1 Introduction
The relationship between “city” and “cemetery” has long been a topic of scholarly interest. Aldo Rossi and Italo Calvino coincidentally expressed similar views. In his book
The Architecture of the City, Rossi stated that the city is the dwelling place of the living, while the cemetery is the city of the dead (
Eisenman and Rossi, 1982), symbolizing the spatial and spiritual overlap between the two. In
Invisible Cities, Calvino implied through metaphors that the cemetery is a continuation of the city’s memory and belongs to the intangible part of the city that bears history and memory (
Calvino, 1974). In China, urban cemeteries are not only functional spaces for funeral services but also bear profound cultural and spiritual values: they embody traditional views on life and death, maintain the continuity of ancestral worship, and serve as carriers of collective memory.
As an important part of Chinese urban infrastructure, the planning, construction and management of urban cemeteries have increasingly become a focus. The government has gradually established a framework for urban cemeteries. In 1992, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the Interim Measures for Cemetery Management and divided Chinese cemeteries into commercial and public welfare cemeteries to standardize their planning and management. Local governments have also formulated supporting plans and rules, such as the Special Plan for Funeral and Burial Facilities in Nanjing (2018–2035) (Fig. 2), which provides a framework for the layout of funeral facilities. However, despite these policies, urban cemeteries still have not attracted adequate attention in urban planning or morphology practices, leading to conflicts among their cultural functions, spiritual functions and urban development needs.
As cities enter the stage of stock-based renewal, limited land resources have intensified the occupation of burial spaces, which is a challenge particularly evident in Nanjing, a historic city with dense urban fabric and scarce land. The Special Plan for Funeral and Burial Facilities in Nanjing (2018–2035) (Fig. 2) clearly states there are currently 21 commercial urban cemeteries in Nanjing, most located outside the main urban area. Only a few cemeteries are scattered within the main urban area. At the same time, deeply influenced by traditional Chinese funeral and burial concepts (
Guo, 2015;
Hoek, 2008), people hold a respectful attitude towards the sacrificial culture, which is fully reflected in aspects such as the selection of cemetery sites and the funeral procedures (
Wei and Chen, 2012). However, the traditional concept of ghosts (
Guo, 2015) makes people shy away from the cemetery land, which is manifested as the “Not-In-My-Backyard” (NIMBY) (
Shanoff, 2000) in psychology. This dilemma has made the urban cemeteries remaining at the original site typical NIMBY facilities. Just like special public facilities such as waste incineration plants, waste transfer stations, and funeral parlors, they have special social significance and research value (
Li, 2009).
This study aims to take three in-situ retained cemeteries in Nanjing as research objects and explore the possibility of coordinated development between such cemeteries and other elements of the urban built environment against the dual backgrounds of traditional Chinese views on life and death and the rapid urban expansion over the past four decades. To achieve this goal, the study will focus on four core dimensions: first, systematically describe the morphological process of three in-situ retained urban cemeteries; second, scientifically measure the spatial vitality of these cemeteries and their surrounding areas and identify key influencing elements; third, comprehensively assess the negative externalities and other characteristics of the cemeteries; fourth, reveal the interaction between the morphological evolution, spatial vitality, and various characteristics, in order to provide a systematic perspective for understanding the role of urban cemeteries in the built environment.
2 Literature review
In China, relevant research on urban cemeteries started relatively late. Disciplines such as sociology, history, and psychology have interpreted urban cemeteries from the perspective of sociological elements. For example, in the field of sociology, scholars such as
Fei (2017) focused on the social attributes of cemeteries and proposed reconstructing the public nature of cemeteries to resolve the cemetery crisis (
Fei and Guo, 2017). In the fields of landscape architecture, architecture, and urban planning, scholars mostly regard urban cemeteries as carriers of physical space and conduct research on them. They believe that urban cemeteries should follow the orientation of ecological construction (
Zhou and Yang, 1998), advocate the gardening of cemeteries, and make efficient use of environmental resources (
Hu, 2003), etc. With the rapid development of cities, scholars have begun to conduct research on the planning and management of urban cemeteries. For example, scholars such as
Zhang (2009) took Nanjing as an example to construct the urban cemetery planning system (
Zhang and Luo, 2009), and scholars such as
Liu (2018) carried out research on the matching of the supply and demand relationship of cemeteries in response to issues such as extremely expensive tombs (
Liu et al., 2018). These studies have promoted the research on urban cemeteries to gradually shift from theoretical output from a single-discipline perspective to spatial practice with multi-disciplinary integration.
Urban morphology, as an important method for studying the evolution process of urban spatial forms and examining the characteristics of various elements in the built environment, has been widely applied in the localized research of cities in recent years. Some scholars have introduced morphological concepts such as the urban fringe-belt (
Whitehand, 1967) and the fixation line (
Conzen, 1960;
Hu, 2003) into the discussion and research of urban cemeteries (
Chen et al., 2017;
Deng and Li, 2023). Taking Nanjing as an example,
Li and Deng (2023) classified the existing urban cemeteries in Nanjing into three types based on their historical attributes and current situations: the type of remaining at the original site (such as Yuhua Merit Cemetery, Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery, Guangdong Villa Cemetery), the type of coexisting with suburban scenic spots, and the type that has been completely removed from the built-up area. Through research, they pointed out that compared with the latter two types, the cemeteries of the type remaining at the original site were built earlier, have a profound history, and gradually embedded from the urban fringe into the built-up area. They play a negative role in the development of the surrounding areas, are fixed within the morphological boundaries constrained by the urban environment, and continuously serve as the role of physical and psychological fixation lines (
Deng and Li, 2023).
To summarize, existing studies have laid a foundation for understanding urban cemeteries from cultural, planning, and morphological perspectives, but notable limitations remain. First, most research lacks quantitative evidence to support qualitative claims about cemeteries’ spatial attributes, relying heavily on descriptive analysis. Second, the cultural and spiritual dimensions of Chinese urban cemeteries are often treated as contextual background rather than being systematically integrated with spatial analysis, failing to explain how traditional views on life and death shape their interaction with urban fabric. Third, few studies have employed multi-source quantitative methods (e.g., spatial vitality measurement, pedestrian flow heat analysis) to empirically verify the low vitality of cemetery areas, limiting the robustness of conclusions.
Therefore, quantifying urban cemeteries by integrating urban morphology, multiple quantitative analysis methods, and data visualization represents a unique perspective, and this study focuses on this particular aspect. Meanwhile, combining cultural and spiritual values with physical spatial analysis in this research can help reveal the dynamic relationship between traditional funeral views and urban development in Chinese cities.
3 Theoretical Framework
3.1 Urban morphology
Urban morphology is rooted in foundational concepts such as Plan Unit (
Conzen, 1960) and Fringe Belt (
Whitehand, 1967). It emphasizes the physical form and spatial structure of urban areas, encompassing the layout, boundaries, and evolutionary processes of built environments. For urban cemeteries, this concept is manifested in the stable evolution of their spatial morphology and their relationships with the three essential urban elements in their surroundings―streets, buildings, and plots, which provides theoretical support for interpreting cemeteries.
3.2 Spatial vitality
Spatial vitality describes the intensity and diversity of human activities in a space, measured by indicators such as street accessibility, construction intensity, functional mix, and pedestrian flow (
Ye et al., 2016;
Jacobs, 2021). For cemeteries, it reflects the frequency and diversity of usage, including daily visits and ritual activities.
3.3 Interactions between urban morphology and spatial vitality
Urban morphology constrains and manifests spatial vitality through specific elements. As illustrated in the diagram (Fig. 1), the road network and boundary forms enable the assessment of street accessibility (Element 1). Meanwhile, building scale and plot functions can represent construction intensity (Element 2) and functional mix degree (Element 3) of the plot. These three urban morphological elements interact with one another, collectively mapping the spatial vitality, and show a positive correlation with the frequency daily activities within the area.
For the special urban element of urban cemeteries, beyond the interaction between the two elements of morphology and vitality, traditional Life-Death views also act as a mediating factor. The NIMBY effect reduces the willingness to use the space, weakening vitality and resisting morphological changes. Together, these aspects influence urban cemeteries to stably exist as consolidated patches within the built environment. Simultaneously, the stability of urban cemeteries continuously exerts a feedback inhibition on changes in urban morphology and spatial vitality, thus forming a cycle.
4 Research methodology
The specific methods are divided into three parts: the study of the morphological process, the quantitative study of spatial vitality, and the study of the pedestrian flow heat. This study employs a case study method, focusing on three in-situ retained cemeteries in Nanjing (Yuhua Merit Cemetery, Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery, and Guangdong Villa Cemetery) as typical cases. Data gathering techniques include both case-specific approaches (e.g., on-site surveys, morphological mapping) and external data sources (e. g., Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) data, government planning documents, historical satellite maps). These methods are used to conduct research and analysis on the three cases remaining at the original site, delving into each part in depth and verifying and complementing one another.
4.1 Selection of research objects: three typical urban cemeteries in Nanjing
This study selects three cemeteries remaining at the original site in Nanjing, an important provincial capital city in East China: Yuhua Merit Cemetery, Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery, and Guangdong Villa Cemetery (Fig. 2). Yuhua Merit Cemetery is located at Wangjiangji in Yuhuatai District, Nanjing. It is adjacent to the Yuhuatai Martyrs Cemetery. Covering an area of nearly 20 ha, the current site was historically the tomb of three martyrs of the Southern Anhui Incident. Yuhua Merit Cemetery was established in September 1999 and started its business operation, providing funeral and burial services. It is currently under the management of the Funeral and Burial Administration Office of Nanjing. Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery is located south of the intersection of Yongle Road and Yongle North Road in Qinhuai District, Nanjing. It is a commercial cemetery surrounded by urban residential and commercial spaces, currently under the management of the Market Supervision Administration of Nanjing. Guangdong Villa Cemetery was raised by merchants from Guangdong Province during the Qing Dynasty. The original site was at the Hongmiao section of Fujian Road in Sanpailou. Due to historical reasons, it was later relocated to its current address, No. 40 Zhangwangmiao outside the Central Gate, which is currently under the management of the Returned Overseas Chinese Federation of Nanjing.
As typical representatives that emerged in the early 20th century, these three cemeteries have gone through the rapid construction stage of Nanjing and have been relatively completely preserved. Their development possesses distinct stage and social significance. Despite occupying core locations in the physical urban space, the NIMBY effect has inevitably endowed them with the attribute of fixation in the non-physical space. The plots where they are located exist in the built environment in the form of fixed patches, halting further expansion and reaching a relatively stable state, which restricts the balanced development of the city. Therefore, their representativeness and data availability make them suitable for relevant research.
4.2 Study on the morphological process of cemeteries
4.2.1 Construction of the research method
In the process of selecting the site for a modern cemetery, the relationship between the cemetery and the development of the built-up urban space is usually taken into account, and a reasonable planning of the whole cemetery system, is carried out (
Zhang and Luo, 2009). Urban cemeteries often have clear physical boundaries, and they were built earlier than urban expansion. Cemeteries that were originally located in the fringe areas of the city have been surrounded and pushed towards the central areas (Fig. 3). These cemeteries may share similar characteristics with the fringe-belt plots. Therefore, it is reasonable to use the concept of fringe belt to explore the impact of the expansion of the built-up area in Nanjing on urban cemeteries.
4.2.2 Empirical analysis and research
From a low-resolution perspective, the three urban cemeteries, namely Yuhua Merit Cemetery, Guangdong Villa Cemetery, and Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery, exist within the urban area of Nanjing as typical NIMBY facilities. In the past 20 years, due to situations such as the renovation, demolition, and new construction caused by the demand for urban expansion, the morphological structures of the three cemeteries and their surroundings have undergone corresponding changes (Table 1). When zooming in to a medium-resolution perspective and observing the morphological process of the cemeteries and their surrounding road networks in the past nearly 20 years, it can be seen that the road networks of Yuhua Cemetery and Jinling Cemetery have been continuously refined over time. The cemeteries show a trend of slight expansion, and the spatial boundaries gradually become more precise, and they are isolated from other surrounding spaces. Guangdong Cemetery has not undergone a remarkable expansion and renovation, and its morphology and boundary have not shown obvious changes over time. In addition, the current spatial forms of the three cemeteries all exhibit the characteristics of the fringe belt (
Conzen, 1960), such as the plots being larger than whose of general blocks, not being in the central area or residential area, the surrounding road networks being relatively sparse, and the street patterns being irregular. They are distributed in the built-up area in the form of patches.
4.3 Quantitative study on the spatial vitality of the cemetery areas
4.3.1 Construction of the research method
The study on the spatial vitality of urban cemeteries is based on quantitative morphological analysis. The principles for creating urban spatial vitality include good street accessibility (
Jacobs, 2021), appropriate construction intensity, and sufficient functional mix degree (
Ye et al., 2016). They respectively use quantitative morphological research tools such as Space Syntax (
Hillier and Hanson, 1984), Spacematrix (
Pont and Haupt, 2007), and MIX (Mixed-use Index) to respectively describe plot accessibility, construction intensity, and functional mix degree (
Shao, 2010;
Trusiani, 2012). This study draws on and optimizes this method to classify and integrate these three elements (Table 2). It expresses the morphological characteristics related to urban vitality and conducts a quantitative approach to analyze the spatial vitality of three cemeteries.
4.3.2 Empirical analysis and research
4.3.2.1 Selection of the Research Object and Scope
Taking Yuhua Merit Cemetery as an example, according to the actual situations such as the surrounding road system and core spatial nodes, the research scope (approximately 38 km2) is determined (Fig. 4). And the plots are divided according to the layout of the main road system. The plots are used as the basic units. Successively, the street accessibility, plot construction intensity, and functional mix degree within this area are discussed.
4.3.2.2 Vitality Element 1: Analysis of the Accessibility of the Street Network Based on Space Syntax
This study assessed the accessibility of Yuhua Merit Cemetery and its surrounding plots using space syntax. First, local (R3) and global (Rn) choice of the street system in the area were calculated and classified via the natural breaks method. Second, the average choice of adjacent streets was adopted to represent the spatial accessibility of corresponding plots, thereby determining the micro- and global-scale accessibility of each plot. Finally, these values were categorized into low, medium, and high levels using the natural breaks method. Integrated accessibility grades were determined as follows: low if one scale was low and the other medium, or both low; medium if one scale was low and the other high, or both medium; high if one scale was medium and the other high, or both high.
At a low resolution, the choice of streets of various levels in Yuhua Merit Cemetery shows significant performance at the global scale (Fig. 5(a and b). Some main roads exhibit high accessibility. For example, Yuhua South Road on the north side, which connects to the Inner Ring East Road of Nanjing, Ruanjian Avenue on the south side, which links Hexi New Town and Southern New Town, and Huashen Avenue, an urban arterial road on the east side of Yuhua Cemetery, etc. The street axis data of local accessibility and global accessibility are respectively mapped onto the adjacent plots (Fig. 5(c and d)), and after being segmented by the natural breakpoint method, the accessibility results of the two scales are overlaid (Fig. 5(e)). In the global scale analysis at a medium resolution, the plot where Yuhua Merit Cemetery is located and the adjacent surrounding plots all show medium and above accessibility; when analyzing at the local scale, compared with the surrounding office plots and residential plots, the entrances and exits of the plot of the cemetery are on local roads and are not connected to primary or secondary main roads with high accessibility. The cemetery plot itself also shows the characteristic of low accessibility.
The low accessibility of the cemetery plot is attributed to the high depth value brought by the lower-level road network distributed on its west side. The east side of the cemetery is directly adjacent to Huashen Avenue, an urban main road. The relatively high global accessibility provides convenient traffic conditions for visitors. On the north side, there is No.4 Bus Company separated from Yuhua South Road. On the south side, it is directly adjacent to Huawei Research Institute and faces Ruanjian Avenue from a distance. Since the west, south, and north sides of the plot are not directly adjacent to the urban primary and secondary main roads, it, to a certain extent, explains the reason for the low comprehensive accessibility of Yuhua Cemetery. Therefore, although the cemetery has great locational advantages in the urban physical space, the plot is indirectly separated from the core visual space and activity space of primary and secondary main roads, ensuring that it basically will not have a direct conflict with the daily activities of citizens.
4.3.2.3 Vitality Element 2: Analysis of the Construction Intensity of Plots Based on FAR (Floor Area Ratio)
Based on the datasets such as the building base area and the floor height, the actual FAR of each plot is calculated based on the formula to represent the construction intensity (Fig. 6), and the quantile classification method is adopted to classify the data of each plot, dividing them into three levels: low, medium, and high.
The results of quantitative visualization show that the distribution of plots with different levels of construction intensity within the research scope exhibits certain patterns in space. At a low resolution, the plots with a low FAR are mainly distributed in Yuhua Cemetery, Yuhuatai Scenic, and Juhuatai Park. These plots, as the construction land for urban public facilities, show the characteristics of low development intensity. The plots with medium and high FARs are mainly concentrated in Hexi CBD area of Jianye District, Xincheng Science and Technology Park, as well as some residential communities and high-density office lands in Yuhuatai District. At a medium resolution, the FAR of the plot where Yuhua Cemetery is located is only about 0.15, and it is surrounded by the scientific research lands with medium and low FARs and limited residential lands. For example, ZTE Center with a FAR of about 0.30 is located on the north side of the cemetery, Huawei Research Institute with a FAR of about 0.29 is on the south side, and Yuecheng International Garden with a floor area ratio of about 1.07 is on the east side, etc. In general, the plots around the cemetery are mainly the lands with medium and low construction intensity for office, scientific research, and residential areas. The average construction intensity of the plots in Jianye District on the west side or the south side at a certain distance from the cemetery is higher than that of the cemetery area, showing a general trend of low construction intensity near the cemetery and high construction intensity far from the cemetery.
4.3.2.4 Vitality Element 3: Analysis of the Functional Mix Degree Based on the Mixed-use Index
This study measures the functional mix degree of each plot surrounding Yuhua Merit Cemetery according to the mix degree calculation method of the Dutch planner Van Den Hoek. Taking residence (H), work (W), and amenity (A) as the three main functions of the plot unit, a formula for calculating the mix degree is proposed: MXI = residence (%)/work (%)/amenity (%), that is, the proportion of the building area of each function in the total building area (
Hoek, 2008). Plots surrounding the cemetery were categorized by functional diversity as follows: single-function (Low) if one function occupied over 95%; dual-function (Medium) if two functions each accounted for >5%; multifunction (High) if three functions each constituted >5% (
Ye et al., 2016).
After the quantitative analysis of the functional mix proportion, it is known that the functional mix degree of the plots surrounding Yuhua Merit Cemetery shows a certain distribution pattern (Fig. 7). From a low-resolution perspective, single-functional lands (H, A, W) within the research scope account for about 22.7%. Among them, green spaces, residential lands, and amenity facility lands are the main types, which are scattered in the area according to general planning principles to meet various needs. For example, the single residential lands around the cemetery and a few isolated office lands in the checkered plots in Jianye District in the northwest direction; dual-functional lands (H_A, H_W, A_W) account for about 37.9%, mainly in residential lands and amenity facility lands, supplemented by plot types of groups of high-rise office areas and public facility areas; the number of multi-functional lands (H_A_W) is limited, but they account for the largest proportion in terms of area, about 39.4%. They are mainly the plots distributed on the southwest direction of the cemetery and Nanjing South Railway Station area. The plots of this type mainly take one type of urban public amenity function as the main function, and residential communities are built around them, with other public service facilities constructed as supporting facilities. From a medium-resolution perspective, the cemetery plot is dual-functional. It is closely adjacent to a small industrial park on the west side. The adjacent plot on the south side is a single-functional land where the Huawei Nanjing Research Institute is located (Fig. 8(a)), and the plot on the east side is the land for a residential community and its supporting facilities, which is a dual-functional land (Fig. 8(b)). As a whole, the lands around the cemetery are mainly single or dual-functional lands with a medium to low mix value. The core function is single residential use, supplemented by some supporting public amenity facilities. In the areas at a certain distance from the cemetery and close to the intersections of the main urban roads, there are multi-functional mixed lands with a high mix value (Fig. 8(c)). The core function is one certain public service, such as Nanjing South Railway Station area.
4.3.2.5 Judgment of Spatial Vitality Based on Road Accessibility, Plot Construction Intensity, and Functional MIX
The quantitative classification results of the three spatial morphological elements, namely street accessibility, plot construction intensity, and functional mix degree, are overlaid for the second time to represent the final vitality value of each plot (Table 3). The summarized and classified results are divided into seven categories from low to high.
By overlapping (Fig. 9), it can be seen that at a low resolution, the spaces with high vitality values within the research area are concentrated in the plots that are easily accessible, have a high development intensity, and are of multi-functional mix. For example, the plots adjacent to the primary and secondary main roads and major intersections. The areas with low vitality values are relatively scattered and mostly surrounded by the plots with medium and high vitality values, such as the plot of Yuhua Cemetery, the plots of urban parks, etc. From a medium-resolution perspective, Yuhua Cemetery plot is located with low accessibility, low development intensity, and medium functional mix degree, belonging to the Class I extremely low vitality space; the plot where the government is located adjacent to the northeast side of the cemetery is a plot with high accessibility, low development intensity, and medium functional mix degree, belonging to the Class IV medium vitality space; the plot of the Yuecheng Community adjacent to the east side of the cemetery has medium accessibility, medium development intensity, and medium functional mix degree, which is a Class VI high vitality space. Generally speaking, since the research scope is located in an important area of the main urban area, the high accessibility, reasonable development intensity, and complete supporting facilities make the overall space have a medium to high average vitality value. Among them, most of the plots around the cemetery are spaces with medium and high vitality values. Although the cemetery plot is adjacent to the main roads and occupies a favorable traffic location, its low development intensity and low mix degree result in a low overall vitality value.
4.4 Study on the pedestrian flow heat situation in the cemetery areas
4.4.1 Construction of the research method
The authors use Baidu Maps to obtain the aggregation degree of people at different time points within the cemetery areas. By obtaining the pedestrian flow heat situation of Yuhua Merit Cemetery, Guangdong Villa Cemetery, and Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery, and comparing them with the two public cemeteries, Pujue Temple Cemetery and Xitian Temple Cemetery, which are away from the main urban area of Nanjing but undertake major funeral and burial services, a horizontal comparison is made of the similarities and differences in the daily use efficiency between five cemeteries. Thus, the results of the quantitative analysis of cemetery spatial vitality obtained from the morphological perspective are discussed.
4.4.2 Empirical analysis and research
Due to their specific functional attributes, the pedestrian flow shows periodic fluctuations at different time periods. In order to further intuitively observe this characteristic of cemeteries as special NIMBY facilities, the study selects four designated days before and after the Qingming Festival in 2024 (March 28, March 31, April 4, and April 8), and collects the pedestrian flow heat situations on Baidu Maps from 7:00 to 18:00 of each day in the areas of Yuhua Merit Cemetery, Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery, Guangdong Villa Cemetery, as well as the two large cemeteries, Xitian Temple Cemetery and Pujue Temple Cemetery (Fig. 10).
As shown in the figure, the pedestrian flow in the five cemeteries shows an obvious periodic aggregation phenomenon before and after specific holidays (such as Qingming Festival). Specifically, the pedestrian flow in cemeteries increased day by day on the working days and rest days before the Qingming Festival (March 28 and March 31, 2024), and surged to the peak from 11:00 to 12:00 in the morning on the day of the Qingming Festival (April 4, 2024), which is a high heat period within the entire research time. The flow gradually decreased in the afternoon; on the working day after the Qingming Festival (April 8, 2024), the flow returned to the low fluctuation state and remained so until the start of the next activity day related to sacrifice. Generally speaking, the daily pedestrian flow heat values in the areas where the several cemeteries are located are relatively low. The single use function leads to an extremely low use frequency, and the pedestrian flow heat has obvious periodic peaks and valleys.
5 Results
Through the visual analysis of the morphological process and the spatial vitality of the cemeteries, and by selecting the pedestrian flow heat situation before and after Qingming Festival to verify and provide feedback on the results of the quantitative analysis, the specific manifestations of urban cemeteries and their related characteristic attributes are summarized. The following conclusions are drawn:
(1) Evolution of the morphological process of cemeteries: Empirical studies show that the plots occupied by the three urban cemeteries correspond to the isolated plot layout characteristic of Nanjing’s early urban planning. With the expansion of Nanjing’s built-up area, these cemetery areas have been gradually surrounded by urban development, but their own morphologies have remained relatively stable. For instance, Guangdong Villa Cemetery has shown no significant expansion or boundary changes over the past 20 years, while Yuhua Merit Cemetery and Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery only experienced slight expansion with more precise boundaries (Table 1). The initial site selection of cemeteries is usually at a certain distance from residential areas. However, with the rapid expansion of the city, the areas around the cemeteries are gradually urbanized, blurring the boundaries between the cemeteries and the surrounding functional areas. However, their enclosed nature and single function have prevented morphological integration with dynamic urban development, forming static spaces independent of urban growth. These plots exhibit the characteristics of patch consolidation: for example, Yuhua Merit Cemetery covers nearly 20 ha (larger than general urban blocks), with surrounding road networks relatively sparse compared to central urban areas, and most adjacent plots being non-residential (e.g., scientific research lands and parks), which restricts efficient use of urban land.
(2) Spatial vitality of cemeteries: Quantitative analysis reveals that the special nature of cemeteries leads to relatively low traffic flow, pedestrian activity, and commercial vitality in adjacent plots, significantly restricting residents’ activities. For Yuhua Merit Cemetery, the plot itself has low local accessibility and a low floor area ratio (FAR) of approximately 0.15―much lower than the 1.07 FAR of adjacent residential plots. Functional mix degree around the cemetery is also medium to low, with single or dual-functional lands accounting for 60.6% of the area, limiting diverse activities. The low spatial vitality not only weakens the overall function of the cemetery areas but also affects the development potential of the surrounding areas. It directly reflects the limited capacity of these isolated spaces to contribute positively to urban vitality.
(3) Pedestrian flow of cemeteries: The cemetery areas generally exhibit low pedestrian flow density. Compared with urban centers and other public areas like commercial areas, due to the lack of support from functions, the daily pedestrian flow of the cemetery areas is consistently low, mainly concentrated in specific time periods. For example, during the Qingming Festival in 2024, the five surveyed cemeteries (including the three study sites) saw a peak in pedestrian flow between 11:00 and 12:00, but flow dropped to low levels immediately after the holiday (April 8). The sparse and periodic pedestrian flow, which leads to low daily usage frequency, not only weakens the vitality of the whole area but also makes it a restrictive factor for surrounding development and reflecting incoordination of the cemetery areas in the urban functional structure and restricting the interaction and development inside and outside the areas.
6 Discussion
This section aims to interpret the empirical findings by connecting them to the research objectives―exploring the attributes of in-situ urban cemeteries and their implications for urban planning. It employs feedback verification (via housing price and visual avoidance), theoretical elaboration, and cross-cultural comparison to deepen the understanding of urban cemeteries’ key characteristics, providing a basis for subsequent prospect predictions.
6.1 The negative externality of urban cemeteries
Negative externality in this study refers to the unintended adverse impacts of urban cemeteries on surrounding socialeconomic systems and residents’ well-being, arising from their NIMBY effects (
Li, 2009). Urban cemeteries, as a kind of NIMBY facilities with extremely strong negative externalities, exist in the historical space and are retained as public facilities in the current urban. Inevitably, they have a certain negative impact on the surrounding land values and housing prices (
Li, 2009). At the same time, influenced by the traditional belief, most citizens tend to avoid living near cemeteries, which further aggravates the depreciation of housing prices around the cemeteries (
Wen et al., 2022). As an important indicator reflecting the economic vitality of a region, housing prices can also, to a certain extent, represent the low vitality of this area. By visualizing the housing price of the residential areas around the three cemeteries in Nanjing, the general influence on the surrounding housing prices is revealed. Meanwhile, the study also analyzed whether certain measures are taken in the planning of surrounding residential communities to reduce the direct impact of the negative externality of the cemeteries. And the verification research is carried out on the results of spatial vitality quantitative analysis of urban cemeteries obtained from the morphological perspective.
6.1.1 Feedback and verification 1―Analysis of the housing price index
Taking the areas surrounding the three cemeteries, Yuhua Merit Cemetery, Guangdong Villa Cemetery, and Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery, as the research scope, the relationship between the cemeteries and the housing prices of the surrounding residential areas is discussed by sorting out the data from various real estate websites.
Taking Yuhua Cemetery as an example, within a 1-km radius of the cemetery, there are residential communities such as Yuecheng International Garden. The average unit price of the second-hand houses for sale in these residential communities is about 27,655 yuan per m2. Outside the 1-km radius, the residential communities include Aitaoyizhen Mansion, Damingcheng, etc., with an average unit price of about 40,000 yuan per m2 (Fig. 11). It can be seen that the unit price of second-hand houses within the 1-km influence area of the cemetery is significantly lower than that outside the area. Generally, within a certain radius, the closer the distance to the cemetery, the lower the housing price, and the marginal effect decreases as the distance increases, which is basically positively correlated with the quantitative results of the spatial vitality (Figs. 14 and 15). The results of the data analysis of other two cemeteries, Guangdong Cemetery and Jinling Cemetery, also conform to this objective rule (Figs. 12 and 13).
6.1.2 Feedback and verification 2 - analysis of the visual avoidance
When studying the relationship between the visual of the surrounding residential communities and the cemeteries, the main residential areas in the adjacent regions of three cemeteries are marked on the map (Figs. 15–17). A horizontal visual analysis is carried out with the central point of each residential area as the viewpoint (that is, the average viewpoint of the community). Combined with on-site investigations, the central recognition visual fields (yellow areas) of the main viewpoints of each residential area are drawn. Subsequently, they are compared with the theoretical central recognition visual fields (dotted line areas) of the residences in the direction of the cemeteries. During the research, it is found that there is an obvious offset angle on the horizontal plane between the central recognition visual field of the main residential communities adjacent to the cemeteries and the theoretical central recognition visual field in the direction of the cemeteries. For example, the residential communities around Yuhua Cemetery and Jinling Cemetery adjust the building forms and layout (Figs. 16 and 17) to avoid the unfavorable landscapes on the main visual corridors in the direction of the cemeteries. A residential community on the northeast side of Guangdong Cemetery avoids the direct visual field by arranging the buildings in a way that rotates counter-clockwise by 55° (Fig. 18). In addition, the on-site investigations also show that the boundaries of the cemetery usually set up continuous walls or landscape height differences to alleviate the visual conflicts. For example, the east and north sides of Yuhua Cemetery are equipped with landscape spaces with a height difference of about 2–3 m to block the direct visual connection (Fig. 19). The interface of Jinling Cemetery is a continuous wall about 2 m high (Figs. 20 and 21), and the nameplate indicating the functional attributes of the cemetery at the entrance is blurred, which means quite unidentifiable, so people could not directly recognize the true function of the plot.
This phenomenon further proves that, apart from affecting the housing prices of residential areas, these urban cemeteries have led to the passive adjustment of the planning and construction of the plots. The adjacent residential communities around deliberately avoid the cemeteries by adjusting the building orientations, changing the building forms, retreating appropriately, and setting height differences, etc. The buildings with a direct line of sight facing the cemeteries are often undervalued by the market due to psychological factors, and their transaction volumes are relatively low as well. Therefore, the cemeteries not only affect the economic benefits but also further intensify people’s negative perception of the cemetery areas.
6.2 The stability of urban cemeteries
Stability here refers to the resistance of urban cemeteries to morphological and functional changes, rooted in both physical and cultural factors. Physically, the cemetery areas form a unique morphology peculiar to the plots near the fringe belt due to their hard isolation boundaries and single function, making expansion or restructuring difficult once formed. This not only visually severs the connection between the cemetery and the surroundings, but also blocks the natural operation of social activities. The spatial layout inside the cemetery, which is mainly composed of the tomb area, the sacrificial area, and the road system, forms a unique and single function, making it difficult to change once the structure is established. Culturally, traditional Chinese views emphasize “rest in peace after burial,” and frequent changes to tomb sites are considered disrespectful to the deceased. This, combined with the NIMBY effect, solidifies cemeteries as “fixed patches” in urban form with a single function and slow changes, solidifies the functional zoning of the plot, and restricts its interaction with other vibrant areas around.
6.3 The asynchrony of urban cemeteries
Asynchrony denotes the lack of synchronization between cemetery development and urban growth, manifesting their failure to integrate into modern urban functional systems. Over the past few decades, although the methods and qualities of landscape and architectural design have been significantly improved, influenced by traditional burial customs and social taboos, the improvement of cemetery design is limited. The morphology of cemeteries has failed to integrate into the whole development of modern cities, and the plots exhibit obvious characteristics of closed and rigid states such as low accessibility, low vitality, and tidal pedestrian flow. By analyzing the visualized measurement results of the current accessibility in Nanjing on the open-source website of the 15min-city (
Bruno et al., 2024), it is found that the actual average accessibility of Guangdong Cemetery and Jinling Cemetery is moderately high. The accessibility of Yuhua Cemetery is slightly lower, probably because it is located near the fringe belt of the built-up area (Fig. 22). The accessibility of the three types of facilities, cultural facilities (Fig. 23), catering facilities (Fig. 24), and service facilities (Fig. 25), around the cemeteries is also moderately high, indicating that they have absolute advantages in terms of spatial location and supporting public service facilities, and they should have more positive vitality with the rapid development of the city. However, contrary to expectations, the plots where the cemeteries are located in the actual quantitative research results exhibit an extremely low vitality, which confirms that the development of urban cemeteries in China has lagged behind the rapid expansion and high-quality development of built-up areas. This lag is culturally specific: unlike many Muslim communities, where cemeteries are regarded as daily spiritual spaces and regularly used for weekly prayers and communal activities (
Akkaymak and Belkhodja, 2020), Chinese cemeteries rely on occasional rituals (e.g., Qingming Festival), resulting in tidal pedestrian flow (peaking on April 4, 2024, Fig. 9) and low daily utility. Meanwhile, managers of Muslim cemeteries keep the cemeteries open 24 h a day and encourage visitors to pay their respects at any time, so as to avoid concentrated foot traffic (
Sonneveld and Conway, 2024). This stands in stark contrast to the periodic fluctuations of Chinese cemeteries. Such cultural variations and highlight that China’s cemetery hysteresis stems not from location but from function limitations shaped by traditional practices.
6.4 Prospect prediction of urban cemeteries
Based on the trend of consistency of the urban morphology and functional structure in the process of urbanization, as well as the principled guidance of laws and regulations for the development of cemeteries, the future development of cemeteries in the main urban area will be more in line with the overall development needs of the city, coordinate with other functional areas, and be parallel to the overall urban planning. Combined with the research results, it is predicted that there are two future development paths for such urban cemeteries: one is to relocate the whole cemetery to the suburbs, and change the nature of the land of the original plot to undertake other urban functions; the other is to retain the cemetery in the urban area and develop and update it to better meet the social funeral and burial needs.
The first type of urban cemeteries may be relocated to the urban suburbs due to reasons such as capacity saturation and limited expansion. The selection of the new site should meet the conditions such as flat terrain, convenient transportation, and a beautiful environment. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure sufficient land resources and complete supporting facilities (roads, water and electricity, communication, etc.) to adapt to the needs.
After comprehensive consideration of various indicators, if the second type of urban cemeteries are suitable for retention in urban areas, renewal measures should also be actively taken to improve the environmental quality, vitality, and safety of cemeteries. Foreign cemeteries, as exemplified by practices in Oslo and Copenhagen, have transformed from single-function burial sites into multi-functional public spaces by adopting zoning strategies: designating quiet zones for mourning, active zones for leisure and cultural activities, and ecological zones for biodiversity, which balances respect for the deceased with public accessibility (
Grabalov and Nordh, 2021). The cemetery need to be reformed and the best solution should be to change people’s perception of traditional funeral culture, so as to gradually replace the cemetery with new burial methods, thus fundamentally resolving the crisis (
Guo, 2015).
However, due to cultural differences in perceptions of life and death, complete replication of Western models is impractical. Drawing on such experiences, Chinese cemeteries can implement targeted optimizations: replace solid walls with green buffers to soften boundaries, add rest facilities in transitional areas to enhance daily service capacity and alleviate periodic congestion, and develop cultural zones in historically significant cemeteries (e.g., exhibition halls) to highlight their educational value. Appropriately opening enclosed spaces can also strengthen interactions with surrounding urban areas, improving safety and vitality. These measures align with the low-density, green-space characteristics of such cemeteries, contributing to urban sustainability. At the same time, as typical consolidated patches, such urban cemeteries have a positive significance for the future urban development and the retention of public green spaces due to their low building density characteristics (
Wang et al., 2011).
7 Conclusion
This paper takes three in-situ retained urban cemeteries in Nanjing, namely Yuhua Merit Cemetery, Jinling Overseas Chinese Cemetery, and Guangdong Villa Cemetery, as research objects. Based on VGI data, it comprehensively applies urban morphology, multi-source quantitative analysis, and data visualization to explore their characteristics and their relationship with urban planning. The study finds that as typical NIMBY facilities, urban cemeteries, due to their enclosed nature and special functions, restrict efficient usage of land resources and form relatively static independent spatial units. Despite occupying core locations, their expansion is limited, and it is difficult for them to positively undertake a wider range of funeral and burial services. Maintaining stable spatial capacity for decades, they are embedded in urban fabric in the form of patches. This characteristic not only solidifies the spatial vitality of the plots where they are located but also gives rise to a series of negative effects such as sparse pedestrian flow, prominent potential danger, depreciation of housing prices, and deliberate avoidance of sightlines. For example, Yuhua Merit Cemetery’s 1-km radius shows 31% lower housing prices than surrounding areas, and adjacent communities exhibit 55° visual avoidance angles; daily pedestrian flow in all three cemeteries is less than other commercial areas, peaking only during Qingming Festival.
Cemeteries in urban cores conflict significantly with overall planning. With refined urban construction, this contradiction will inevitably intensify economically (e.g., land inefficiency) and socially (e.g., public resistance), making it hard to meet future funeral needs. Some may face the situation of being relocated to the suburbs to free up land. However, restricted by various factors such as policy conflicts and traditional funeral customs, the future planning of urban cemeteries face great resistance.
These findings, derived from quantifying NIMBY effects via multi-source quantitative analysis and data visualization, and integrating urban morphology with cultural values to reveal the impact of traditional views on spatial patterns, contribute novel insights to understanding such facilities in China. Nevertheless, this research still has limitations, including the regional representativeness of Nanjing cases and the lack of long-term socioeconomic data in quantitative analysis.
As a special element of urban morphology, urban cemetery planning is critical to overall development of the city. Governments should dynamically monitor the development trend of urban cemeteries and optimize the environmental quality based on their own situation to coordinate form and function in the future. Deepening research can help cemeteries integrate into urban patterns while meeting funeral needs, promoting symbiosis with other spaces, alleviating public resistance and improving residents’ mental health.
2095-2635/2025 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.
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