Explore the Ultra-High Density Urban Waterfront Space Form: An Investigation of Macau Peninsula Pier District via Point of Interest (POI) and Space Syntax

High-density cities have obvious characteristics of compact urban spatial form and intensive land use in terms of spatial environment, and have always been a topic of academic focus. As a typical coastal historical district, the Macau Peninsula pier district (mainly the Macau Inner Harbour) has a hi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yue Huang, Yile Chen, Junxin Song, Liang Zheng, Shuai Yang, Yike Gao, Rongyao Li, Lu Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/10/1735
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850257917645684736
author Yue Huang
Yile Chen
Junxin Song
Liang Zheng
Shuai Yang
Yike Gao
Rongyao Li
Lu Huang
author_facet Yue Huang
Yile Chen
Junxin Song
Liang Zheng
Shuai Yang
Yike Gao
Rongyao Li
Lu Huang
author_sort Yue Huang
collection DOAJ
description High-density cities have obvious characteristics of compact urban spatial form and intensive land use in terms of spatial environment, and have always been a topic of academic focus. As a typical coastal historical district, the Macau Peninsula pier district (mainly the Macau Inner Harbour) has a high building density and a low average street width, forming a vertical coastline development model that directly converses with the ocean. This area is adjacent to Macau’s World Heritage Site and directly related to the Marine trade functions. The distribution pattern of cultural heritage linked by the ocean has strengthened Macau’s unique positioning as a node city on the Maritime Silk Road. This text is based on the theory of urban development, integrates spatial syntax and POI analysis techniques, and combines the theories of waterfront regeneration, high-density urban form and post-industrial urbanism to integrate and deepen the theoretical framework, and conduct a systematic study on the urban spatial characteristics of the coastal area of the Macau Peninsula. This study found that (1) Catering and shopping facilities present a dual agglomeration mechanism of “tourism-driven + commercial core”, with Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro as the main axis and radiating to the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Praça de Ponte e Horta, respectively. Historical blocks and tourist hotspots clearly guide the spatial center of gravity. (2) Residential and life service facilities are highly coupled, reflecting the spatial logic of “work-residence integration-service coordination”. The distribution of life service facilities basically overlaps with the high-density residential area, forming an obvious “living circle + community unit” structure with clear spatial boundaries. (3) Commercial and transportation facilities form a “functional axis belt” organizational structure along the main road, with the Rua das Lorchas—Rua do Almirante Sérgio axis as the skeleton, constructing a “functional transmission chain”. (4) The spatial system of the Macau Peninsula pier district has transformed from a single center to a multi-node, network-linked structure. Its internal spatial differentiation is not only constrained by traditional land use functions but is also driven by complex factors such as tourism economy, residential migration, historical protection, and infrastructure accessibility. (5) Through the analysis of space syntax, it is found that the core integration of the Macau Peninsula pier district is concentrated near Pier 16 and the northern area. The two main roads have good accessibility for motor vehicle travel, and the northern area of the Macau Peninsula pier district has good accessibility for long and short-distance walking.
format Article
id doaj-art-cd5c6e978b8142368f448da4769e1d11
institution OA Journals
issn 2075-5309
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Buildings
spelling doaj-art-cd5c6e978b8142368f448da4769e1d112025-08-20T01:56:17ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-05-011510173510.3390/buildings15101735Explore the Ultra-High Density Urban Waterfront Space Form: An Investigation of Macau Peninsula Pier District via Point of Interest (POI) and Space SyntaxYue Huang0Yile Chen1Junxin Song2Liang Zheng3Shuai Yang4Yike Gao5Rongyao Li6Lu Huang7Hangzhou Animation & Game College, Hangzhou Vocational & Technical College, No. 68, Xueyuan Street, Xiasha Higher Education Park, Hangzhou 310018, ChinaFaculty of Humanities and Arts, Macau University of Science and Technology, Avenida Wai Long, Tapai, Macau 999078, ChinaInstitute for Research on Portuguese Speaking Countries, City University of Macau, Avenida Padre Tomás Pereira, Taipa, Macau 999078, ChinaFaculty of Humanities and Arts, Macau University of Science and Technology, Avenida Wai Long, Tapai, Macau 999078, ChinaSchool of Art and Archaeology, Hangzhou City University, No. 51 Huzhou Street, Gongshu District, Hangzhou 310015, ChinaInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UKHangzhou Animation & Game College, Hangzhou Vocational & Technical College, No. 68, Xueyuan Street, Xiasha Higher Education Park, Hangzhou 310018, ChinaHangzhou Animation & Game College, Hangzhou Vocational & Technical College, No. 68, Xueyuan Street, Xiasha Higher Education Park, Hangzhou 310018, ChinaHigh-density cities have obvious characteristics of compact urban spatial form and intensive land use in terms of spatial environment, and have always been a topic of academic focus. As a typical coastal historical district, the Macau Peninsula pier district (mainly the Macau Inner Harbour) has a high building density and a low average street width, forming a vertical coastline development model that directly converses with the ocean. This area is adjacent to Macau’s World Heritage Site and directly related to the Marine trade functions. The distribution pattern of cultural heritage linked by the ocean has strengthened Macau’s unique positioning as a node city on the Maritime Silk Road. This text is based on the theory of urban development, integrates spatial syntax and POI analysis techniques, and combines the theories of waterfront regeneration, high-density urban form and post-industrial urbanism to integrate and deepen the theoretical framework, and conduct a systematic study on the urban spatial characteristics of the coastal area of the Macau Peninsula. This study found that (1) Catering and shopping facilities present a dual agglomeration mechanism of “tourism-driven + commercial core”, with Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro as the main axis and radiating to the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Praça de Ponte e Horta, respectively. Historical blocks and tourist hotspots clearly guide the spatial center of gravity. (2) Residential and life service facilities are highly coupled, reflecting the spatial logic of “work-residence integration-service coordination”. The distribution of life service facilities basically overlaps with the high-density residential area, forming an obvious “living circle + community unit” structure with clear spatial boundaries. (3) Commercial and transportation facilities form a “functional axis belt” organizational structure along the main road, with the Rua das Lorchas—Rua do Almirante Sérgio axis as the skeleton, constructing a “functional transmission chain”. (4) The spatial system of the Macau Peninsula pier district has transformed from a single center to a multi-node, network-linked structure. Its internal spatial differentiation is not only constrained by traditional land use functions but is also driven by complex factors such as tourism economy, residential migration, historical protection, and infrastructure accessibility. (5) Through the analysis of space syntax, it is found that the core integration of the Macau Peninsula pier district is concentrated near Pier 16 and the northern area. The two main roads have good accessibility for motor vehicle travel, and the northern area of the Macau Peninsula pier district has good accessibility for long and short-distance walking.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/10/1735ultra-high densityurban waterfront spacePOI analysisGIS spatial analysisspace syntaxMacau
spellingShingle Yue Huang
Yile Chen
Junxin Song
Liang Zheng
Shuai Yang
Yike Gao
Rongyao Li
Lu Huang
Explore the Ultra-High Density Urban Waterfront Space Form: An Investigation of Macau Peninsula Pier District via Point of Interest (POI) and Space Syntax
Buildings
ultra-high density
urban waterfront space
POI analysis
GIS spatial analysis
space syntax
Macau
title Explore the Ultra-High Density Urban Waterfront Space Form: An Investigation of Macau Peninsula Pier District via Point of Interest (POI) and Space Syntax
title_full Explore the Ultra-High Density Urban Waterfront Space Form: An Investigation of Macau Peninsula Pier District via Point of Interest (POI) and Space Syntax
title_fullStr Explore the Ultra-High Density Urban Waterfront Space Form: An Investigation of Macau Peninsula Pier District via Point of Interest (POI) and Space Syntax
title_full_unstemmed Explore the Ultra-High Density Urban Waterfront Space Form: An Investigation of Macau Peninsula Pier District via Point of Interest (POI) and Space Syntax
title_short Explore the Ultra-High Density Urban Waterfront Space Form: An Investigation of Macau Peninsula Pier District via Point of Interest (POI) and Space Syntax
title_sort explore the ultra high density urban waterfront space form an investigation of macau peninsula pier district via point of interest poi and space syntax
topic ultra-high density
urban waterfront space
POI analysis
GIS spatial analysis
space syntax
Macau
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/10/1735
work_keys_str_mv AT yuehuang exploretheultrahighdensityurbanwaterfrontspaceformaninvestigationofmacaupeninsulapierdistrictviapointofinterestpoiandspacesyntax
AT yilechen exploretheultrahighdensityurbanwaterfrontspaceformaninvestigationofmacaupeninsulapierdistrictviapointofinterestpoiandspacesyntax
AT junxinsong exploretheultrahighdensityurbanwaterfrontspaceformaninvestigationofmacaupeninsulapierdistrictviapointofinterestpoiandspacesyntax
AT liangzheng exploretheultrahighdensityurbanwaterfrontspaceformaninvestigationofmacaupeninsulapierdistrictviapointofinterestpoiandspacesyntax
AT shuaiyang exploretheultrahighdensityurbanwaterfrontspaceformaninvestigationofmacaupeninsulapierdistrictviapointofinterestpoiandspacesyntax
AT yikegao exploretheultrahighdensityurbanwaterfrontspaceformaninvestigationofmacaupeninsulapierdistrictviapointofinterestpoiandspacesyntax
AT rongyaoli exploretheultrahighdensityurbanwaterfrontspaceformaninvestigationofmacaupeninsulapierdistrictviapointofinterestpoiandspacesyntax
AT luhuang exploretheultrahighdensityurbanwaterfrontspaceformaninvestigationofmacaupeninsulapierdistrictviapointofinterestpoiandspacesyntax