In the context of urban development, bridging the gap between urban regeneration and people’s demand for high-quality built environments is a current focus of research. Exploring the vitality of certain kinds of urban districts is imperative for comprehending human needs for specific built environments and fostering urban renaissance and advancement. This urgency arises from the prevailing lack of in-depth studies on district vitality, as current research primarily provides a general assessment of street vitality. Thus, this study aims to explore the correlations between indicators of urban vitality in cultural districts and built environments, using Haikou and Suzhou as case studies and employing multiple data sources (e.g., Baidu heat maps and nighttime light) and measurements. By applying a logit regression model, we find the following: (1) Traffic network integration has a positive impact on daytime vitality in Haikou and nighttime vitality in Suzhou, but it negatively affects nighttime vitality in Haikou. (2) In terms of nighttime vitality, both commercial density and greenery positively influence the overall blocks and various subgroups. (3) The proportion of cultural facilities in Suzhou has a detrimental effect on daytime vitality, especially for blocks with fewer permanent residents and lower land values. The present study, while limited to selected cultural blocks in Suzhou and Haikou, establishes the groundwork for a better comprehension of how spatial vitality can be enhanced at the street segment level, thereby contributing to the investigation of the varying impacts that built environment factors have on urban vitality in tourism cities at different stages of development. It uncovers the inherent latent characteristics found within cultural blocks across diverse regions and offers innovative perspectives and recommendations for optimizing the sustainable development of urban blocks.

Town development, a crucial stage of urbanization, has been increasingly prioritized in recent sustainable socio-economic growth strategies. Vitality, especially the one measured by aggregate crowd behaviors, is widely recognized as a crucial development element. Conducting comprehensive assessments of the drivers of town vitality, particularly crowd vitality, is thus essential for addressing challenges and monitoring progress. This study examines representative towns in China and employs multiple datasets along with XGBoost-SHAP to investigate the mechanisms of development environment factors on aggregate crowd vitality. Key findings highlight the study’s novelty and broader implications: (1) The degree of industrial agglomeration is the most significant factor impacting the dependent measures, providing new data-driven insights into the role of economic clustering in town development. (2) Other indicators, such as the minimum distance to the town center, the enclosure, and car and pedestrian friendliness, can effectively predict town vitality, offering practical considerations for town planning. (3) Industrial innovation and diversification, rational planning of living circles, and enhancement of town conditions emerge as three crucial strategies for promoting urbanization. This study enhances empirical insights with strategies for addressing urbanization challenges, emphasizing how crowd data can be used to inform urbanization policies and planning practices, aiding urban planners in building more sustainable systems.