The presence of pedestrians is definitory for street vitality. This study employs statistical and geospatial analyses to explore how built environment factors explain changes in “pedestrian flows” and “stationary activities” on fifteen street segments in Shanghai, at a mesoscale. Detailed indicators were collected through field surveys, behavioral mappings, and counting. Changes in “pedestrian flows” are distinguished from those in “stationary activities”. Synergies reinforcing the latter emerged between small commerce, residential entrance gates, and buildings aligned to the street. Road widths show negative correlations with stationary activities, contradicting China’s modern street planning practice. Corresponding recommendations for design and planning are provided.

This research assesses the way main streets are perceived and used by pedestrians in an industrial, Central-European city—Ostrava in Czechia. The city has recently experienced shrinkage and changing patterns of socio-economic exchange, reason why this research is timely and needed in view of city center regeneration. Four main streets have been purposefully selected for this study. The research methods include questionnaires with street users (n = 297), direct observations of human activities and pedestrian counting. A link between business types and the way the street is experienced emerged. Results also indicate that vacant and unproperly managed spaces negatively affect the desire to walk on main streets. Furthermore, pedestrian volumes coupled with the amount of static activities determined several benchmark conditions for lively street segments. This research provides recommendations for policy-making and design and planning practice for regeneration of industrial city centers undergoing commercial and spatial transformation.

Exacerbated by climate change, the increasing urban heat is a silent disaster especially affecting vulnerable communities representing a city’s weakest part. To assess vulnerabilities and understand the local urban heat experiences, this study employed reconnaissance and resident surveys across diverse vulnerable community types (formal and informal settlements) in Xi’an, China. Along with a policy disconnection from residents’ needs, results indicate that heat-coping resources are largely unavailable, and community engagement is limited. Structural equation modelling indicates that while community-based governance reduces socio-economic pressure, it does not significantly improve services or awareness. Governance effectiveness and policy urgency varied not only across communities but also within communities as influenced by housing types: they were stronger within urban villages and gated commercial housing, whereas shantytowns faced heightened vulnerability. The study advocates a community-based approach to identify and address specific vulnerabilities, as well as align residents’ needs with policy contributing to SDG 11 sub-targets.

Ensuring publicness and accommodating more diverse human activity in urban public spaces is necessary. This research analyses the relationship between human activities, ownership, and physical features encouraging or discouraging use within the city centre of Dublin (Ireland), a diversifying metropolis experiencing dereliction. Four urban squares were assessed through fieldwork, including direct observation and behavioural mapping. Results indicate that publicness and features encouraging or discouraging use are not directly associated with site ownership. Nor was the presence of nature and landscaping determined by ownership, though it generated microclimates that promoted a higher mix of activities. Implications of going beyond formal definitions of ownership for publicness placed under broader sustainability agendas and recommendations for urban design practice are derived.