Developing a cultural sustainability assessment framework for environmental facilities in urban communities

Urban sustainability traditionally emphasizes economic, social, and environmental aspects, cultural sustainability remains underexplored. From an environmental facility design perspective, it’s vital for shaping public spaces, preserving cultural heritage, and fostering social cohesion. Few existing assessment frameworks address cultural sustainability, hindering the inheritance expression, and development of culture in urban communities. This paper proposed a 4-level hierarchical framework with 30 indicators to assess cultural sustainability of urban environmental facilities. The framework was organized into three dimensions: cultural core, cultural representation, and cultural impetus, focusing on preserving cultural heritage, fostering emotional and identity connections through design, and strengthening community resilience. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, including Delphi and Bayesian Best-Worst Methods, the indicators were refined and weighted. Case studies in Shanghai and Guangzhou demonstrate the framework’s practical application, offering urban planners and designers a tool for integrating cultural sustainability into urban policy and design to promote resilient and cohesive communities.