The COVID-19 pandemic is now a global crisis, and fear of the pandemic or anxieties about unstable social condition (e.g., urban lockdown or rumors spreading) caused panic buying in many countries. To prevent future cases, it is of urgent need to understand what happens during panic buying to provide useful insight for policy makers. This study aims to examine the individual purchasing behaviors in the panic buying of toilet paper in Japanese cities in early 2020. We focused on the three cities that have different urban characteristics and pandemic progress conditions. Using online questionnaires, two main aspects were analyzed: 1) the spatio-temporal concentration of shopping behaviors and 2) customers’ inconvenience while shopping. The major results are as follows. Information spreading immediately caused consumers’ temporal concentration. Especially, people who felt the situation was serious tended to shop, and rushing to the same stores caused the spatial concentration. Although regional disparities were also seen, according to their urban characteristics and pandemic progress condition, most customers' store choices during panic buying seem to be an extension of their normal purchasing behaviors. However, their spatio-temporal concentration inconvenienced many people since they failed to obtain enough toilet paper in the stores or felt irritated by other consumers. Our results suggest the importance of preventing customers’ concentration to reduce inconvenience and suggest countermeasures by controlling demand in the current condition of regional space by guiding people’s behavior.

Urban waterfronts have undergone a long process of evolution, and their functions, designs and primary uses have naturally developed along their entire length within cities. Unique character areas have emerged alongside rivers. They serve as key elements in building the city–river relationship, and represent valuable spaces with various identities that complement each other while contributing to the overall identity of the city. However, the unique place identity of the river and the city–river relationship are underestimated and not formally established. The development of waterfronts is often uncoordinated, and their full potential remains unexploited. To understand the character and nature of a particular place, the connotations that its users ascribe to it must be examined. In order to define the character elements that form the basis of the identity of waterfront character areas, we conducted a questionnaire survey and a socio-spatial analysis. The study defined the character areas of the Bratislava waterfront, highlighting their variability, distinct characters, functions, and utilisation. A vision for each character area of the Bratislava waterfront was formulated based on the defined character elements. A sensitive approach to the development of unique character areas of waterfronts can bring diversity, sustainability and inclusivity, and provide reasons to visit the river space. Character areas of waterfronts should be preserved and developed with a long-term vision while respecting the specific identity of a given place.

In Algeria, people with disabilities often struggle with the inaccessibility of cities. These problems are related to accessibility and physical barriers in the urban environment, and have a negative impact on the lives of people with disabilities, who are prevented from carrying out daily tasks and from moving freely in attractive and desirable places. This paper aims to examine the correlation between the accessibility and attractiveness of public spaces for people with disabilities. It analyses both the factors influencing their itinerary choices in public spaces and the impact that the spatial and social dimensions of the urban environment may have on their daily movements. This paper’s qualitative analysis begins with an in-situ survey conducted in the city centre of Algiers; it looks at how people with disabilities use public spaces, using an analysis based on commented walks as well as interviews with a group of disabled people. The second part of the paper focuses on a description of the study case, using space syntax techniques and depthMapX software. This analysis allows us to ascertain both the level of accessibility of the Algiers public space, and the parameters influencing the mobility of people with physical disabilities. It reveals that people with disabilities lack optimal travel choices, and that their movements are determined by the physical accessibility of the space, rather than by its attractiveness and/or usefulness.

The smart city (SC) has become the new megatrend in sustainable urban development and enjoys worldwide popularity. After thoroughly reviewing the relevant literature, two clusters of smart city concepts/notions are observed. One cluster focuses on information and communication technologies (ITCs) and their application, while the other focuses on improving quality of life via ITCs. To better assess SCs in a regional context, we have summarised the key features and components of SC and proposed a comprehensive SC framework comprising two objectives, six domains and two means of implementation. Moreover, we selected and compiled specific indicators under each SC domain and applied an analytical hierarchy process for indicator weighting in the case of Kitakyushu City, Japan. The outcomes of this paper provide several insights into the methodological approaches for developing and evaluating SC projects for stakeholders such as urban planners, scholars, community developers and policymakers.

At present, Japan is facing the problem of increasing medical demands caused by an aging society. The imbalance between supply and demand makes the efficiency of medical services particularly important. In this context, a new medical facility, medical malls, has emerged in recent years. Different from independent clinics, the medical mall is a facility that integrates multiple medical functions and provides multi-disciplinary treatments for patients. In order to verify the effectiveness of this new medical facility and explore its relationship with the urban environment, this paper first identifies the medical malls in Fukuoka City and studies their characteristics, then the SBM model was used to calculate the medical efficiency of the clinics in the 75 medical malls, compared with the independent clinics. Finally, the research analysed the spatial distribution of the medical mall efficiency and the spatial regression with the surrounding urban environment. The results show that the medical mall is a more efficient facility, and population density of the young and the working-aged, the number of main roads, total construction area, the proportion of residence and commerce, and the number of the other medical facilities have significant impacts on the medical efficiency. This research proposes a method to evaluate the effectiveness of utilization of medical resources. Through the evaluation of medical efficiency and the analysis of the urban environment affecting efficiency, this paper provides data support for the site selection of medical malls and the rational layout of urban medical facilities.

This work is part of an ongoing research on the impact of urban structure on public squares in Bejaia city (Algeria). This paper will investigate the relationship between the configuration of the urban structure and the use and attractiveness of public squares in Bejaia city. Assuming, from space syntax theory, that urban space configuration extremely effects people’s movement patterns (through-movement space or to-movement space), this study is then carried out to find the correlation between the spatial use of squares and the syntactic properties of the urban structure in which they are embedded. To achieve this goal, the document relies on two approaches: qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative approach is based on the in-situ observation of two public squares by establishing behavioural maps, and on semi-structured interviews. While for the quantitative one, it is based on the method of space syntax concerning the syntactic and isovist properties. The study uses calculations using Depthmap. This paper will present the investigation process and the results of the case study, which show that the use of public squares in Bejaia city depends strongly on the syntactic properties of the urban structure in which each square is embedded, besides its functional properties.

This study examined how to generate demand for predictive user flow models, which enable designers to anticipate human activity in public spaces. Data were collected via observations, interviews, and photo analysis to assess the status quo and answer study questions. These data serve two purposes: first, to calibrate an accurate user activity pattern, based on actual data for many months, to examine the relationship between human activities and space, and second, because the data is longitudinal, to test how accurate our forecast is. If the city knows where changes in activity patterns occur and where those changes affect the physical dimension of public space, it can prioritize investments in better public areas and ask developers to contribute to better public spaces rather than broader roadways.

Gender segregation is considered a significant problem in the modern period, where urban planning may play a role in facilitating male and female use of public spaces, or overlook their different needs in the city. Urban spatial use has been linked to many factors in previous studies. One important factor to consider here is the pattern of land-use and its capability of affecting the movement behaviour of people in the city. In space syntax theory, it has been assumed that the distribution of shops exists to take advantage of people’s movement, which is generated by the urban structure itself. In this regard, this paper aims to identify the factors behind land-use segregation between shops for each gender in the city centre of Biskra, and whether this has resulted in gender segregation in urban spatial use, leading to the distinct location of services within the city centre, creating men’s and women’s spaces. This investigation has been conducted by using surveys of shops as well as syntactic analyses, paired together in order to reach an understanding of this phenomenon. The findings showed that at a global scale, the higher the street is integrated, the higher the land-use mixture tends to be, while at a local scale there was no correlation found in term of men’s and women’s segregation of land-use, which may rather be related to locals using their prior knowledge of a space rather than the information cues provided by its structure.

‘Inclusiveness’ or partnership with shared visions and goals from all stakeholders is one of the most significant factors in the sustainable development process. This paper examines the local inhabitant sense of place, as opposed to the professionals’, regarded as a crucial factor for the place-making process. It investigates the sense of place of a small old town in northern Thailand, Lamphun, through the eyes of its inhabitant and the professionals aiming to show that a sustainable place-making process should comprehend the inhabitants’ perception, not only the professionals’. Adopting the components of a ‘sense of place’: activities, physical attributes and meanings, the research unfolds the district legibility and boundaries through the eyes of both groups. In addition, the inhabitants' experiences of place were investigated through questionnaires and participatory meetings. It was found that physical appearance is a primer for professionals, while for inhabitants it is a social practice. Conversely, meaning is consequential for the locals but not for visitors. Activity differs, for the locals as users in their daily routine, while only some activities are relevant to visitors as observers. This stresses that the differences between the two groups’ perceptions are very significant, especially the subtle ‘meaning’ of the place. All in all, in addition to being inclusive, living historic city development should consider not only physical characteristics but also activities and other intentions in order to become truly sustainable for all.

Mega-events have been explored by cities for urban reimaging and urban transformation processes. Due to their scale and catalytic effects, mega-events offer great opportunities for cities to showcase their local culture and create opportunities for their local economy, as well as the tourism and retail sectors, while also serving as catalysts for urban regeneration. The current COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis of unprecedented scale. Several extreme measures have been deployed to avoid contagion risk, including city lockdowns, subjecting residents to COVID-19 quarantine and social distancing, the closure of tourism attractions and the retail sector, as well as travel restrictions. This global crisis created a temporary shock to large-scale travel, the tourism sector and mass gathering, which resulted in the cancellation or postponement of nearly all mega-events in 2020. This paper identified the various challenges faced by event organisers during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined how relevant stakeholders addressed event risks and uncertainties. This paper suggests the incorporation of resilience in strategies for event legacy creation. Mega-events must incorporate adaptability and flexibility in their design, as well as event legacy planning and capacity building, to address the vulnerability and disturbances that future mega-events may encounter.

The lack of cooperation between stakeholders and coordination of departments, the absence of systems interoperability, and the resistance to change by policymakers represent some of the challenges that make the implementation of the Smart City a complicated task. Nevertheless, the literature is lacking a broader comprehension of the Smart City barriers to enable policymakers to design and execute their strategies. Therefore, this paper aims to find the (critical) barriers that have been associated with having a significant influence on the success of a Smart City’s implementation and that are within the control of policymakers, based on the empirical knowledge and experience of experts. A study of the temporal aspect in which they can be overcome is also performed to allow better planning. Moreover, 50 barriers were aggregated and organized in eight distinct areas from a thematic analysis of an initial list of 114 barriers collected from the literature. Nine experts participated in the Delphi Analysis, which demonstrated that although Smart Cities are usually associated with technological and financial constraints, the 15 most critical barriers are mainly from the areas of Governance, Project, and Organization. The method combined a two-round survey with a focus group, using quantitative and qualitative approaches.

In the perspective of urban design, the open space performance for mass fitness activities is the objective of this study. Lixiang Park, popular for mass fitness activities for residents in Shenzhen, was selected as a case study. The fitness activities are divided into two categories, track sports and field sports, according to their different spatial characteristics. Inspired by the literature review, the study procedure is established by evaluation with on-site observation and questionnaire. Through the on-site observation at Lixiang Park, the data of the fitness activities and the preference of places were collected and analyzed by observation counting method and behaviour annotation method. On the other hand, a questionnaire survey was done at Lixiang Park with its fitness people as the subjects in order to obtain the data on their perception and satisfaction. Analyzed by SPSS, the results of these two kinds of data both revealed the high performance places. Finally, the open space system with good performance for mass fitness activities in an urban park in Shenzhen, including a loop road, fitness equipment court and lawn, etc.，is inferred by the case study. However, it will be testified by more cases later. Open spaces for mass fitness activities play an important role at human health and well-being, and it is also positive for maintaining social sustainability.

Development is the act of managing natural resources to meet human needs, and good development must match development programmes and land use plans. As a result, development programmes that are not accommodated in spatial plans – including agropolitan plans – will face various obstacles in their implementation. The aim of this spatial evaluation was to review and assess how well development is incorporated in the spatial plan for the Nagan Raya regency. This involved analysing development dynamics, the quality of spatial planning, how space is used and the compliance of the spatial plan with laws and regulations. The results show that in Nagan Raya seven programmes have been developed in cultivated areas: production forests, agriculture, fisheries, mining, industry, tourism and settlements. According to the evaluation, the use of the cultivation area was not fully synergized. There is also a need for agropolitan land. Therefore, the spatial layout of Nagan Raya must be revised based on the conditions and dynamics of existing development, especially agropolitan development. A proper balance and synergy in cultivated areas can help strengthen agropolitan development in the future.

The eastern Hodna, presented to the late 1990s a landscape marked by modest rural homes. In the early 2000s, this region was subjected to an accelerated process of economic changes, which had let appear a new domestic architectural framework, commonly called "DiarCharpenti”. The goal of this paper is to focus on the internal space layout of this new type of houses and decrypt its identity and emergence. Thus, the key question of this investigation is to see whether, or to what extent, their spatial structure is in consistency with the domestic architectural repertoire of this region. The methodology used for the investigation is based on two different approaches. The first one is qualitative: typology (Panerai, Demorgon, & Depaule, 2002). The second approach is quantitative: the space syntax (Hillier, 1996). The verification of the comparative parameters called upon a new method that we developed ourselves: the counting of the integration / segregation percentage. This research has shown that ancestral models of Hodna are, indeed, the ascendant types of 70% of specimens, which proves that the spatiality of "DiarCharpenti" is therefore rather primitive than original. This article was able to provide information on the architectural elements which have always represented for the Hodni, through generations, a real consensus, and has shed light on the new design preferences which now form the new style of the Hodna. This could help those responsible for the "act of building" to better design and plan residential housing in these rural Algerian regions.

Owing to rapid and uncontrolled urbanization and intense centralization, Dhaka has been experiencing extreme urban environmental and social problems in residents’ everyday lives. The purpose of the study is to understand the perception of the residents of Dhaka city and determine the quality of life from the perception of its citizens. Individual responses from 224 respondents have been evaluated qualitatively using the Likert scale method. The variables or as called dimensions influencing the livability of urban environment are studied under 8 domains- environment quality, social life quality, quality of health and education economic satisfaction, quality of transport and mobility, recreational quality, quality of utility services, governance quality. The subjective evaluation of QoL (Quality of Life) in Dhaka city has come out almost homogenous, respondents graded almost all the services to be Poor to Very Poor; especially negative feedback and judgments for almost all dimensions were observed among environment, utility service, transportation and government service relates issues. While analyzing using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), the variables had a higher correlation among themselves meaning maximum proportion of respondents had similar responses regarding these. These results indicate that Dhaka is far away from being a livable city where the quality of life is concerned despite having all modern amenities for the residents.