“Urban mines” are an important component of coal-resource-based cities formed by mining, forming the spatial framework of the city. Measuring the spatial vitality of “urban mines” is an effective means to enhance the vitality of urban residents, improve the quality of living, and optimize the spatial structure. Current research on urban vitality predominantly focuses on urban communities, with limited exploration of the vitality of this unique unit—the “urban mines”. Guided by the practical needs of people, this study constructs a vitality assessment system for “mine within the city” encompassing five dimensions: environmental vitality, economic vitality, facility vitality, crowd vitality, and cultural vitality. Using the Yaahp hierarchical analysis method and entropy weighting to calculate the weights of internal influencing factors, a vitality measurement system for “urban mines” in coal-resource-based cities is established. Combining Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial data and the point of interest (POI), the vitality of eight “urban mines” within Huaibei’s central district is measured. And based on the dominant factors, strategies for the spatial transformation of specific units in resource-based cities were provided, assisting in the quantitative research of urban space. This study provided scientific basis and practical paths for achieving sustainable development of coal-resource-based cities under the demand-oriented approach.
Yang et al. (2026) studied this question.