Impact of environmental comfort on urban vitality in small and medium-sized cities: A case study of Wuxi County in Chongqing, China.

China's urbanization has exceeded 64% and a large number of small and medium-sized cities are the key development areas in the new stage. In urban planning, it is very important to reveal the influence of environmental comfort on urban vitality to improve the life quality of residents in these towns. Thus, the study investigated the impact of environmental comfort on urban vitality using ordinary least squares regression in Wuxi County. Environmental comfort was assessed through a comprehensive analysis of a built-up area and urban vitality was represented by vitality intensity. In addition, the influence pathways were identified and model validation was verified. The conclusions are as follows: (1) Environmental comfort and urban vitality are distributed spatially similarly, and both gradually decline from the center to the periphery. It is high in the east and low in the west, high in the south and low in the north. (2) Population density, POI mixing degree, building density, and road network density have significant positive effects on urban vitality. Population density has the greatest impact on urban vitality. Building height, building age, and river buffer have significant negative effects on urban vitality. (3) The impact of comprehensive environmental comfort on urban vitality is positive, and in terms of time, the order of impact is afternoon > morning > evening. Finally, a method for assessing the impact of environmental comfort on urban vitality was constructed, and the promoting effect of environmental comfort improvements on the vitality was verified. These findings will fill the gap between urban physical space and social needs in planning practices and provide reference to improve vitality for urban planning in small and medium-sized cities.