Purpose: The fast development of urban movement infrastructures has created neglected urban places in cities. This study aims to provide users’ preferences for designing lost spaces that are a by-product of elevated urban highways (UHs) and bridges to develop a conceptual model for better environmental design. Design/methodology/approach: This research is conducted by a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods. In the first phase, to explore the citizen’s environmental preferences based on the Q-sort technique and in-depth interviews, the ideas of 50 users were considered up to data saturation. The preferences of people for designs under urban bridges were extracted by content analysis in the qualitative phase. In the quantitative phase, to validate these preferences, the extracted themes and sub-themes were examined by 144 experts in design studies using the web-based questionnaire based on the first phase outcomes. The validity of the model was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis in SPSS22 and Lisrel software. Findings: The findings show that users’ preferences emphasize design strategies such as safety and security, physical coherence, visibility, vitality, richness, a sense of belonging and comfort to the design of lost spaces. Overall, this study highlights an empirical study into user’s needs and expectations of lost urban spaces. Originality/value: The findings show that users’ preferences emphasize design strategies such as safety and security, physical coherence, visibility, vitality, richness, a sense of belonging and comfort to the design of lost spaces. Overall, this study highlights an empirical study into user’s needs and expectations of lost urban spaces.

Rapid urbanization has increased private vehicle usage, generating intense parking demand in congested cities like Shiraz, Iran. The spatial distribution of parking is thus critical to sustainable urban transport, as a misalignment with local demand leads to prolonged travel times, higher fuel consumption costs, and elevated pollution, thereby impeding sustainable transportation planning. In this study, we aim to develop a statistical framework to assess equity in parking distribution in an urban context and address two core questions: how parking supply correlates with local demand and what the equity implications of this distribution are. To achieve this, we employ spatial statistical methods (ANNI, Kernel Density, and Moran’s I) and correlation analysis to examine parking supply and demand across 56 districts of Shiraz. Our analysis reveals statistically significant yet weak correlations between parking capacity and demand, indicating supply-demand mismatches across city zones that result in extended search times, increased congestion, higher fuel consumption, and amplified environmental impacts, thereby perpetuating socio-economic inequities. Overall, the innovation of this article lies in integrating spatial statistical methods with supplementary analyses as a framework to evaluate parking distribution, bridging the gap between quantitative descriptive analysis and justice-based assessments in the context of parking planning in an Iranian city.

Most developed countries welcome the redevelopment of brownfield sites and consider it an effective tool for urban policy. However, its adoption can be challenging initially, particularly in developing countries where these challenges are significantly greater. This research aims to answer the question, “How are research methodologies applied in the field of brownfield redevelopment studies?” Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, relevant studies were identified through searches in Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Semantic Scholar. This study utilizes a meta-methodological approach to analyze and compare the methodological characteristics of brownfield redevelopment studies. After applying the predefined eligibility criteria, which included English-language peer-reviewed articles between 2018 and 2023 and articles that are directly relevant to brownfield redevelopment, 20 articles were selected for detailed examination. Based on the thematic classification of the research, the studies can be categorized into four groups: brownfield redevelopment and community participation, brownfield redevelopment and urban planning, brownfield redevelopment and environmental sustainability, and brownfield redevelopment and technology. The majority of the research relates to brownfield redevelopment and environmental sustainability. This review suggests that research in brownfield redevelopment has been dominated by quantitative research, and there is a need for more comparative, theoretically oriented, and methodologically integrated research.

Active mobility in peri-urban areas is influenced by sprawl, limited public transportation, and reliance on private vehicles. This study redefines active mobility in peri-urban and low-density contexts from a territorial perspective and reframes micro-hubs as socially oriented, network-integrated elements rather than scaled-down urban hubs. This study adopts a qualitative, theory-driven methodology combining a multidisciplinary review of the active mobility concept with thematic analysis to identify mobility hub characteristics, followed by analytical synthesis, the classification of mobility hub types, and a set of social indicators for analyzing their performance. These methods are used to develop a framework for understanding micro-hubs as socio-spatial components of active mobility networks. Results indicate that a network of minor roads and micro-hubs can support shifts toward active mobility when aligned with daily mobility patterns and supported by multi-level governance. This study conceptualizes micro-hubs as socio-spatial nodes embedded within dispersed mobility networks and, drawing on the Veneto region as an analytical context, employs an existing typological classification—network, welfare, and civic—to interpret their roles in shaping a context-sensitive framework for active mobility in peri-urban and low-density areas. Micro-hubs become socially integrated spaces that may contribute to strategies for reducing car dependency while providing transferable policy-oriented actions for similar peri-urban and low-density areas.

Active mobility in peri-urban areas is influenced by sprawl, limited public transportation, and reliance on private vehicles. This study redefines active mobility in peri-urban and low-density contexts from a territorial perspective informed by the Veneto Region and reframes micro-hubs as socially oriented, network-integrated elements rather than scaled-down urban hubs. This study adopts a qualitative, theory-driven methodology combining a multidisciplinary review of the active mobility concept with thematic analysis to identify mobility hub characteristics, followed by analytical synthesis, the classification of mobility hub types, and a set of social indicators for analyzing their performance. These methods are used to develop a framework for understanding mi-cro-hubs as socio-spatial components of active mobility networks. Results indicate that a network of minor roads and micro-hubs can support shifts toward active mobility when aligned with daily mobility patterns and supported by multi-level governance. The study outlines the socio-spatial roles of micro-hubs and defines them as nodes that link local networks and everyday mobility systems, distinguishing three roles: network, welfare, and civic. Socio-spatially integrated micro-hubs can be effective in reducing car dependence while providing transferable policy-oriented actions for similar peri-urban and low-density areas.