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Advances in Computational Analytics for Urban Planning and Design: Methods,...
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Advances in Computational Analytics for Urban Planning and Design: Methods, Technologies and Practices

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Architectural Design, Urban Science, and Real Estate".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2023) | Viewed by 8756

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yingyi Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Interests: parametric urbanism; computational analytics; digital simulation; urban regulation; form-based code
Dr. Huan Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Associate Professor, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: human settlement sustainability; coastal tourism; ecological landscape
Prof. Dr. Qunli Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Interests: zero carbon building; energy efficiency building; phase change material for thermal storage; urban energy system; heating with renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban planning and design have played pivotal roles in urban growth and preparing cities for the future. The methods, technologies and practices utilized in urban planning and design evolve with innovations in computational analytics, such as Big Data, Internet of Things, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Computational analytics allows for interactive analysis and disseminating reproducible workflows that weave together code, visuals and narratives. Computational analytics is used in urban projects to generate an intelligent, flexible and sharable process involving municipalities, planners, urban designers and developers. This Special Issue seeks to collect cutting-edge studies using computational analytics or related approaches to explore innovative insights into urban planning and design.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Novel computational methods and instruments to support urban planning and design generation;
  • Parametric modeling and simulation of urban space or buildings;
  • Geographical information analysis of various urban territory types, e.g., island cities, seaside cities, etc.;
  • Estimation of urban energy and resource consumption for low-carbon development;
  • Grammars, algorithms and scripts for design automation;
  • Practices of urban projects using computational analytics.

Dr. Yingyi Zhang
Dr. Huan Zhang
Prof. Dr. Qunli Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban planning
  • urban design
  • computational analytics
  • simulation
  • advanced technology
  • low-carbon development

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3257 KiB  
Article
Analysis and Optimized Location Selection of Comprehensive Green Space Supply in the Central Urban Area of Hefei Based on GIS
by Yunfeng Huang, Pengcheng Yu and Peng Xie
Buildings 2023, 13(11), 2731; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13112731 - 29 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 854
Abstract
Urban parks and green spaces are essential for improving the urban environment and enhancing ecological conditions. In this study, we utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a foundation to comprehensively evaluate the overall condition of park green spaces in Hefei city, taking into [...] Read more.
Urban parks and green spaces are essential for improving the urban environment and enhancing ecological conditions. In this study, we utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a foundation to comprehensively evaluate the overall condition of park green spaces in Hefei city, taking into account factors, such as quantity (including area), quality, and accessibility. Additionally, we propose corresponding optimization site selection schemes. The results indicate that (1) the parks and green spaces in the central urban area of Hefei city are more accessible in the southern and western parts, while they are less accessible in the northern and eastern parts; (2) the green spaces in the Shushan area are not closely connected, and the parks are not developed in a related manner. In the Yaohai and Baohe areas, green spaces are in conflict, and the parks are developing at a slower pace. However, in the Luyang area, park green spaces are integrated and positively developed; (3) it is suggested that five new parks are added to the research area, and the locations of the newly added parks should be consistent with the results of the accessibility analysis, so that the selected locations are more reasonable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Computational Analytics for Urban Planning and Design: Methods, Technologies and Practices)
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22 pages, 5796 KiB  
Article
Multidimensional Spatial Driving Factors of Urban Vitality Evolution at the Subdistrict Scale of Changsha City, China, Based on the Time Series of Human Activities
by Zhiwei Zeng, Yilei Li and Hui Tang
Buildings 2023, 13(10), 2448; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13102448 - 26 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 916
Abstract
Urban vitality is an important reflection of a city’s development potential and urban quality. This study used exploratory spatio-temporal big data such as social media check-ins to portray the spatio-temporal evolution of urban vitality at the subdistrict scale in Changsha, a city in [...] Read more.
Urban vitality is an important reflection of a city’s development potential and urban quality. This study used exploratory spatio-temporal big data such as social media check-ins to portray the spatio-temporal evolution of urban vitality at the subdistrict scale in Changsha, a city in central China, from 2013 to 2021, finding that urban vitality in Changsha exhibited central agglomeration and outward circling expansion over time, and then we used Geodetector and spatial regression analyses to explain the interactive effects and spatio-temporal heterogeneity of the spatial elements of subdistrict form, subdistrict function, and subdistrict economy on urban vitality. The results show the following: (1) The subdistrict form and subdistrict function dimensions had a significant effect on urban vitality, and the effect of the economic dimension of the subdistrict was not significant. (2) The interaction effect of the density of entertainment and leisure facilities and the density of business office facilities in subdistrict function was the dominant factor in the change of urban vitality. (3) Under the spatio-temporal effect, land use diversity and park facility density had the strongest positive effect on urban vitality; road density and shopping facility density had the weakest effect. The study aimed to provide a reference for the optimization and allocation of spatial elements of subdistricts in sustainable urban development and urban renewal, in order to achieve the purpose of urban vitality creation and enhancement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Computational Analytics for Urban Planning and Design: Methods, Technologies and Practices)
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13 pages, 2689 KiB  
Article
Using Space Syntax in Close Interaction Analysis between the Elderly: Towards a Healthier Urban Environment
by Yingyi Zhang, Zhaoqing Wu, Zeyang Wu, Yadi Liu and Zhenze Yang
Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1456; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061456 - 02 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1652
Abstract
Population aging has become an issue that the world should to face together. Public spaces in urban areas play an important role in stimulating social interactions for the elderly, especially close social interactions. Although a volume of studies have focused on the health [...] Read more.
Population aging has become an issue that the world should to face together. Public spaces in urban areas play an important role in stimulating social interactions for the elderly, especially close social interactions. Although a volume of studies have focused on the health of the elderly and the shaping of urban space, they have neglected the need for close social behavior of the elderly group. This analysis addresses the question: What are the principles to improve public space qualities which facilitate age-friendly social interactions for the elderly? Blind-dating activities in Beijing City work as an example of close social interactions between the elderly. Methods include a case study in Beijing, field survey, and Space Syntax with related tools. The survey took place from 1 July to 30 September 2022. Around 102 elderly men and 84 women aging from 55 to 75 participated in the survey process. Results indicate that the close social interaction can positively comfort the elderly’s physical and psychological situations. It could be a path for the single elderly group meet a partner, make new friends, and establish new social networks. Consequently, three principles, including obtaining the safety of public space, keeping greenery in the social environment, and providing suitable space for close social interactions are proposed towards age-friendly urban areas. These support the regeneration of the elderly’s social life and stimulate a chasing of happy later lives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Computational Analytics for Urban Planning and Design: Methods, Technologies and Practices)
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54 pages, 60860 KiB  
Article
Computational Design and Virtual Reality Tools as an Effective Approach for Designing Optimization, Enhancement, and Validation of Islamic Parametric Elevation
by Aref Maksoud, Aseel Hussien, Emad Mushtaha and Sarah Isam Abdul-Rahman Alawneh
Buildings 2023, 13(5), 1204; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13051204 - 01 May 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2267
Abstract
Virtual reality was investigated with various computational design approaches to improve users’ ability to communicate, share, and grasp the design’s requirements to better conceptualize ideas during various design and review stages. The study aims to show how computational design and virtual reality are [...] Read more.
Virtual reality was investigated with various computational design approaches to improve users’ ability to communicate, share, and grasp the design’s requirements to better conceptualize ideas during various design and review stages. The study aims to show how computational design and virtual reality are utilized to forecast challenges, address design problems/limitations in a specific study space, and validate results. A case study of the main Architectural Engineering department building at the University of Sharjah (UoS) campus in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, was considered. The study focused on indoor daylight intake, ventilation, functionality, user comfortability, structural integrity, coherency and consistency, and performance optimization as factors to further evaluate and aid in the selection process of the optimal design. Consequently, innovative computational design tools were used in the study’s methodology to assess offered alternatives, such as altering and fabricating the building’s skin to deal with the challenges described above and improving the selected room’s visual and environmental conditions, such as optimal daylighting and ensuring users’ comfortability. The users’ immersive experience resulted in more accurate visualization and navigation around the to-be-built environment, allowing for more significant analysis and comprehension that further validated the results obtained. The chosen case study thus demonstrated the potential for computational design, mixed reality techniques, and strategies to enable an efficient process that ultimately verifies approaches taken toward a much more optimal solution through better visualization and contextualizing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Computational Analytics for Urban Planning and Design: Methods, Technologies and Practices)
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20 pages, 5024 KiB  
Article
Machine Learning Modeling of Vitality Characteristics in Historical Preservation Zones with Multi-Source Data
by Xiaoran Huang, Pixin Gong, Siyan Wang, Marcus White and Bo Zhang
Buildings 2022, 12(11), 1978; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12111978 - 14 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1998
Abstract
Research on historic preservation zones (HPZs) has recently attracted increasing attention from academia and industry. With eight Beijing typical HPZs selected, this study evaluates critical vitality characteristics and identifies the key influencing factors via multi-source data and machine learning technology. The vitality characteristics [...] Read more.
Research on historic preservation zones (HPZs) has recently attracted increasing attention from academia and industry. With eight Beijing typical HPZs selected, this study evaluates critical vitality characteristics and identifies the key influencing factors via multi-source data and machine learning technology. The vitality characteristics were identified from three dimensions: physical space vitality, cyberspace vitality, and sentiment degree. For influencing factors, 23 variables were constructed from four aspects (morphological, functional, visual, and traffic) using Computer Vision (CV), natural language processing (NLP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. Then, three vitality dimensions were introduced as responsive variables to establish three Random Forest Regression models. Lastly, each factor’s influence degree and direction on vitality were explained based on the feature importance and correlation analysis. Through this study, we have thoroughly examined the different influencing factors of vitality in HPZs and summarized the following academic findings: (1) Density of road intersections, the number of shops, and road impedance are the three of the most significant influencing factors that are negatively related to vitality. (2) Factors that have the highest impact on the sentiment degree are road impedance and the number of public infrastructures, which also negatively affect the population’s satisfaction. (3) The number of catering and entertainment amenities are critical factors that positively affect cyberspace’s vitality. In this study, all three models have adequately explained variables and generalization capability, which can be applied to other larger HPZs in Beijing. In addition, the findings of this study can also potentially provide insights for enhancing precinct vitality and the governance of HPZs in other cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Computational Analytics for Urban Planning and Design: Methods, Technologies and Practices)
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