2024 Vol.2
Time Urban Planning
Analysis and Enlightenment of Kevin Lynch's Time Urban Design Concept
Abstract: Kevin Lynch is one of the most influential urban design theorists of the 20th century. His work What Time Is This Place? pioneered the introduction of time into urban design, expanding people's understanding of urban temporality and providing a new perspective for urban design practice. This paper aims to systematically review Kevin Lynch's "time urban design" concept and analyze the core content and innovative contributions of his theoretical system from three levels. Firstly, it reveals the subjective, shared, and normative characteristics of time, and proposes the construction of an urban time structure that combines continuity and precision. Secondly, it elaborates on the time paths for shaping urban imagery from three dimensions of past, present, and future. Finally, it proposes strategies that combine active guidance and passive adaptation to manage urban social and environmental changes. Kevin Lynch's reflection and discussion on the value of time in urban development, environmental shaping and life experience provides valuable ideological resources and references for promoting the innovation of urban design theory and the transformation of practical paradigm.
On Theoretical Exploration and Practice of Time-based Urban Design: A Preliminary Review
Abstract: Despite the fact that time and space are two dimensions of a city, most studies and practices focus on space and yet ignore time since modern times. Responding to this deficiency, this paper reviews the evolving thoughts on time and space in the domain of urban design. We demonstrate the paradigm shift from a long-term historical view to daily life. The time-based urban design toolkits are summarized on basis of the structural dimensions of time that are proposed by Kevin Lynch, namely, scale, periodicity, amplitude, speed, synchronicity, regularity, and tendency. In addition, this paper reveals how time-based urban design can use strategies such as insertion, filling, and time delay to optimize and synchronize the temporalities of place. All findings of this paper are to provide theoretical and practical support for urban design to realize the time turn.
Evaluating the Spatio-temporal Match of Behaviors and Facilities for Community Life Circle: A Case Study of Nanjing Central Urban Area
Abstract: From the perspective of residents' daily behavior, assessing the matching relationship between public service facilities and residents' needs is an important means of diagnosing the unreasonable layout of facilities within the living circle. Existing researches mainly start from a spatial perspective, without considering the dynamic changes in the time dimension. Based on the differences in residents' behaviors and activities, this study divides the time period, uses POI data and mobile phone signaling data to put forward an evaluation idea of behavior facility spatio-temporal matching degree oriented to the community life circle, and takes Nanjing central urban area as an example to conduct an empirical study. The results show that although the supply of facilities and residents' activities are significantly positively correlated in the spatial dimension, there are obvious spatio-temporal differences between the two and matching dislocation occurs in some time periods in the time dimension. The proposed method can not only evaluate the spatial match mode of facility layout and residents' activities, but also reflect the changes in the time dimension, and then more comprehensively identify the problems in the match of facility supply and demand, and support the strategies of spatio-temporal configuration of facilities and residents' activities guidance.
International Experience and Insights of 24-Hour City: Cases of London, New York, and Tokyo
Abstract: In the context of globalization and informatization, urban operations and lifestyles are experiencing a 24/7 cycle, leading to the emergence of the concept of the 24-hour city. This paper first explores the concept, development history, and promotion strategies of the 24-hour city. By tracing the four stages of 24-hour city development, it reveals that its essence has shifted from simply promoting nighttime economy to considering social equity. Secondly, taking London, New York, and Tokyo as examples, it analyzes the major roles and characteristics of economic, political, and cultural forces in driving the operation of 24-hour cities, and summarizes key measures such as optimizing spatial utilization, strengthening transportation support, improving nighttime lighting, and refining management systems, as well as the challenges faced. Lastly, the paper proposes that Chinese cities should implement a 24-hour city strategy oriented towards equity and demand. This involves improving top-level design, integrating temporal and spatial resources, introducing multi-stakeholder collaborative governance, and exploring flexible management approaches.
Assessing the Formation Patterns and Planning Strategies of Morning Peak Congestion in Shanghai from the Spatio-temporal Behavior Perspective
Abstract: From the perspective of spatio-temporal behavior, tracing congested trips can help to understand the whole process of congestion formation. Taking the regular congested roads and motor vehicle trips during the morning peak period in Shanghai as the research object, this paper conducts traffic flow assignment based on mobile signaling data and traffic situation data to construct travel trajectories, portrays the spatial, temporal, and behavioral characteristics of congestion formation in Shanghai, and analyzes the congestion formation patterns of specific roads. Results indicate that the main origins of congestion are densely populated residential areas along the Inner Ring Road and Middle Ring Road, while the destinations are concentrated employment-intensive areas within the Inner Ring Road. The patterns of road congestion are categorized into four main types: space-time-concentrated type, origin-concentrated type, destination-concentrated type, and space-time-dispersed type. Strategies are proposed based on spatio-temporal activity planning theory. This study offers insights into the causes of road congestion formation from a holistic spatiotemporal perspective, providing valuable references for congestion management strategies.
Time Pressure and Division of Labor Characteristics of Dual-earner Families with Children in Shanghai
Abstract: Struggling with multiple time pressures during the child-rearing period is one of the major dilemmas faced by families in China and has aroused widespread concern and discussion in society. However, empirical studies on this issue remain scarce. Based on Shanghai's 2018 Time Use Survey data, this study examines the time use patterns of dual-earner parenting couples and analyzes the time pressure types of the couples and their daily activity patterns. The results show that dual-earner families encounter the dual stress of domestic work and increased commuting time during the child-rearing period, and four types of time pressure are identifiable: extremely high family pressure, family pressure, commuting pressure, and general pressure. This study aims to provide research bases for child-rearing-friendly policies.
The Characteristics of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Working Population in Shanghai and Its Impact on the Utilization of Time and Space
Abstract: The rapid development of information technology has driven the reconstruction of the spatio-temporal utilization of residents' daily activities. This study utilizes Time Use Survey data from Shanghai and employs multiple linear regression analysis to estimate its means, exploring the differences in spatio-temporal utilization among populations with varying degrees of smartphone dependence. The findings are as follows: ① The younger, more educated, and higher-earning office workers who live closer to city centers tend to be more dependent on their smartphones. ② The group with extreme smartphone dependence uses their phones intensively throughout the day, while the light and moderate dependence groups exhibit a more rhythmic pattern of phone usage. The smartphone usage rates are similar in residential areas and mobile spaces, but differ significantly in workplaces and outdoor locations. ③ Smartphone usage is positively correlated with leisure, healthcare, and transportation time, but negatively correlated with sleep, work, and housework time, with no impact on shopping, social activities, and dining time. ④ Smartphone usage has strengthened the agglomeration effect of activities in work and residential areas, but has not reduced the time spent on outdoor activities. The research results aim to deepen the understanding of the relationship between mobile phone usage and the spatial-temporal aspects of residents' daily activities, as well as the corresponding operation of urban spaces.