CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106178
Hamed Naseri , Francesco Ciari , Marie-Soleil Cloutier , Ashraf Uz Zaman Patwary
{"title":"Barriers to car-free streets: Identifying opponents of pedestrianization in Montreal","authors":"Hamed Naseri , Francesco Ciari , Marie-Soleil Cloutier , Ashraf Uz Zaman Patwary","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106178","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106178","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban mobility has been dominated by motorized vehicles, posing many challenges related to the environment, citizens' health and safety, and traffic congestion. Pedestrianization (converting streets to car-free zones) is a practical strategy to reduce car dependency, promote active transportation, and enhance urban livability. However, many city residents and business owners have often opposed pedestrianization. Through a cluster analysis, this study examined opposition to pedestrianization in Montreal, Canada. To this end, an online survey was designed and administered. The collected data (1909 complete responses) was synchronized with five contextual data sources to form a large-scale dataset, including 121 variables. The results suggested that opposition to pedestrianization was associated with insufficient satisfaction with 2-wheelers/pedestrian cohabitation, attractiveness, urban furniture, cleanliness, and safety of pedestrianized streets. The supporters tended to change their travel behavior to spend more time in car-free streets, while opponents tried to change their route to avoid traveling in vehicle-free zones. The opponents included more non-cyclists, males, car owners, older people, and those living alone in neighborhoods with lower density. Opponents were more likely to be drivers and taxi users. This study highlights how pedestrianization can reduce motorized vehicle use while increasing active transportation. These insights can help policymakers address public concerns and create urban spaces that better accommodate all road users.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106178"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144490518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106179
Aslı Altanlar , İbrahim Eren , Esin Özlem Aktuğlu Aktan
{"title":"Digital technologies and public life in Istanbul: Socio-demographic patterns and urban implications","authors":"Aslı Altanlar , İbrahim Eren , Esin Özlem Aktuğlu Aktan","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106179","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106179","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Digital interactions have been observed to weaken physical social bonds, diminishing the sense of social belonging and fostering homogenized identities within online environments. This transformation in public spaces and social relationships demonstrates the reshaping effect of digitalization on social structures. This study examines the effects of digital technologies on societal life, encompassing dimensions such as social isolation, media influence, homogenization, placelessness, technology-induced social anxiety, and digital addiction. The findings are derived from descriptive analyses, <em>t</em>-tests, ANOVA, ANOVA-Bonferroni, and Post Hoc statistical methods applied to data from 400 participants aged 18 and over in Istanbul. The results reveal that the societal impacts of digital technologies are uniformly perceived across diverse age, education, and socio-economic groups. A notable gender distinction was observed in the dimensions of social isolation and digital addiction, with males scoring higher in these areas. At the same time, married individuals displayed higher levels of digital addiction than singles. These findings underscore that digitalization is driving profound shifts across all segments of society, increasingly shaping individuals' everyday lives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106179"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144490520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106169
Simon van Zoest, Tom A. Daamen
{"title":"Private funding contributions for public infrastructure: Explaining implementation efforts in Brainport Eindhoven","authors":"Simon van Zoest, Tom A. Daamen","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106169","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106169","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Public infrastructure development often benefits private actors in existing urban areas, yet capturing this value for funding purposes remains uncommon. It is therefore relevant to investigate how private sector funding contributions can be implemented. This article presents the results of a qualitative case study in the Brainport region, where two recent infrastructure funding agreements include significant contributions from the regional business community. Combining concepts from game theory and institutionalism, this article examines how the path-dependent practice of public funding discourages private beneficiaries from contributing collectively, while the free-rider problem discourages them individually. We apply process tracing to unravel the mechanisms by which these barriers were overcome. The case suggests that beneficiaries can rationally decide to contribute collectively, but only if this decision contributes to a goal that is highly desirable and urgent to them, and no more beneficial options are available. While the case also indicates that the free-rider problem can be overcome through normative pressure, the evidence suggests that this requires the existence of a homogeneous, tight-knit group of beneficiaries in which private funding contributions match pre-existing norms. These results help explain why few governments succeed in implementing private sector funding contributions, and provide starting points for changing this.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106169"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144480120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106203
Yifei Hua , Jiaxin Mi
{"title":"Can pro-environmental behavior in the private sphere drive such behavior in the public domain? Behavioral feedback mechanisms based on the Chinese General Social Survey","authors":"Yifei Hua , Jiaxin Mi","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106203","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106203","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pro-environmental behavior is crucial for protecting the ecological environment system. Pro-environmental behaviors in the private sphere (PEBPr), such as household energy conservation and recycling, face fewer structural barriers and are primarily driven by personal agency and self-efficacy, making them generally more accessible to adopt than pro-environmental behaviors in the public sphere (PEBPu). It is thus worth exploring how to guide people to cultivate PEBPu to form a green synergy and jointly build sustainable cities and communities. Based on questionnaire data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS) in 2021, this study found that (1) PEBPr can not only promote PEBPu directly, but also form a unidirectional facilitative evolution mechanism by enhancing Perceived behavioral control (PBC) and Environmental concern (EC). It can be considered that after participating PEBPr, PEBPu can be cultivated iteratively through feedback on attitude cognitive variables. (2) Under the moderation of Marital status (MARS) and Educational level (EDU), the impact of PEBPr on PBC shows a non-linear accelerated growth, and its marginal effects significantly increase with the increase of participation. Among them, unmarried (non-solitary) groups are more likely to obtain PBC enhancement through PEBPr, and undergraduate and graduate groups show a “scissors - gap” advantages. The research results can provide targeted feedback as well as theoretical and practical support for cultivating PEBPu.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106203"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144490597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106160
Istiaque Ahmed, Marjolein van Esch, Frank van der Hoeven
{"title":"Behavioural adaptation to heatwaves in a temperate city: Insights from Rotterdam","authors":"Istiaque Ahmed, Marjolein van Esch, Frank van der Hoeven","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban heatwaves pose significant challenges to public health and well-being. Quantitative approaches focusing on heat hazards dominate the literature, while qualitative studies, particularly in temperate climates, remain underrepresented. Drawing upon the case of Rotterdam, a highly socially and spatially diverse city with a temperate climate, this research investigates residents' everyday lived experiences during heat events and their underlying coping mechanisms. Employing a hybrid thematic analysis based on 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews, the research discusses residents' behavioural adaptation, encompassing personal, technological, and cultural adjustments, along with their associated spatial dependencies. Findings indicate that adaptation practices occur across various spatial scales, with personal and technological adjustments primarily reliant on the house unit, while cultural adjustments extend to neighbourhood scales and beyond. Notably, control over the household unit emerges as a significant factor in shaping spatial dependence, highlighting an often-overlooked aspect of inequality. The study offers a conceptual framework for exploring residents' behavioural adaptation to extreme heat, facilitating the formulation of equitable and tailored planning strategies for temperate climates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106160"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144480122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-25DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106172
William Cannon Hunter
{"title":"Palace gate and vinyl houses: Urban semiotics and contested identity in Seoul","authors":"William Cannon Hunter","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106172","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106172","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seoul projects a destination image of Hallyu pop culture and attractive shopping and entertainment zones to the public. It is built on urban planners' and policy makers' views that a pristine modern image will be good for tourism whether this industry contributes significantly to the economy or not. On a deeper level the city's very real and contested identity is found in certain other features such as historical monuments punctuating the built landscape, and the inevitable slum at the periphery. The aim of this study is to reveal the counterpoint between heritage monuments and the slum in this urban environment. To achieve this goal, a social-structural semiotic method is employed to explore and contrast the denotative and connotative aspects of Gwanghwamun Gate and the Guryong slum as synecdochical representations of urban identity. Findings indicate the permanent transiency of these two representations manifest in different ways. Revisions to the monumental gate are publicly approved, but solutions to the identity of the slum and its vinyl houses are opaque. There are problems in policy where some might argue for valorization of the slum through tourism, while others recognize the darker aspects of tourist voyeurism versus residents' consent, and the complexities of commoditization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106172"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144471741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-25DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106176
Yunzheng Zhang , Fubin Luo
{"title":"Why do people move: An area-based exploration of intra-urban migration in Sydney and its relationship with built environment factors","authors":"Yunzheng Zhang , Fubin Luo","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106176","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106176","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intra-urban migration is closely linked to urban socio-spatial transformation, with built environments acting as potential “push” and “pull” factors. However, the role of built environments in driving aggregate-level intra-urban migration in Sydney, which is crucial for assessing urban planning effectiveness, remains insufficiently understood. This study examines Sydney's intra-urban migration patterns from 2006 to 2021 and applies the gravity model and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) model to identify built-environment-related push and pull factors while accounting for spatial variance. The findings reveal that: (1) Intra-urban migration intensified in Sydney, particularly in the west. (2) Sufficient housing, more detached dwellings, and less non-private housing in the destination incentivized population inflows, while these same attributes at the origin discouraged outflows. Spatial variations in migration drivers were observed: detached housing discouraged short-distance inflows but promoted long-distance inflows. West-to-east movers tended to relocate to areas with fewer detached homes but more owner-occupied housing, while westward movers displayed an opposite trend. The relationship between schools and relocation also exhibited east-west spatial variance, potentially linked to the lower quality of education in the west. The study suggests that the city government consider a differentiated spatial housing market to meet different needs and enhance efforts to improve the quality of urban infrastructure in the west to address spatial inequality. These findings contribute to a better understanding of built environment factors within the push-pull framework of intra-urban migration concerning spatial heterogeneity, providing valuable insights for optimizing urban infrastructure planning and population (re)distribution in rapidly transforming metropolitan areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106176"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144471740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-25DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106163
Yi Xiao , Haonan Yang , Qingshen Kong
{"title":"Poison or antidote? Exploring the effect of polycentric urban spatial structure on ecological resilience","authors":"Yi Xiao , Haonan Yang , Qingshen Kong","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106163","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106163","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The comprehensive impact of the evolving differentiated urban spatial structure (USS) due to urbanization on ecological performance has not been systematically investigated. Examining the dynamic evolution of USS is essential for enhancing ecological resilience (ER) and achieving sustainable urban planning. Based on the panel data of 276 prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2021, this study constructs an integrated analysis framework of urban ER and utilizes the Herfindahl-Hirschmann index to measure USS, thereby revealing the effect of USS on ER. The empirical results show that: (1) The compactness of USS decreases by 1 %, then ER will increase by approximately 0.012 %, suggesting that the polycentric spatial structure could enhance ER; (2) Improving factor allocation efficiency, promoting industrial diversification, and stimulating green technology innovation are influence mechanisms of the effect of USS on ER; (3) The polycentric spatial structure is suitable for enhancing ER in cities with partially dispersed and transitional USS, core cities, the cities in southeast regions of the Hu line, and northeast regions of the Bole-Taipei line; (4) There exists a significant positive spatial spillover effect of polycentric USS on ER, but the effect exits a substantial spatial attenuation phenomenon. These findings offer valuable theoretical insights for policymakers to optimize urban spatial governance strategies, enhancing the capacity to address natural hazards and climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106163"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144471742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106198
Nicolás Del Canto
{"title":"Deregulation and space: The opening of new rent gaps via office-to-residential conversion in England","authors":"Nicolás Del Canto","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106198","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106198","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Research on office-to-residential conversion has not thoroughly attended to the relationship between deregulation and space—failing to unveil different market-driven spatial relationships across English regions. Since 2013, the English government has allowed office-to-residential conversion without requiring permission from the Local Planning Authority. In the context of planning deregulation, this modification extended Permitted Development Rights, exempting certain developments from requiring Local Planning Authority permission. To date, no study has given a national econometric explanation for the spatial distribution of office-to-residential conversion under Permitted Development Rights. By applying a Spatial Lag Model, this research strengthens our understanding of the drivers determining the spatial patterns of office-to-residential outcomes between 2013 and 2023. This research unveils that the location in London and the difference between the highest residential and lowest office rent gap are the two predominant factors that explain greater conversion rates. It lays out two novel contributions. First, the significance of spatial dependency when addressing linkages between the office and residential markets vis-à-vis planning modifications. Second, it illustrates how potential rent gaps and the agency they trigger can motivate developers to drive rent gaps. This research reveals the spatial structures of financial logics that shape office-to-residential outcomes, with significant lessons for the deregulation of urban planning policy and its failure to create adequate housing and sustainable built environments for communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106198"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144471739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106161
Gürkan Günay , Selim Dündar , Saadet Dilekçi
{"title":"Effects of automobile ownership on e-scooter choices: The Istanbul case","authors":"Gürkan Günay , Selim Dündar , Saadet Dilekçi","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106161","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106161","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>E</em>-scooters have gained momentum as a micromobility mode for several years, which created the need for research to understand the attitudes toward it. However, to the authors' knowledge, there is a research gap regarding the effects of private automobile ownership on the e-scooter choices of individuals under different traffic conditions, a factor that significantly affects the preferences. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate the effects of automobile ownership on travel mode choices where e-scooter was an option. A stated preference survey was prepared, and responses were collected from individuals in Istanbul about the mode choices, namely private transport, public transport and e-scooter. The method used to model the travel choices was Mixed Logit (ML). Two approaches were made to observe the effects of automobile ownership: Dummy variable and market segmentation. Both approaches proved that automobile ownership affected the e-scooter choices over other modes, and different models can be developed for individuals who owned automobiles and others. Results showed that there were taste variations regarding travel time among the individuals, and travel time affected the choices of automobile owners more than the others. However, no taste variations were observed regarding travel cost. Furthermore, under congested traffic conditions, the breakeven e-scooter fare was lower for automobile owners for the switch between private transport and e-scooter. In addition, cost elasticities indicated that automobile owners were more sensitive to e-scooter cost changes. Policies regarding e-scooter use can be prepared based on the findings of this research for automobile owners. Future research directions were given.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106161"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144365397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}