The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage (ARCH) is an innovative, sustainable approach to architectural heritage conservation; however, current research on the subject lacks public awareness surveys from the bottom-up, and the non-use value of ARCH buildings has not been clarified. We investigated the willingness to pay for ARCH among 1460 residents of the Nara Prefecture using a contingent valuation method and clarified the factors affecting the willingness to pay through an ordered logistic regression model. The results of this study showed that 75.1% of the respondents were willing to pay for ARCH projects, which were valued at JPY 6036.13 (USD 41.15) per person per year excluding zero payments and JPY 4531.23 (USD 30.89), including zero payments. In addition, residents’ attitudes toward ARCH and heritage awareness positively influenced both the willingness to pay and its magnitude, while the degree of place attachment was a positive predictor of willingness to pay. This study demonstrates the role of public participation in cultural heritage conservation, emphasizes the importance of heritage awareness, and provides a reference point for policy makers in promoting public participation in ARCH buildings, which contributes to the implementation of a recycling approach to heritage conservation in a sustainable context.

In the mobile era, place attachment among rural migrants and returnees has become dynamic and diversified. However, research on place attachment to native place among rural migrants and returnees is limited. The focus of previous research has primarily been on the destination place attachment of rural migrants, which makes it difficult to gain a comprehensive understanding of the place attachment among both rural migrants and returnees. This study aims to investigate the state of place attachment to both native and destination places among rural migrants and returnees originating from the same birthplace. It explores their place attachment after migrating from rural areas to cities. A quantitative research approach was adopted, garnering questionnaire responses from 274 rural migrants and returnees, all born in Shuangfeng County, Hunan Province. The questionnaire encompassed a Likert scale for measuring place attachment, as well as sociodemographic statistical information. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to ascertain the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Based on the factor scores of place attachment to both places from migrants and returnees, a two-step cluster analysis identified three types of migrants and two types of returnees. Chi-square tests revealed significant differences among migrants in terms of property ownership, educational level, marital status, presence of children, age at departure, and time away from hometown. The study discovered that, regardless of being a migrant or returnee, the overall attachment to hometown was stronger than that to the current or previously inhabited city. In the context of existing literature primarily concerned with the integration of rural migrants into urban areas, this paper offers a fresh research perspective, highlighting the significance of emotional ties to one’s hometown for rural migrants. The findings of this paper provide direction and a theoretical basis for rural areas to attract return migration and for urban regions to facilitate the integration of migrants.

In the post-pandemic era, cities are facing new demands and challenges. Both telecommuting and dense development require communities to provide more public space to meet people’s psychological and physical needs. The insufficient space currently left in the city calls for stock development. The Japanese public libraries affected by COVID-19 are part of this stock. We aimed to determine and propose strategies for using the external space of libraries to enhance the sustainability of cities. Ultimately, we expect to achieve a synergy between public libraries and cities in terms of sustainability. We found that the most dominant element in the exterior space of Japanese public libraries is parking lots, which have the potential to be flexibly utilized in the post-pandemic era. We also summarized the current patterns of external space for public libraries in Japan. Finally, we proposed six strategies to enhance the sustainability of libraries and cities. These strategies can simultaneously enhance the sustainability of cities and public libraries from multiple perspectives, especially in the post-pandemic era. Our proposal will not only help to build or renew public libraries in the future, but also fills a gap in the urban perspective of Japanese public libraries and their external spaces.

People’s reduced connection with nature has led to many health problems. In the NBS framework, urban wildscapes (UWSs) are considered an important solution. They can contribute to improving the health of residents and ecosystems within the city. However, overly wild green spaces may also be offensive to residents. It is necessary to understand the public’s acceptance of UWSs. Current studies on the acceptance of UWSs have used vague terms to generalize the “wildness degree”. In this study, we attempted to quantify the degree of wildness using plant height and plant abundance in Japan and analyzed the results through mediated effect analysis. We discovered the following: 1. Japanese residents have low acceptance of UWSs in vacant lots. 2. The use of “height” and “abundance” may be a more objective way to quantify wildness. 3. The negative effects of abundance can be minimized. The negative effect of height cannot be controlled. This study addresses a gap in the study of Asian cities and proposes a novel approach to quantifying “wildness.” It improves the health benefits of UWSs. Furthermore, it can offer guidance on the management and construction of urban green spaces.

As the earliest discussed concept of Green Infrastructure (GI), Landscape-scale GI, in the form of an ecological network capable of balancing development and conservation, has received widespread attention. Its multifunctionality is one of the important features. However, the lack of information and funding, weakness of management authority and technical support make the practice of Landscape-scale GI challenging. Compared to GI adapted in stormwater management, which has comprehensive guidance from theory to practical technologies by officials during its introduction and promotion in other countries, Landscape-scale GI, despite a rich theoretical research foundation, is often overlooked due to insufficient summary research on practical techniques. To address this gap, this study uses mixed methods research to comprehensively analyze 27 Landscape-scale GI practical projects led by the Conservation Fund over the past 20 years to explore patterns in their technical applications. Through qualitative analysis, we standardized and classified descriptive information for these 27 projects and, combined with statistical analysis, clarified the practice development trends committed to balancing development and conservation. The quantitative analysis concentrated on the corresponding relationships between technical applications and project objectives, and GI functions. Based on this, the study categorized the technologies used, summarizing core technologies applicable to most Landscape-scale GI practices, providing some support for the promotion of Landscape-scale GI.