IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i9p3992-d1645132.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Urban Landscape Quality: A User-Perception Framework for Public Space Assessment and Development

Author

Listed:
  • Yanyan Huang

    (School of Civil Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China)

  • Lanxin Ye

    (School of Civil Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China)

  • Ye Chen

    (School of Civil Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China)

Abstract

With rapid urbanization, enhancing the quality of public spaces is critical to residents’ well-being and sustainable urban development. However, user perceptions of these spaces remain insufficiently quantified. This study introduces a perception-based evaluation framework encompassing four dimensions: service, spatial, cultural, and aesthetic. A three-dimensional importance-performance analysis (3-D IPA) model is applied to assess two multifunctional public spaces in Wuhan—the Citizens’ Home (CH) and the Creative World Industrial Park (CWIP)—with the aim of identifying user-prioritized attributes that inform sustainable design interventions. The findings reveal the following: (1) At CH, spatial perception (importance = 3.93; performance = 4.02) received the highest ratings, particularly for openness and ecological pavement, highlighting areas for green infrastructure improvement. (2) At CWIP, cultural perception (importance = 3.75; performance = 3.73) dominated, with a need to enhance the signage systems and cultural integration for greater place identity. (3) Optimization priorities included energy-efficient lighting, entrance enhancements, and recreational layout improvements at CH, and thematic diversity and wayfinding systems at CWIP. (4) The 3-D IPA framework effectively identifies user-perceived priorities and supports experience-driven, resource-conscious spatial improvements. This study provides a user-centered, data-informed approach for evaluating and optimizing urban public spaces, offering practical strategies to align spatial quality with long-term sustainability goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Yanyan Huang & Lanxin Ye & Ye Chen, 2025. "Sustainable Urban Landscape Quality: A User-Perception Framework for Public Space Assessment and Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-25, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:9:p:3992-:d:1645132
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3992/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3992/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yang Zhao & Junhan Liu & Yali Zheng, 2022. "Preservation and Renewal: A Study on Visual Evaluation of Urban Historical and Cultural Street Landscape in Quanzhou," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-32, July.
    2. Xiaomin Xiao & Qiaoru Ye & Xiaobin Dong, 2024. "Using Importance–Performance Analysis to Reveal Priorities for Multifunctional Landscape Optimization in Urban Parks," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-26, April.
    3. Philip Stessens & Frank Canters & Marijke Huysmans & Ahmed Z. Khan, 2020. "Urban green space qualities: An integrated approach towards GIS-based assessment reflecting user perception," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/298795, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Stessens, Philip & Canters, Frank & Huysmans, Marijke & Khan, Ahmed Z., 2020. "Urban green space qualities: An integrated approach towards GIS-based assessment reflecting user perception," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Siyu Jiang & Jiang Liu, 2024. "Comparative Study of Cultural Landscape Perception in Historic Districts from the Perspectives of Tourists and Residents," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Kyu-Chul Lee & Yong-Hoon Son, 2017. "Exploring Landscape Perceptions of Bukhansan National Park According to the Degree of Visitors’ Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-27, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bohong Zheng & Rui Guo & Komi Bernard Bedra & Yanfen Xiang, 2022. "Quantitative Evaluation of Urban Style at Street Level: A Case Study of Hengyang County, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-28, March.
    2. Jaloliddin Rustamov & Zahiriddin Rustamov & Nazar Zaki, 2023. "Green Space Quality Analysis Using Machine Learning Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.
    3. Amy Phillips & Dimitra Plastara & Ahmed Z. Khan & Frank Canters, 2023. "Integrating public perceptions of proximity and quality in the modelling of urban green space access," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/371425, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Amy Phillips & Ahmed Z. Khan & Frank Canters, 2021. "Use-Related and Socio-Demographic Variations in Urban Green Space Preferences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Amy Phillips & Ahmed Z. Khan & Frank Canters, 2021. "Use-related and socio-demographic variations in urban green space preferences," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/326192, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    6. Liu, Hongxiao & Hamel, Perrine & Tardieu, Léa & Remme, Roy P. & Han, Baolong & Ren, Hai, 2022. "A geospatial model of nature-based recreation for urban planning: Case study of Paris, France," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    7. Yuanyuan Chen & Xinli Ke & Min Min & Yue Zhang & Yaqiang Dai & Lanping Tang, 2022. "Do We Need More Urban Green Space to Alleviate PM 2.5 Pollution? A Case Study in Wuhan, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Selda İnançoğlu & Havva Arslangazi Uzunahmet & Özge Özden, 2023. "The Effect of Green Spaces on User Satisfaction in Historical City of Nicosia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-18, August.
    9. Małgorzata Sztubecka & Alicja Maciejko & Marta Skiba, 2022. "The Landscape of the Spa Parks Creation through Components Influencing Environmental Perception Using Multi-Criteria Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Xueting Pan & Jialing Zhao, 2025. "Coupling Coordination Analysis and Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity Between Green Space Quality and Economic Development: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-24, February.
    11. Wei XIAOHUI & Nurhayati Abdul MALEK & Salina MOHAMED ALI, 2024. "The Impact Of Sustainable Development Goals On Urban Green Space: A Bibliometric Analysis Of The Literature," Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 19(3), pages 31-48, August.
    12. Emilio Ramírez-Juidías & José-Lázaro Amaro-Mellado & Jorge Luis Leiva-Piedra, 2022. "Influence of the Urban Green Spaces of Seville (Spain) on Housing Prices through the Hedonic Assessment Methodology and Geospatial Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Talib Hussain & Dake Wang & Benqian Li, 2024. "Stakeholder Perspectives on the Role of Social Media in Urban Green Space, Land Management, and Resilience in Gilgit-Baltistan," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-28, June.
    14. Liwei Huang & Zhengwang Wu & Ning Kang, 2025. "Study on the Correlation Between Perception and Utilization of Green Spaces in Residential Areas and Residents’ Self-Rated Health Under Different Vegetation Coverage Rates: A Case Study from the Centr," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-24, April.
    15. Kourtit, Karima & Nijkamp, Peter & Türk, Umut & Wahlstrom, Mia, 2022. "City love and place quality assessment of liveable and loveable neighbourhoods in Rotterdam," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    16. Yiyang Guo & Guoping Lei & Luyang Zhang, 2023. "Quality Evaluation of Park Green Space Based on Multi-Source Spatial Data in Shenyang," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-15, June.
    17. Zhiming Li & Xiyang Chen & Zhou Shen & Zhengxi Fan, 2022. "Evaluating Neighborhood Green-Space Quality Using a Building Blue–Green Index (BBGI) in Nanjing, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, March.
    18. Shuhui Yu & Xin Guan & Junfan Zhu & Zeyu Wang & Youting Jian & Weijia Wang & Ya Yang, 2023. "Artificial Intelligence and Urban Green Space Facilities Optimization Using the LSTM Model: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-14, June.
    19. Mouratidis, Kostas & Yiannakou, Athena, 2022. "What makes cities livable? Determinants of neighborhood satisfaction and neighborhood happiness in different contexts," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    20. Argyro Anna Kanelli & Maria Lydia Vardaka & Chrisovaladis Malesios & Zainab Jamidu Katima & Olga-Ioanna Kalantzi, 2024. "Can Campus Green Spaces Be Restorative? A Case Study from Tanzania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-21, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:9:p:3992-:d:1645132. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.