The question of how to implement spatial planning more effective is a fundamental but very difficult one and one that has been of great interest to both the academic and practical community. However, a comprehensive review of the conceptual models and methodological systems for evaluating spatial planning implementation, and the existing practical research results of various types of spatial planning implementation evaluation, are yet to be presented. The study systematically reviews the main research findings in the field of spatial planning implementation from four aspects: conceptual analysis, measurement methods, evaluation frameworks and evaluation methods. This study found three distinct evolutionary features of research in this field: (1) The evaluation concept changes from complete rationality to limited rationality; (2) research methodology changes from a simple closed system to a complex open system; (3) the research perspective shifts from the map to the main body of planning implementation behavior. It is suggested that an important part of future research lies in establishing a system for evaluating the effectiveness based on a single subject who is an actor in the planning implementation process. On this basis, the micro-influencing mechanisms of planning implementation effects will then be explored. Deepening the research to the individual level will help improve planning implementation’s effectiveness.

At present, widespread urban expansion, regeneration, and transformation have inevitably led to the spatial separation of residence and employment, and negatively affected the employment welfare of the subjects concerned, which needs to be traced back to the theory of spatial mismatch to explore possible solutions. The theory of spatial mismatch has been proposed for more than sixty years, and its theoretical connotation has been continuously expanded through the heated debate on its objective existence. However, due to the lack of understanding of its expansion process and the essence of its theoretical connotation, its theoretical meaning is ambiguous and fails to truly guide its role in practice. Based on the structural analysis of the connotation of spatial mismatch, this study summarizes the theoretical evolution and empirical development of spatial mismatch from four levels: “objects of concern-influencing factors-spatial relations-consequential effects”. It is found that after half a century of evolution, the study of spatial mismatch has formed a relatively perfect theoretical and methodological system, and in the process of expansion, spatial mismatch has been given a deeper meaning, which can provide an important theoretical and practical reference for solving the separation of residential and spatial resources and the resultant welfare loss effects.