China. Spatial analysis and Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA) were employed to determine priority improvement areas that should inform future waterfront regeneration strategies. The results indicate that inclusiveness emerged as the most important factor for enhancing waterfront open space quality, while spatial aesthetics ranked the lowest. Among the sub-sub factors, elements related to improving water accessibility, enhancing natural surveillance, providing artificial shelters and diverse seating options, introducing distinctive water features, and shaping collective memory through digital technologies are the key priorities for improvement in the future urban waterfront regeneration policies. Finally, the study highlights that the intangible legacies of the Asian Games and the adaptive reuse of informal built heritage have the potential to reshape a distinctive new city image and collective memory, even in the absence of tangible and formally recognised heritage buildings.

No abstract available

Improvements in transportation and logistics have forced many ports lost their functional status even abandoned in the recent globalization context. While these deteriorated port-related area could get revitalization when reusing the port heritage as a catalyst to rebuild the better connection to the city, just as the ideal redevelopment projects worldwide have revealed. They provide ways to identify and conserve the port heritage, especially set a research foundation to explore how to use them for urban economic, social-cultural and environmental sustainability. In this sense, three common perspectives towards adaptive reuse of the port heritage have been introduced, respectively representing as multi-functional creator, adhesive back to the city and environmental-friendly messenger, based on which, practical implementation can be directly performed despite the scale of the port area. Consequently, this approach selects a typical port heritage site (Yong Li dockyard) in Zhuzhou, which is just an average industrial port city in center China, to illustrate that the essential factors extracted from project icons will also work for proceedings with considering their own context. In addition, a visual adaptive reuse plan is proposed, aiming to trigger the urban waterfront regeneration by recreating the port heritage as new roles to increase economy, satisfy residents and improve environment. Additionally, this research might shed lights on other cities with potentials.

In the process of globalization, building on the particular spatial scenery of the waterfront, cities tend to refresh their strategies of development to adapt new trends of urban life with huge urban waterfront regeneration projects. These usually focus on a target of maximum marketing and construction of a new image-vision, which aims to represent the city in the global agenda. This aspect is depending on bigger changes in the urban context, the shift in government structures to entrepreneurial forms that involve externalization of state functions (Swyngedouw 2005; p. 1998). The rationale behind the phenomenon of waterfront regeneration and the global embracement of it is now “widely recognized if incompletely understood" (Hoyle 2001 pp. 297), as the relevant literature is based on case studies with focus on the examples of North American and European cities. The goal is to contribute to the more general, theoretical contention of urban waterfront regeneration in developing countries in understanding their dimensions in terms of governance and planning. The research tackles urban waterfront regeneration in Istanbul, Turkey by studying the most recent initiative of urban waterfront regeneration along Halic /The Golden Horn, the Halic Shipyard Conservation Project. The theoretical framework that underpins this study is derived from the discourse on new forms of urban governance including private, public and civic actors (Paquet 2001) that influence planning processes and project outcomes. To evaluate the planning process from a comprehensive governance perspective, indicators include: the legal framework, decision-making process, actors and their relations (Nuissl and Heinrichs 2010) and as normative the perspective of an inclusive planning approach (Healey 1997, 2006) helps to evaluate the planning process of the project. As urban waterfront regeneration literature is mostly based upon case study approaches, a critical overview of international examples is conducted. Both primary and secondary data is collected through: literature review, review of laws, review of official documents and land-use plans, an internship, 31 interviews, 91 questionnaires, participatory observation, a workshops, observation and photographs. The aim is to assess to which extend the top-down governance forms, but also bottom-up grass root empowerment influence the planning process and project outcomes, giving recommendations for an inclusive planning approach. The second aim is to evaluate the urban waterfront regeneration project studying its impact on the neighboring community. Bedrettin Neighborhood is chosen for analysis and its position in the planning process along with its needs are exposed. The thesis argues the modes in which along with clear targets for the improvement of the quality of life for the neighboring community, the urban waterfront regeneration project, Halic Shipyard Conservation Project, will be able to escape the current deadlocks and collisions between government, investors, resistance and local community and might have a chance to actually set an urgently needed precedent of a new planning culture in Istanbul.

ABSTRACT Waterfront regeneration is a typical tactic under neoliberal entrepreneurialism, which is criticized for capturing land value and fostering gentrification. However, the political logic underlying such a project is less understood. This research investigates the governance of waterfront regeneration based on a megaproject called One River One Creek (Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek) in Shanghai. This project aims to reconnect the riverbank and construct continuous greenways for public accessibility. We explain why the project was initiated and how it is implemented. First, the changing ethos of the national state directs the new wave of waterfront regeneration. Under the central initiative of building the “People’s City,” a continuous pathway along the riverside becomes a flagship project demonstrating the state’s commitment. Second, lower-level state actors are pressured to conduct waterfront regeneration as a political task for implementation. The state mobilizes the market and instrumentalizes public participation to achieve its goal rather than through public-private partnerships. While the state’s priority has shifted from focusing on economic growth to people-oriented development, urban governance still reflects state entrepreneurialism in that the state retains a central role in decision-making and project implementation in megaprojects.

No abstract available

Urban regeneration is often presented by those responsible as an unquestionable success story. Barcelona’s transformation from the mid-1980s, with its great Olympic momentum and successive attempts to maintain its international status, is perhaps one of the most widely publicized and celebrated. Among the operations, the waterfront stands out as one of the most significant regeneration efforts due to their territorial scope, social implications, and economic impact. In this text, we want to challenge this official success story with other untold stories: the stories of the preexisting spaces that have been erased, the people who have been displaced, and the industrial heritage that has been destroyed. There are hardly any memories left, and the regeneration projects seem to be built on a previous emptiness. The discourses of success are often accompanied by maps that conceal the process of change and, at the same time, present the regeneration projects as disconnected from other spaces and processes. Maps appear as artifacts with great limitations in their capacity to represent complex and time-delayed processes and, at the same time, have enough power to legitimize urban regeneration as beneficial to all. However, maps can also be powerful tools for changing the way regeneration processes are told and who tells them, thus revealing what has been hidden.

No abstract available

No abstract available

No abstract available

No abstract available

The transformation of urban waterfronts is one of the key urban design and planning stories of the late twentieth century. The decline of the waterfront in post-industrial cities meant the deterioration of both a physical and social nature of significant portions of urban fabric. Cities have reacted to this state of affairs with substantial regeneration programs, approaching the decline of waterfront as an opportunity rather than a problem. However, since the success of early regeneration programs in North America, changing urban waterfronts on a global scale has led to a manifestation of globalisation, becoming a synonym of uniformity and monotony of cities. The urban waterfront also has become a battleground for a number of intersecting forces and different interests and desires. This research aims to study the phenomenon of urban waterfront regeneration, specifically analysing how it has operated within the UK context since the late 20th century until the present. It focuses on investigating the process of transformation of the urban waterfront in the city of Liverpool. Liverpool has suffered from a serious urban decline following the degeneration of its seven miles of docks due to a number of internal and external factors. However, since the 1980s, the image of an abandoned waterfront has started to change with massive waterfront regeneration schemes that aim to improve the physical, environmental, social and economic conditions of the area. This research argues that by understanding the process and the context of this regeneration, several lessons can be learned and models of good practice can be identified. The research is based on a series of lengthy interviews with key stakeholders closely linked with the development in the city, a review of documents related to the regeneration of Liverpool waterfront, including urban design policies and guidance, a substantial review of relevant news articles that were written throughout the periods of the recent transformation of the city, and numerous site visits to reflect upon the development carried out recently. The research also identifies and discusses a number of key urban issues such as image and identity, cultural built heritage, place marketing and branding, urban governance. The research identifies three distinctive eras of waterfront regeneration and several key regeneration schemes. Each of these eras reflects the many factors that shaped the urban landscape. The research argues that there are no specific models that can create successful waterfront regeneration, yet, what is important is ensuring the complexity and the inclusiveness of the process of the regeneration. An inclusive and a complex process will result in attaining urban competitiveness besides securing distinctive, genuine and imaginative urban identity. The research also highlighted the central role of urban design as a mediator between the numerous processes and different forces that shape the urban landscape.

No abstract available

High-density cities have obvious characteristics of compact urban spatial form and intensive land use in terms of spatial environment, and have always been a topic of academic focus. As a typical coastal historical district, the Macau Peninsula pier district (mainly the Macau Inner Harbour) has a high building density and a low average street width, forming a vertical coastline development model that directly converses with the ocean. This area is adjacent to Macau’s World Heritage Site and directly related to the Marine trade functions. The distribution pattern of cultural heritage linked by the ocean has strengthened Macau’s unique positioning as a node city on the Maritime Silk Road. This text is based on the theory of urban development, integrates spatial syntax and POI analysis techniques, and combines the theories of waterfront regeneration, high-density urban form and post-industrial urbanism to integrate and deepen the theoretical framework, and conduct a systematic study on the urban spatial characteristics of the coastal area of the Macau Peninsula. This study found that (1) Catering and shopping facilities present a dual agglomeration mechanism of “tourism-driven + commercial core”, with Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro as the main axis and radiating to the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Praça de Ponte e Horta, respectively. Historical blocks and tourist hotspots clearly guide the spatial center of gravity. (2) Residential and life service facilities are highly coupled, reflecting the spatial logic of “work-residence integration-service coordination”. The distribution of life service facilities basically overlaps with the high-density residential area, forming an obvious “living circle + community unit” structure with clear spatial boundaries. (3) Commercial and transportation facilities form a “functional axis belt” organizational structure along the main road, with the Rua das Lorchas—Rua do Almirante Sérgio axis as the skeleton, constructing a “functional transmission chain”. (4) The spatial system of the Macau Peninsula pier district has transformed from a single center to a multi-node, network-linked structure. Its internal spatial differentiation is not only constrained by traditional land use functions but is also driven by complex factors such as tourism economy, residential migration, historical protection, and infrastructure accessibility. (5) Through the analysis of space syntax, it is found that the core integration of the Macau Peninsula pier district is concentrated near Pier 16 and the northern area. The two main roads have good accessibility for motor vehicle travel, and the northern area of the Macau Peninsula pier district has good accessibility for long and short-distance walking.

No abstract available

This paper provides a comparative analysis of three symbolic dimensions of waterfront regeneration projects in Latin American cities: the inter-referencing practices alluded to in relation to projects from elsewhere, legitimating strategies that are discursively and materially constructed to present these projects as socially distributive, and subsequent approaches to leverage lessons from these experiences and re-circulate practices to other places. Following recent literature on urban megaprojects, policy mobility and inter-referencing we postulate that urban megaprojects production and legitimation involves material and symbolic, as well as territorial and relational processes, including the mobilisation of symbols, representations and images that generate consensus and mitigate criticism and resistance.

ABSTRACT Cultural strategies have increasingly been applied to waterfront regeneration practices across the Global North and South. Engaging with existing literature on the double-edged effects of such strategies, this study contributes to the ongoing debate surrounding ‘culture versus profit’ in cultural-themed urban regeneration. To address this debate empirically, the study investigates state-led waterfront regeneration practices in Shanghai, particularly focusing on the objective, process, and outcomes of the Xuhui West Bund regeneration. The Shanghai case reveals the gap between cultural ideals and entrepreneurial realities in cultural-themed waterfront regeneration, calling for greater stakeholder inclusion to reshape the trajectory of future regeneration practices.