Achieving urban vibrancy through effective city planning: A spatial and temporal perspective

Achieving urban vibrancy is a critical goal for urban planning and policy-making, and the city's physical plan plays an important role in shaping and supporting urban vibrancy. However, the effectiveness of urban planning strategies in optimizing resource allocation and fostering a vibrant city remains unclear. This study aims to contribute to this understanding by exploring the spatial and temporal effects underlying the association between urban vibrancy and urban forms. Using mobile-phone location-request data along with urban nighttime light data as a proxy for urban vibrancy in Shenzhen, China, we conducted a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) analysis to examine the relationship between land use, street configuration, and urban vibrancy. The results showed that a diverse land use mix and the proportions of land allotted for sports and cultural usage, parks, and greenspace generally have a positive impact on urban vibrancy. We noted the facilitating role of degree centrality and closeness centrality on urban vibrancy, compared to the negative impact of betweenness centrality. Our analysis of local spatial variations in the influence of road networks suggests a potential connectivity threshold for attracting people to specific areas. Finally, we identified a divergence between weekdays and weekends in terms of temporal variations.