Spatial inequality, spatial injustice, and spatial inequity are topics that have been of great interest for academics in various research fields. Among them, the uneven distribution and accessibility of urban public facilities (abbreviated as “UPF”) as one of the most predominant research subjects explores the factors that lead to disparities for people to access indispensable resources and services, which might cause significant marginalization for certain communities and further increase overall inequality. Extensive research has contributed to a status-quo understanding of spatial inequality/injustice/inequity in UPFs from demographic, political, and morphological points of view. However, there lacks a detailed set of guidelines, particularly in terms of location-specific urban planning, urban design, and UPF management strategies, which seek for more equitable opportunities for the public to receive and use amenities. To fill the gap, this research carried out an in-depth review of literature that studied spatial inequality/injustice/inequity research related to UPFs. The results showed that the findings of the current literature that studied spatial inequality/injustice/inequity research in UPFs can be mainly distinguished into three aspects: (a) morphology: the spatial structure and character of physical urban elements; (b) quantity: the uneven quantity of UPFs; (c) quality: the disparity in the quality of UPFs. Based on that, this research proposed empirical planning and design interventions from a spatial perspective. In conclusion, a framework that displays a hierarchical process of understanding and interpreting the spatial inequality/injustice/inequity in UPFs from an ambiguous concept to detailed interventions was developed, extending knowledge-based principles for urban practitioners to thoroughly understand and communicate an equal and inclusive urban environment.

Building on the mystery/complexity/legibility/coherence model of Kaplan and Kaplan (1989) and up-to-date landscape visualization techniques, this paper presents a case study analyzing people’s aesthetic preferences for scenes with varying levels of enclosure created through vegetation. Participants were asked to view 48 computer-generated urban park scenes with different levels of enclosure and to rate them for three aesthetic preference factors: coherence, complexity, and legibility. The results are as follows: (1) If the visual and/or physical setting is enclosed, participants will give lower ratings for legibility than in open scenes. (2) Physically open scenes are rated as more coherent than physically enclosed scenes. (3) Participants rate complexity for physically enclosed scenes lower than for physically open scenes. It is concluded that enclosure as a predictor variable for landscape preference has a practical significance for future urban landscape research and designs.

Existing studies related to ecological sensitivity evaluation are comparatively mature; however, few approaches are concerned with distinctive topographical conditions that enable response to specific environmental restoration requirements. In this paper, an adaptive ecological sensitivity evaluation framework is established according to a representative plateau topography (i.e., the Loess Plateau region) via a case study of Gaolan County, China. Through the process of factor selection, index system construction, formula adaption, factor weight determination by analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as well as the support of RS and GIS technology, the ecological sensitivity of the research region has been evaluated and analyzed in combination with land use types and typical gully problems. The results show that high sensitivity areas account for 11.16 percent of the total area in the research region and a tendency for fragmentation in spatial distribution. Forest lands with steep slopes in gullies’ upstream have the highest ecological sensitivity, the proportion of forest and garden land dominated by trees in the highest sensitivity area is around 80 percent. Evidence-based ecological restoration strategies are proposed in terms of the topography of Loess Plateau. This study shows possibilities to adapt existing sensitivity evaluation model for medium-scaled specific topography problems and provides useful clues as a basis for knowledge acquisition that can feed into spatial design, planning and restoration processes.

Rapid urbanization has heightened attention fatigue and physiological stress among urban residents. However, high-density urban construction, mainly covered by streets, squares/plazas, and buildings, in particular, poses a challenge to traditional restoration dominated by green infrasturcture. This research aims to conduct a systematic review of the available body of knowledge regarding the relationship between public urban spaces and restorativeness based on combined multisensory effects. First, a conceptual framework was proposed to connect spatial properties of public realms, sensorial mechanisms, and restoration benefits. As a result, detailed spatial elements and organization affecting multiple sensory modalities combined via additive, antagonistic, and synergistic effects were extracted, which essentially act on urban restoration, including attention, stress, and emotional recovery. Last, but not least, compared with previous research, restoration design strategies of public urban spaces accelerating multisensory integration were drawn to contribute new insights for future high-density urban development.

Spatial equality analysis is useful for urban designers and policy makers to produce and/or adapt urban services provision, while supporting the pursuit of the public interest in the urban design process. This research focuses on urban public facilities (UPFs), the most relevant physical elements serving the public interest, and proposes a multi-scale methodology from a practical perspective to understand and foster the spatial equality of UPFs. Using Shenzhen to test the approach, this research first investigates the density and aggregation of UPFs at the district level to recognize how developing differentiations and social context act on the spatial patterns in UPFs. Second, the accessibility of different types of UPF are measured at the sub-district level which emphasizes the spatial impedance between demand and supply and the availability of services. Then, we draw location-specific design strategies for better spatial equality at a site scale. The results show “cross-district impact” plays an important role in influencing overall spatial equality. Also, sufficient transportation networks, road configurations, and the diversity of UPFs could significantly improve service capacity and impact the achievement of spatial equality. This paper draws attention to the improvement of spatial equality and can contribute new insights to the interpretation and measurement of the spatial equality in urban design debates.