Evaluation of Living Environment Quality in Urban Residential Areas under the Concept of Urban Renewal—A Case Study of Binjiang District, Hangzhou, China

Abstract

As urbanization continues to advance globally, the issue of “urban ailments” has become increasingly prominent. To promptly identify problems arising from urban development, it is crucial to investigate not only the quality of human habitats at the city and regional scales but also the micro-level living environments. Indeed, studying residential living conditions enables the specific problems within urban planning to be unearthed, facilitating timely adjustments for the improvement of urban habitation. However, a precise and objective methodology for accurately measuring the quality of residential living environments is still lacking. In recent years, the urban renewal concept has proven to be proactive in enhancing the living environment quality of residential areas. In this study, we focus on residential areas within Hangzhou’s Binjiang District, China, and integrate diverse datasets including real estate websites, digital mapping platforms, remote sensing imagery, points of interest (POIs), and land-use planning data. By examining and analyzing the urban renewal concept, we establish a comprehensive set of evaluation indicators for the living environment quality in residential areas, including five aspects: residential and environmental factors; transportation and communication; education and culture; lifestyle and leisure; and healthcare and well-being. Subsequently, a holistic assessment of the Binjiang District is conducted. Our research findings demonstrate that in the context of urban renewal, the proposed living environment quality evaluation method, based on multi-source data, exhibits significantly higher practicality and effectiveness. The residential environment in Binjiang District exhibits a spatial pattern with higher quality in the northern regions and lower quality in the southern regions. Across different dimensional layers, the residential and environmental quality shows a higher trend along the river areas and a lower trend in the internal areas, as well as higher quality in newly developed sections compared to older ones. The transportation and communication quality exhibits a decreasing trend radiating from multiple core areas. In other dimensions, there is a concentration of high-quality residential areas in the administrative vicinity and surrounding Binjiang University Town. Hotspot analysis further substantiates a significant spatial correlation between the quality of the living environment and the degree of agglomeration, highlighting a positive relationship between the two factors. This study provides a solid basis for the spatial planning of urban public service facilities and holds significant research and practical value.