Buildings, Vol. 16, Pages 2728: Unraveling the Mechanisms Linking Built Environment, Multisensory Perception, and Vitality in Urban Night Markets

Buildings, Vol. 16, Pages 2728: Unraveling the Mechanisms Linking Built Environment, Multisensory Perception, and Vitality in Urban Night Markets

Buildings doi: 10.3390/buildings16142728

Authors:
Yangjie Wu
Rui Guo
Jun Hu
Li Jiang

Urban night markets are increasingly promoted as engines of nighttime economies and everyday public life, yet the mechanisms through which their spatial settings generate vitality remain poorly understood. Here we examine how the built environment and multisensory perception jointly shape night-market vitality in Changsha, China. We develop a structural equation model linking four built-environment dimensions—spatial convenience, service richness, strolling comfort and scene atmosphere—with individual perception and spatial vitality. The results show that night-market vitality is not produced by physical accessibility alone, but emerges from the interaction between environmental conditions and visitors’ sensory experience. Strolling comfort is the strongest predictor of vitality, acting both directly and through perception. Service richness and scene atmosphere also significantly enhance vitality, whereas spatial convenience has no significant direct effect but improves individual perception. Individual perception further translates sensory evaluations into behavioural vitality, including lingering, consumption, social interaction and revisitation. These findings suggest that night-market regeneration should move beyond traffic access and facility provision towards the design of comfortable, distinctive and multisensory urban experiences. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding informal nighttime commercial spaces as dynamic public environments shaped by both material form and embodied perception.