Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Urban Landscape Design Strategies in China: A Systematic Review

Abstract

China’s rapid urbanisation process has presented urban landscape design with multiple challenges across three dimensions: cultural heritage, ecological sustainability and spatial integration. Whilst existing research has yielded substantial findings in each of these three dimensions individually, there has been a lack of systematic evaluation of their synergistic effects within a unified analytical framework. Adhering to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and using Google Scholar as the primary search source, this study systematically screened literature published since 2018, ultimately including 70 articles. A comprehensive thematic analysis was conducted around three research objectives: the influence of cultural factors on urban landscape design; the effectiveness of ecological strategies; and the practical outcomes of landscape integration strategies. The results indicate that the effectiveness of cultural integration strategies depends heavily on the substantive nature of resident participation rather than the quantity of cultural symbols employed; there is relatively consistent empirical evidence that ecological strategies mitigate the urban heat island effect and improve environmental quality, though their benefits are often limited by fragmented planning and insufficient inter-departmental coordination; landscape integration strategies, meanwhile, require further coordination of aesthetic, functional and ecological objectives, provided that fundamental attributes such as accessibility and safety are safeguarded. These three dimensions share a core moderating mechanism: governance structures and the degree of public participation. Based on this, the study proposes theoretical contributions, practical implications and directions for future research, providing a systematic evidence base for optimising landscape design strategies in China and other contexts of rapid urbanisation.