Against the backdrop of urban stock renewal, as the core area of a city rich in culture, aesthetics, and tourism resources, the assessment of landscape visual sensitivity of historic districts can provide an accurate, objective, and intuitive decision-making basis for the multi-purpose planning of districts. The main purpose of this study was to develop an assessment method based on the geographic information system (GIS) in order to make a visual sensitivity index map on a district scale. To this end, this study uses the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method, selects the visibility (VS_v), the number of potential users (VS_u), and remarkableness (VS_e) as the main criteria, and constructs a comprehensive assessment model of the visual sensitivity of the historic landscape. The most well-protected Wudadao Historic District in Tianjin (Wudadao) was selected as the study area, and its visual sensitivity was assessed. The assessment results are divided into four levels: areas of high sensitivity, moderate sensitivity, low sensitivity, and very low sensitivity. Results indicate that after the optimization and improvement of the evaluation index for visual sensitivity of a large-scale forest landscape, it is feasible to evaluate the small-scale visual sensitivity of historic districts; the higher the sensitivity level, the more important it is to be protected, and the more cautious it should be in the renewal of districts; the higher the number of potential users, the higher the visual sensitivity level, and so on. Further attention needs to be paid to planning and design to improve visual quality.

The landscape visual sensitivity (LVS) assessment is recognized as a critical tool for identifying areas most sensitive to landscape changes and for informing multi-resource optimization and allocation strategies. However, conventional large-scale LVS assessment criteria and methodologies developed for natural landscapes do not satisfy the precision-oriented assessment requirements of streetscape visual sensitivity (SVS) in historic districts, nor do they facilitate the operational linkage between assessment outcomes and planning applications. This study proposes an innovative SVS–PAP assessment methodology, which is a systematic integration of the SVS assessment and public esthetic perception (PAP) evaluation. The SVS assessment criteria framework was first improved through the integration of enriched multi-modal datasets. Subjective weights were obtained via the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), incorporating expert and public judgments, while objective weights were derived through the entropy weight method (EWM) based on data information entropy. The integration of both approaches enhances the methodological rigor and scientific validity of SVS weight determination. An SVS–PAP analytical matrix was subsequently constructed through integration of SVS assessments and PAP-based scenic beauty estimation (SBE), enabling the derivation of planning strategies. An empirical validation conducted in Anshandao Historic District yielded four key findings: (1) The SVS–PAP methodology, which integrates subjective–objective evaluation factors and incorporates broad public participation, demonstrates strong scientific validity and reliability, establishing a novel paradigm for SVS assessment and strategic planning; (2) The technical framework—leveraging multi-modal data and GIS spatial analysis techniques—improves assessment precision, operability, and replicability; (3) The planning and management strategies formulated by the SVS–PAP analytical matrix were verified as reasonable, demonstrating effective planning-transition capability; (4) Notably, historical and cultural influences showed significantly higher weighting coefficients across assessment criteria compared to non-historic streetscape assessments. Overall, these research results address the persistent undervaluation of the esthetic and spiritual values of historic landscapes in multi-resource value trade-off and decision-making processes, demonstrating both theoretical and practical significance through a systematic methodological advancement.

Although urban streetscape visual esthetic quality (VAQ) assessment has progressed markedly, its findings are rarely operationalized in urban planning policy-making. The resulting discontinuity in the assessment–policy linkage is a critical impediment to streetscape VAQ enhancement. We propose an eye-tracking-enabled, end-to-end decision support framework that links evidence acquisition, intervention prioritization, design strategy formulation, and outcome feedback. Eye tracking is integrated to establish a three-dimensional assessment system spanning spatial, psychological, and physiological dimensions. Within this integrated system, we construct a three-level eye-tracking-based visual characteristics (ET-VC) framework across streetscape elements, formal characteristics, and public esthetic perception (PAP). Together, the three-dimensional system provides a theoretical basis for acquiring the multi-modal data required for VAQ enhancement. Building on this integrated assessment, we embed scenario planning theory to construct a planning facing decision model with PAP as the core outcome. The model combines importance-performance analysis (IPA) with the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) to guide resource allocation decisions and intervention prioritization, and further uses eye-tracking evidence to support the development of refined, actionable enhancement strategies. A case study in Wudadao validates the framework’s robustness and feasibility. The ET-VC results provide additional evidence for interpreting esthetic perception: (1) ET-VC indicators differ significantly across streetscape elements, and “being viewed more” does not necessarily correspond to higher esthetic ratings; (2) four groups of key formal characteristic indicators—color configuration, naturalness, historicity and planning/regulatory control, and visual scale—systematically reshape fixation onset and maintenance patterns; and (3) PAP appears to involve partially nonlinear relationships between material landscape features and additional top-down influences (e.g., historical narratives and individual experience), rather than being fully explained by linear associations alone. Overall, this study provides both a theoretical basis and an applied demonstration for evidence-based streetscape VAQ enhancement.