Spatial Characteristics of Multidimensional Urban Vitality and Its Impact Mechanisms by the Built Environment

Aibo Jin, Yunyu Ge and Shiyang Zhang ()
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Aibo Jin: School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Yunyu Ge: School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Shiyang Zhang: School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: Urban vitality, intricately connected to urban morphology, has long been a cornerstone of urban planning and design. The accelerated pace of urbanization has created abundant living and working spaces, but it has also brought about a series of issues such as traffic congestion, environmental pollution, insufficient public spaces, and uneven urban development, leading to a decline in urban vitality. The spatial distribution patterns of urban vitality and their influencing factors are diverse and vary across different cities, necessitating a multidimensional exploration of the relationship between urban vitality and the built environment. Utilizing the central urban area of Beijing as a case study, this research leverages multi-source urban spatial data to delineate the spatial characteristics of social, economic, cultural, and comprehensive vitality. Furthermore, a comprehensive set of built-environment indicators is developed across five dimensions to analyze their correlation with urban vitality. The results indicate: (1) There is a significant spatial clustering of various vitality types in Beijing, with a pronounced correlation between high-density population aggregation and vigorous economic activities. (2) Subdistricts exhibiting high social vitality display an “n”-shaped distribution around the Second Ring Road. In contrast, those with high economic vitality are concentrated along Chang’an Street and various district commercial centers. High cultural vitality subdistricts are distributed in a northwest–southeast trajectory from the Fourth Ring Road to the Second Ring Road, and subdistricts with high comprehensive vitality exhibit a concentric distribution radiating outwards from the center. (3) Social vitality is most closely related to comprehensive vitality, and the various vitality types in Beijing’s central urban area develop relatively evenly. (4) The built environment significantly affects all types of urban vitality. Factors such as floor area ratio, POI density, POI mixing degree, and intersection density are fundamental to enhancing urban vitality, whereas the greening rate somewhat inhibits it. (5) Future spatial planning should utilize the radiating effect of high-vitality subdistricts to optimize population distribution, enhance POI mixing, increase metro station density, and strengthen critical urban structures for synergistic economic and cultural development. This study provides a foundation and promotion strategies for optimizing the layout and enhancing vitality at the subdistrict scale within Beijing’s central urban area.

Keywords: urban vitality; built environment; spatial distribution; promotion strategies; Beijing’s central area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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