In response to the pressing need for sustainable urban development amidst global population growth and increased energy demands, this study explores the impact of an urban block morphology on the efficiency of building photovoltaic (PV) systems amidst the pressing global need for sustainable urban development. Specifically, the research quantitatively evaluates how building distribution and orientation influence building energy consumption and photovoltaic power generation through a comprehensive simulation model approach, employing tools, such as LightGBM, for the enhanced predictability and optimization of urban forms. Our simulations reveal that certain urban forms significantly enhance solar energy utilization and reduce cooling energy requirements. Notably, an optimal facade orientation and building density are critical for maximizing solar potential and overall energy efficiency. This study introduces novel findings on the potential of machine learning techniques to predict and refine urban morphological impacts on solar energy efficacy, offering robust tools for urban planners and architects. We discuss how strategic urban and architectural planning can significantly contribute to sustainable energy practices, emphasizing the application of our results in diverse climatic contexts. Future research should focus on refining these simulation models for broader climatic variability and integrating more granular urban morphology data to enhance precision in energy predictions.

The rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has driven a strong need for optimizing locations of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs). Previous methods for locating EVCSs rely on statistical and optimization models, but these methods have limitations in capturing complex nonlinear relationships and spatial dependencies among factors influencing EVCS locations. To address this research gap and better understand the spatial impacts of urban activities on EVCS placement, this study presents a spatially aware machine learning (SAML) method that combines a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) model with a spatial loss function to optimize EVCS sites. Additionally, the method uses the Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) technique to investigate nonlinear relationships embedded in EVCS placement. Using the city of Wuhan as a case study, the SAML method reveals that parking site (PS), road density (RD), population density (PD), and commercial residential (CR) areas are key factors in determining optimal EVCS sites. The SAML model classifies these grid cells into no EVCS demand (0 EVCS), low EVCS demand (from 1 to 3 EVCSs), and high EVCS demand (4+ EVCSs) classes. The model performs well in predicting EVCS demand. Findings from ablation tests also indicate that the inclusion of spatial correlations in the model’s loss function significantly enhances the model’s performance. Additionally, results from case studies validate that the model is effective in predicting EVCSs in other metropolitan cities.

Deploying public EV charging infrastructure while balancing efficiency, equity, and implementation feasibility remains a key challenge for sustainable urban mobility. This study develops an integrated, grid-based planning framework for Wuhan that combines attention-enhanced ConvLSTM demand forecasting with a trajectory-derived, rank-based accessibility index to support equitable network expansion. Using large-scale charging-platform status observations and citywide ride-hailing mobility traces, we generate grid-level demand surfaces and an accessibility layer that helps reveal structurally connected yet underserved areas, including demand-sparse zones that may be overlooked by utilization-only planning. We screen feasible grid cells to construct a new-station candidate set and formulate expansion as a constrained three-objective optimization problem solved by NSGA-II: maximizing demand-weighted neighborhood service coverage, minimizing the Group Parity Gap between low-accessibility populations and the citywide population, and minimizing grid-connection friction proxied by road-network distance to the nearest power substation. Practical deployment plans for 15 and 30 sites are selected from the Pareto set using TOPSIS under an explicit weighting scheme. Benchmarking against random selection and single-objective greedy baselines under identical candidate pools, constraints, and evaluation metrics demonstrates a persistent coverage–equity–cost tension: coverage-driven heuristics improve demand capture but worsen parity, whereas equity-prioritizing strategies reduce gaps at the expense of coverage and feasibility.

China’s urban development model has shifted from incremental expansion to inventory quality improvement. The demand for planning and allocation of spatial resources has moved from “having or not having” to “being good or not”, and the importance of planning, implementation, evaluation, and feedback in urban spatial planning and construction has gradually increased. How to accurately allocate resources in response to the public’s demands for urban construction and effectively enhance the public’s satisfaction and sense of gain regarding urban construction has become an important issue in current planning decisions. To strengthen public perception and feedback in spatial planning governance, this paper conducts empirical research on methods such as the subjective and objective perception differences of urban public service facilities by using the social satisfaction survey data from the East Lake High-tech Development Zone of Wuhan. Thereby, it identifies the characteristics of subjective and objective perception differences of urban public service facilities and puts forward targeted optimization methods for planning decisions. This paper can provide a reference for the precision planning and decision-making of public service facilities in the next step.

The rapid growth of electric vehicles has intensified the spatial mismatch between the layout of charging infrastructure and user demand, resulting in a structural contradiction in which “local oversupply” and “local shortages” coexist. To systematically diagnose and optimize this issue, this study develops an innovative analytical framework for a “residential area–charging infrastructure” collaborative service network and conducts an empirical analysis using Hongshan District in Wuhan as a case study. The framework integrates actual facility utilization data, complex network analysis, and spatial clustering methods. The findings reveal that the collaborative service network in the study area is overall sparse, exhibiting a distinct “core–periphery” structure, with noticeable patterns of resource concentration and isolation. Residential areas can be categorized into three types based on their supply–demand characteristics: efficient-collaborative, transitional-mixed, and low-demand peripheral areas. The predominance of the transitional-mixed type indicates that most areas are currently in an unstable state of supply–demand adjustment. A key systemic mechanism identified in this study is the significant “collaborative reinforcement effect” between facility utilization rates and network centrality. Building on these insights, we propose a hierarchical optimization strategy consisting of “overall network optimization—local cluster coordination—individual facility enhancement.” This ultimately forms a comprehensive decision-support framework for “assessment—diagnosis—optimization,” providing scientific evidence and new solutions for the precise planning and efficient operation of urban charging infrastructure.

Under the dual impact of environmental issues and the energy crisis, new energy vehicles (NEVs) have gradually become a phenomenal emerging industry in China, also essentially becoming a new engine to support the growth of China’s economy. While topics related to the NEV industry have gained widespread attention, there is a lack of studies specifically focusing on the characteristics of its industrial spatial distribution pattern. Based on the data related to NEV-listed companies located in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in 2022, this study constructs the corresponding city network using the method of social network analysis (SNA) and interprets the structural features of this network. The results reveal the following: (1) The network exhibits three fundamental characteristics: low density, short path length, and multiple centers. (2) The NEV industry in the YRD has formed the agglomeration pattern of three major “clubs”, projected on the map in the shape of a “golden bow”. (3) Cities in the YRD show a “pyramid-type” collaboration in the NEV industry. (4) Collaboration between cities in the NEV industry can cross the limits of geographic proximity and even administrative boundaries.