Analysis of the matching of community vitality and service facility supply and demand in the pedestrian bridge areas of Beijing

Pedestrian bridge areas are important because they play a unique role in connecting fragmented urban areas and accommodating high pedestrian flow in dense city environments. This study takes communities within the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing as an example and constructs a comprehensive evaluation framework based on the match between pedestrian bridge areas and the supply and demand of public service facilities. The aim is to explore the degree of alignment between community demand for service facilities and their supply and further analyze the types of service facilities that influence changes in community vitality. The study builds a Spatiotemporal Vitality Index model to examine the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of community populations and calculate the demand for service facilities. By employing coupling functions, it computes the supply of service facilities and determines the relationship between community activities and the supply of service facilities. Furthermore, the Random Forest and SHapley Additive exPlanations methods were further used to analyze the service facility factors affecting changes in community vitality. The research findings indicate: (1) the vitality of 595 community populations shows a pattern of Increase-Decrease-Stabilization-Increase-Decrease, with morning peaks concentrated around commercial and transportation hubs, while evening peaks appear in residential areas due to the separation of work and residence. (2) The coupling degree between community vitality and service facilities reflects the imbalance in regional functional development and inadequate coordination in some areas, affecting supply-demand alignment. (3) Pedestrian network density, cultural facility density and public facility density are key factors driving the enhancement of community vitality. The research results provide a quantitative basis for urban planning departments and policy-makers and offer data analysis methods for functional matching analysis in similar cities and regions, which are of positive significance for promoting urban sustainable development and improving residents' quality of life.