Reflections on the Improvement of Rural Human Settlement Environment from the Perspective of Beauty and Livability

The construction of beautiful and livable villages is one of the important tasks of ruralrevitalization in the new era, and the development of rural areas attaches more and more importanceto the improvement of human settlement environment. By investigating the construction status andexisting problems of Zhaoba Village in Nanjing, it tries to take “beauty” and “livability” as the planningrequirements. The village positioning is planned accurately, and the functional layout is carried outreasonably. According to the characteristic industries, landscape features and infrastructure of ZhaobaVillage, humanized construction strategies are put forward, thus improving the quality of human settlementenvironment in Zhaoba Village.

Relationship between the Ecological Livability and the Green Development of Agriculture

Ecological livability is one of the important tasks and objectives of the rural revitalization strategy proposed at the 19 th National Congress of the CPC.The most precious wealth of the countryside is the excellent ecological environment,and China must unswervingly follow the route of green agricultural development.Based on current research on the relationship between ecological livable and agricultural green development,comprehensive policy documents,journal literature and related reports,this paper explored the background and connotation of ecological livable,the current situation of agricultural green development and existing problems,and profoundly analyzed ecological livable and the internal connection between agricultural green development,aiming to provide theoretical reference and scientific reference for the final realization of ecological livable goal.

Quantitative evaluation and spatial differentiation of eco-environmental livability in Zhejiang Province, China

The scientific analyses of the spatial patterns of regional eco-environment livability,along with the explorations of the correlations between ecoenvironments and population and economic activity distributions,are of major significance in the guidance of the coordinated development between social economies,natural resources,and environments.In this study,the topography,climate,hydrology,land cover,air quality,and the dangers presented by natural hazards in the study area were investigated in order to establish an evaluation model for the regional eco-environmental livability.Then,the observed spatial patterns and regional differences in the eco-environmental livability,as well as their relationships with the distributions of population and economic activities in Zhejiang Province,were investigated.The results showed that the ecoenvironmental livability in Zhejiang Province displayed a gradual decreasing trend from southwest to northeast,as well as from the mountains to the hills,valleys,and plains areas.During the compartmentalization of the eco-environmental livability,it was observed that the lowest livable area covered the largest population,accounting for approximately 29.64%of the total population in the study area.The higher livable areas covered the widest land areas,accounting for approximately 26.15%of the total area.Moreover,it was found that the eco-environmental livability in the mountain areas was higher than that in the plain areas in Zhejiang Province.Furthermore,the ecoenvironmental livability was found to have a significant exponential relationship with the population and GDP densities of Zhejiang Province,with the R^2 of the curve-fittings reaching 0.835 and 0.656,respectively.However,it was determined that the coefficient of the exponential function was negative,which indicated that a strong negative relationship existed between the eco-environmental livability and densities of the population and economic activities.It was assumed that the impacts of anthropogenic factors were the fundamental causes of this negative correlation.This study introduced two new factors(air quality and natural hazards)into the evaluation framework of eco-environmental livability.As a result,a more comprehensive model was established for the evaluation of eco-environmenta livability in certain segments of the study area Additionally,the correlation between ecoenvironment livability and human activities was discussed in-depth,which can potentially provide theoretical and practical guidance for the implementation of eco-livability in China,and possibly even those of other vast developing countries.

Understanding Citizens’ emotion States under the Urban Livability Environment through Social Media Data: a Case Study of Wuhan

It is recognized that a city with a livable environment can bring happiness to residents.In this study,we explored the social media users’emotional states in their current living spaces and found out the relationship between the social media users’emotions and urban livability.We adopt six urban livability indicators(including education,medical services,public facilities,leisure places,employment,and transportation)to construct city livable indices.Also,the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)spatial statistic method is applied to identify and analyze the different habitable regions of Wuhan City.In terms of citizen’s emotion analysis,we use Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)neural network to analyze the Weibo text and obtain the Weibo users’sentiment scores.The correlation analysis of residents’emotions and city livability results shows a positive correlation between the livable city areas(i.e.,the area with higher livable ranking indices)and Weibo users’sentiment scores(with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.881 and P-Value of 0.004).In other words,people who post Weibo in high livability areas of Wuhan express more positive emotional states.Still,emotion distribution varies in different regions,which is mainly caused by people’s distribution and the diversity of the city’s functional areas.

The Livability Perception of Residents in Rural Areas and Its Influencing Factors: A Case Study of Doumen Town of Zhuhai

Abstract The rural region is an important spatial unit for rural revitalization and urban-rural integration in the new era, strengthening the livability study has important practical significance for guiding the hard environment construction of rural regions. The evaluation index system of livability perception of residents in rural regions was constructed. Based on the questionnaire survey and in-depth interview of Doumen Town of Zhuhai City, this paper revealed the livability characteristics of rural residents and its influencing factors. The research showed that:① Residents of rural regions were quite satisfied with natural environment and built environment, but less satisfied with public service and infrastructure, and showed the social differentiation in livability perception;② The livability perception evaluation of rural residents was significantly affected by livable factors, showing the decreasing characteristics of “public service factors>social and humanistic environment factors>infrastructure factors>built environment factors>natural environment factors”;③ Individual and family attributes of rural residents were also important factors affecting their livability perception, but less important than the livable factors.

Improvement Strategies of Flood Control Landscape in Suburban Villages and Towns from the Perspective of Aquaphilia and Livability

In the context of urban and rural integrated development, many suburban villages and towns are still threatened by both urbanization and natural disasters. In order to explore the improvement strategies of flood control landscape integrating water ecology, water safety, water culture and water landscape, the Luozhou Ancient Town by the Wulong River in Fuzhou City was taken as an example, and the concept of pluralistic symbiosis from the perspective of aquaphilia and livability was proposed through field investigation, data monitoring, site analysis and planning, that is, while retaining the positive attributes of “boundary”, its negative limitation of “pluralistic” space is broken, so as to establish a pluralistic and symbiotic environment with aquaphilia and livability. It can not only effectively alleviate the contradictions between urban and rural areas, between water and land, and between old and new cultures, but also activate the vitality of suburban villages and towns, providing a new idea for the improvement of flood control landscape.

Application of AHP and a mathematical index to estimate livability in tourist districts:The case of Al Qasba in Sharjah

Urban planners must ensure that urban public spaces are enjoyable to use to create a lively city that expresses their culture and traditions and welcomes social diversity.This study aims to develop a theoretical index for assessing the livability levels in tourist districts.Therefore,a survey-based study accompanied by a literature review is used to derive criteria for livability.In addition to using the analytic hierarchy process to develop an importa ncebased hierarchy of criteria,mathematical analysis is applied to derive the livability index.Furthermore,one of Sharjah's well-known public spaces,Al Qasba Tourist District,is assessed as a case study.This study discussed the main concepts and factors of livability in urban public spaces to examine the livable extent of Qasba and the significanee of criteria.Results show that the current livability level in Al Qasba is less than 50%,confirming its urgent need for further urban improvement.This study explores the livability assessment criteria and their influencing parameters.Using the suggested conceptual livability in dexen ables decision makers to assess the livability level,analyze the in fluencing factors,and suggest solutions to improve the overall livability levels of open public spaces.

Livability assessment of 101,630 communities in China's major cities: A remote sensing perspective

Some of China's major cities have entered the middle and late stages of urbanization, and the development focus of these cities has gradually shifted from outward expansion to inward renewal. The community, as the basic unit of a city, is undoubtedly the main object of urban renewal. In order to efficiently and effectively address the problems in current community construction, it is necessary to conduct a large-scale in-depth assessment of the community livability, which can directly imply the satisfaction of residents with their quality of life. This study achieved the first comprehensive livability assessment at the individual community scale for 42 major cities of China from the perspective of remotely sensed and crowd-sourced geographic information. Specifically, we produced abundant fine-grained datasets for 42 cities, including high-resolution land cover maps interpreted from Ziyuan-3 satellites(ZY-3, 2.1 m), building height, point-of-interest, and boundaries of 101,630 communities.As designed in our proposed framework, the community livability was evaluated by 5 level-1 indicators, 27 level-2 indicators and an integrated community livability index(CLI). A number of interesting findings were obtained from this assessment:(1)According to the expert questionnaires, living comfort was considered as the most important livability factor for residents with the highest weight, while the building environment was rated the least. The negative factors(e.g., the factories around the community) impacted more on livability than the positive ones.(2) Most communities in major Chinese cities were characterized by dense buildings and sparse green spaces.(3) In these cities, community security construction was severely insufficient,particularly in less developed regions.(4) Imbalanced community livability development was prevalent across cities, and simultaneously, the CLI distribution within cities also exhibited significant spatial aggregation and heterogeneity. This research is expected to reveal the status quo of community livability in China, and thus allow for targeted policy formulation.

Urban livability in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods: The experience of the German program “socially integrative city”

This paper asks how the livability of socially disadvantaged urban neighborhoods can be improved with the help of publicly funded area-based urban regeneration.It builds on the history of area-based regeneration policies in Germany aiming at upgrading and resolving urban problems at the neighborhood level.Its main argument is as follows.First,the fate of conventional physical upgrading policies focusing on the livability of deprived urban areas depends on the development environment.While successful upgrading sometimes makes inner-city neighborhoods so attractive that they run into a trend towards gentrification and displacement of the urban poor,the stabilization of less privileged areas cannot always be guaranteed.Second,alternative approaches are needed,linking limited physical upgrading with socially oriented policies,building on strategies like neighborhood management and empowerment.Third,they can make a substantial contribution to stabilizing deprived neighborhoods,thereby improving the general living conditions and the opportunities of the urban poor.However,they require at least some permanent intervention.Thus,they transcend the logic of area-based regeneration normally limited to restoring faith into the private real estate market and thereby directing inward investment into them that improves the quality of the physical environment.Fourth,they are hardly able to overcome significant negative stigmatization in cities that are severely hit by economic downturn and population decline.This is especially true when they act as arrival areas for consecutive waves of migrants,making it necessary to redefine the role of those areas in cities and accepting their high concentration of urban problems as a starting point for different area-based policies dealing with them.The key empirical background of the paper is the German system of urban development grants and an evaluation of the so-called program of“socially integrative city”.

Urban livability across disciplinary and professional boundaries

This is an analytical study of the intensely debated concept of urban livability. The paper examines different literature or theoretical streams that contribute to the debate related to the notion of livable cities. It juxtaposes academic constructs from architecture and urban planning fields with the popular culture and web indices that rank cities according to their living standards, services, and international appeal. The study offers a comparative analytical assessment of these diverse approaches and lays out a nuanced understanding of urban livability that draws on the richness and diversity embedded in design, planning, and current ranking tools. The paper ultimately aims to shed light on the configurations, conditions, and processes that may enhance the livability of various urban settings. It integrates such disparate views into an interdisciplinary perspective of urban livability. While the bulk of this paper analyses relates to North American, European, and Australian cities, the concepts discussed pertain to urban livability on a Rlobal scale.

中国古典园林宜居环境和生态理论与现代生态住区规划设计(英文)

With some modern communities in Suzhou as the example,this paper mainly expounded the application of the artistic techniques of landscapes in the planning of modern landscape-type eco-residential communities according to the classical livable and ecological theory in Yuan Ye(an ancient book of garden design in China).It was learnt that there were many inner links between the livable and ecological theory of classical Chinese gardens and the planning of modern eco-residential communities.Ecological community is a new-type inhabitation model which represents the future development direction of dwelling construction in China and the main type of ecological communities.Classical Suzhou-style gardens are the representation of gardens in southern Yangtze River as well as the classical livable environment in China.Both of the above two residential models emphasize the harmonious unification between human and nature as well as the sustainable development,and lay their cores on the livability and the harmony with the nature.

基于RS和GIS的城市居住区宜居性评价——以新疆石河子市为例(英文)

By selecting environmental amenity,living convenience,and living health as the primary indexes as well as park,school,supermarket,main urban traffic road and industrial district as secondary indexes,the livability of urban residence in Shihezhi City was evaluated based on spatial analysis method of RS and GIS technology and the most suitable sites for residence was located,so as to provide references for future planning and construction of Shihezi City. The study showed that:in accordance with the benefits and harms of residential environment to residents,the livability of urban residence in Shihezi City could be graded into seven degrees;the most suitable site could be found in the area between Beiyi Road and Beiwu Road to the east of Xihuan Road,which was close to school,supermarket and park,and was the most ideal residential area in Shihezi City.

中小型生态宜居城市建设探讨——以怀化市为例(英文)

The paper has analyzed the concept of ecological livable city,considered that small and medium cities as the major pattern of China's urbanization are more likely to become ecological livable cities compared with large cities.Based on the actual situation of Huaihua City,it has pointed out its advantages in transport,ecology,foundation and national characteristic,and analyzed existing problems in the construction of ecological livable city from the perspective of urban eco-environment.It considers that its urban ecological planning is to be perfect,urban environment pollution is still serious and people's consciousness for environmental protection is to be improved.On this basis,relevant suggestions have been proposed for ecological livable urban construction in Huaihua City,emphasizing it should perfect urban ecological planning,enhance environmental pollution treatment,intensify environmental protection education,and improve people's consciousness for environmental protection.

The Quest for Livable City Centers:A Study in Famagusta(Gazimagusa),North Cyprus

Concern about the livability of urban spaces has led to an increasing interest in findings from analyses aiming to quantify livability in particular places such as city centers.In traditional cities,city centers have always been known by their diverse functions,activities and social interactions.However,today,with the effect of fast urbanization and the growth of cities outwards of the city centers,we lose the meaning and use of the concept of city center in many cases.This paper therefore aims to explore the characteristics of successful city centers and tries to identify the main parameters to achieve livability.Based on these,a strategy is proposed in order to promote the city center of Famagusta,a city in North Cyprus with a serious problem in its central area,to achieve livability.The study contributes some experiential evidence to investigate the claimed benefits and deficiencies in terms of effects of physical,social and economic parameters on the overall perception of livability of the residents in the central area of Famagusta and cities of similar development trends.

Landscape Pattern Analysis of International Livable Communities Based on Satellite Images of Wenjiang District, Chengdu City

This paper used Google Earth satellite maps of Wenjiang District, Chengdu City in 2008, 2012 and 2015 as basic data sources, and field investigation data in recent years, and employed Photoshop and Auto CAD to analyze landscape pattern of urban and suburban areas of Wenjiang District—the international livable communities. The results showed that urban forest patches accounted for the absolute dominance in the study area, the overall landscape fragmentation index in 2008 was 0.0054, landscape diversity index 1.3603, landscape dominance index 0.2937, and evenness index 0.8452. From 2008 to 2012, patch density index reduced by 7.04, landscape fragmentation index increased by 0.0014, diversity index reduced by 0.043, evenness index reduced by 0.0269, landscape dominance index increased by 0.0027. From 2012 to 2015, patch density index increased by 1.22, landscape fragmentation index kept stable, diversity index reduced by 0.024, evenness index reduced by 0.0149, landscape dominance index increased by 0.0196. Through analyzing quantitative indexes of urban landscape pattern, and exploring basic features of the international livable communities from the perspective of landscape eco-pattern, this paper put forward suggestions for city management and green space system protection of Wenjiang as the references for the future researches on maintenance and operation of landscape eco-pattern.

Progress and Prospect of Livable City Researches in China

Livable city research involves multiple disciplines such as urban geography, city planning, architectural design. Research background of livable city in China was elaborated from three aspects: accelerating urbanization, increasing city problems, the construction of livable city becoming a requirement of the times. Then the researches of livable city were overviewed from four aspects: concept and connotation, evaluation standard, evaluation method, organization and classification of the correlative references. And prospects of livable city researches were given.

Coupling and Coordination Characteristics and Influencing Factors of the Livable Environment System for the Elderly in China

The construction of a livable environment for the elderly is an important measure to address the challenges of aging and improve their livelihood and well-being.Based on China’s national conditions and combined with the actual development needs of the cities,it is of great significance to explore the coupling and coordination characteristics and influencing factors within the livable environment system for the elderly for the coordination and stable development.This article was based on the three subsystems of’living service environment,socioeconomic environment and ecological livable environment’,following the research framework of’process-pattern-trend-impact’,constructs an evaluation index system for the livable environment for the elderly.Entropy weight-TOPSIS evaluation model,coupling coordination degree model,center of gravity and standard deviation ellipse model and the geographic detector model were used starting from the evolution of coupling coordination types to study the spatial and temporal pattern and dynamic trend characteristics and influencing factors of internal coupling coordination types in the livable environment system for the elderly from2010 to 2019.The results showed that:1)The coordinated development of life service environment system and ecological livable environment system(LE)and socioeconomic environment system and ecological livable environment system(SE)in the livable environment for the elderly decreased from the intermediate coordination level coordination areas to the low-level quality improvement and optimization areas:coordinated transition type.The overall development level of life service environment system and socioeconomic environment system(LS)was low,and it was always at a low level.2)The coupling degree of livable environment system for the elderly was high,the coupling coordination type shown a gradually decreasing layer structure with Zhejiang,Beijing and Guangdong high-level leading demonstration areas as the axis belt.3)The coupling coordination center of the elderly livable environment system was located in Henan,and the standard deviation ellipse was distributed in the northeast-southwest direction.The development center and the ellipse of the high-level leading demonstration areas and the intermediate coordination level areas were concentrated in the central and eastern regions,while the low-level coordination areas for improving quality and efficiency are mainly located in the western region.4)Urban development,green facilities,infrastructure,government macroscopic regulation and control,economic stimulus,and housing construction were all important factors affecting the coordinated development of the livable environment system for the elderly,exerting a varying degree of effect on the level of coordinated development of various types of systems.

An Innovative Approach to Mitigate Vehicular Emission through Roadside Greeneries: A Case Study on Arterial Roads of Dhaka City

With the surge of human population, the need for transportation of goods and people also concomitantly increases, resulting in urban air pollution through emission from motorized traffic especially in developing countries. The extent of environmental pollution in an urban setting is significantly influenced by the pollutants of vehicular fuel combustion. Many effective measures are required in cities to sequester carbon thereby helping to reduce automobile pollution. Roadside greeneries can serve as ecological elements which reduce the concentration of pollutants from vehicular emissions by their direct involvement in absorbing vehicular emitted carbon. In this context, in this study an attempt has been taken to assess contribution of roadside greeneries in absorbing vehicular carbon dioxide emission. A case study has been conducted on arterial roads of mega city Dhaka to quantify the vehicular carbon emission and correlate it with roadside trees to absorb the emitted carbon dioxide. It is noted that in Dhaka city, carbon dioxide is accounted for more than ninety percent of air pollution. To achieve our goals, two busiest arterial roads (namely Mirpur Road and Rokeya Shoroni Road) were taken into account to quantify vehicular carbon emission as well as assess carbon absorption by roadside greeneries. Carbon absorption by different sizes of trees has been quantified using the amount of woody biomass. In addition, absorption by grass-shrubs-herbs has been quantified by the area they cover. The results thus obtained show that indeed the road with more side greeneries absorbs more vehicular emitted carbon dioxide. It is therefore evident that plantation of more roadside trees is an effective measure of reducing air pollution and consequently turning a city to become healthier and more suitable for living.

Livable Environment Design in Superfluous Things

Superfluous Things, written by scholar Wen Zhenheng in the Ming Dynasty, is regarded as the encyclopedia on Chinese ancient landscape architecture and environmental design. It analyzed Chinese traditional garden systematically and comprehensively. This study emphasizes the contemporary value of the principles and methods in Superfluous Things. According to the book, 2 key environmental building principles that can be applied into modern landscape design have been put forward:(1) artificiality should fit with natural conditions;(2) less without reduction. Based on these, a coupling point on the practice and research of building a sustainable and friendly environment has been found, which combines natural resources, human needs, economic benefits and cultural factors.

Xiamen,A Livable City

People say the best way to know the layout of a city is to see it from the sky.Seen from the sky,Xiamen is circled entirely by water,newly built buildings standing in order like toy bricks.With new architecture,a well arranged layout and adjacent waters,Xiamen represents distinct characteristics of China's newly uprising cities.