The impact of built environment features on tourists’ walking behaviors has received growing attention. Although many researchers have observed the effects of micro-scale factors, the impact of culture-related factors on walking behaviors has been frequently overlooked. Therefore, it is vital to synthesize those micro-scale variables to develop a more holistic picture, and incorporating a cultural perspective is an imperative for the preservation and vitality enhancement of historic streets. In our study, a micro-scale built environment (MiBE) variable system was constructed to capture the features of historic streets, and 109 visitors were tracked in Wudaoying Hutong to record their walking-stopping behaviors. The results revealed four primary components affecting walking-stopping behaviors, among which transparency was the most influential factor, followed by the transitional space between streets and buildings, contributing to 49.8% and 21.6%, respectively. Notably, the non-negligible impact of two culture-related factors, including the contrast between Chinese and Western styles and traditional Chinese features, was also revealed, contributing to 28.6% of the total observed activities. We further compared four different types of micro-scale factors of the built environment and the corresponding walking-stopping behaviors, providing both scientific and theoretical reflections for preserving and renewing historic streets.

Social equity is imperative both morally and instrumentally in the governance of protected areas, as neglecting this consideration can result in feelings of injustice and thus jeopardize conservation objectives. Despite the progressive attention paid to conservation equity, few have linked it with co-management arrangements, especially in the context of terrestrial protected areas. This study assesses the fairness perceptions in China’s Giant Panda National Park from recognitional, procedural, and distributional dimensions, to further disclose their correlations with individuals’ characteristics and participation in co-management activities. The regression analysis shows that all co-management types (instruction, consultation, agreement, and cooperation) are significantly linked with certain directions of perceived social equity. One novel finding here is that alternative types of co-management activities are influencing social equity in different ways. In addition, our research discloses the effects of education across all equity categories, and location is merely significantly related to recognitional equity. These findings suggest more inclusive and empowered co-management endeavors to strive for more equitably managed protected areas. Crucial steps to advance this include extending participative channels, co-producing better compensation plans, strengthening locals’ conservation capabilities, etc. Herein, this study appeals to a greater focus on social equity issues in co-management regimes, and tailored actions should be taken to tackle specific local problems.

Social impact assessment is a practical requirement for the construction of the national park system, but there is still a lack of comprehensive conceptual frameworks, theoretical explanations, and systematic evaluations. Considering the distinctive characteristics of China’s national park system construction, this study improves the existing framework and indicator system for social impact assessment. It conducts a comparative analysis of three typical communities—the inside community, gateway community, and fringe community—surrounding the Giant Panda National Park (Tangjiahe area). Through questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, factor analysis, and One-way ANOVA analysis, we find that the comprehensive perception value of social impacts by the Giant Panda National Park was relatively negative. Respondents’ perception values ranked from high to low were social relations, local culture, equity and rights, economy and livelihoods, and knowledge and education. Moreover, except the dimension of economy and livelihoods, there were significant differences in the perception of impacts by the three types of communities. Specifically, the gateway community has the most positive perception of social relations, local culture, and equity and rights; the inside community has the most positive perception of knowledge and education; while the fringe community perceived the most negative impacts in all four dimensions. Furthermore, the primary causes of social impact perception are conservation policies, economic development, and location and transportation. This study suggests that non-economic social impacts should be given more attention, such as equity and rights, and knowledge and education. Also, to ensure that the fringe communities can benefit from the construction and development of national parks, more attention and support from the governments and management agencies are necessary. This study can provide theoretical insights and case-based evidence for the improvement of social impact discussions on protected areas.

Social equity is essential in the governance of protected areas (PAs), as ignoring such consideration can lead to resistance and jeopardize conservation objectives. However, more research is required to understand the spatial heterogeneity of perceived social equity and its underlying spatial factors. Using a survey of 361 respondents, we presented spatial distribution patterns of perceived equity by kernel density estimation (KDE) in Giant Panda National Park, China. The regression analysis showed that local residents who live closer to the PA boundary are more likely to develop negative responses and those who with easy access to tourism spots have more positive procedural and distributional perceptions. Notably, the proximity to the PA authority decreases locals’ perceptions of fairness in all aspects, which is potentially due to the opaque participative channels provided by the PA authority. We argue that those spatial differentials in fairness perceptions are driven by the intrinsic discrepancy of biodiversity protection requirements and the unevenly distributed consequences of management policies. Key steps to advance social equity considerations include multi-industry guidance, extending participative channels, and co-producing better compensation plans. Herein, this study appeals to a greater focus on the spatial aspect of social equity issues in PAs.

What governance model can be adopted to better enhance the ecological, social and economic effectiveness of nature reserve governance? Few studies have conducted quantitative comparative analyses based on the community perception perspective. Based on the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, 17 communities within and around the Giant Panda National Park were selected. Differences in community perception of State-led, co-managed, and community-based and other elements affecting community residents' perceptions of effectiveness will be compared, by means of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, one-way ANOVA, and stepwise regression analysis. Our study found that: (1) Community residents have the most positive perceptions of the ecological effectiveness of the Giant Panda National Park and the most negative perceptions of the economic effectiveness. (2) The community-based model has the best performance in the three dimensions, while State-led conservation has the second best performance in the ecological and social dimensions, and co-managed model has the second best performance in the economic dimensions. (3) The community residents' perceptions of the effectiveness of the Giant Panda National Park are affected by the combination of the natural geographic conditions, economic and social attributes, and other factors.We point out that all types of governance models have their advantages and disadvantages, and community-based governance is not a "panacea" for all public pond resource problems. Therefore, it is advocated to carry out local adaptation of the selection of nature reserve governance models. The study expands the application scenarios of the IAD framework, deepens the theoretical understanding of nature reserve governance models, and provides empirical insights for community coordination of nature reserves in China.