Enhancing Sustainability: A Systematic Review of the Livable Neighborhood Life Circle and Its Prospects in China

In recent years, chrono-urbanism has ushered in the x-minute city concept. Effectively combined with the life unit concept, it introduced a new perspective—the neighborhood life circle. This emerging urban decision-making and planning paradigm represents China’s attempt to address the “urban disease” arising from rapid urbanization recently, attracting global attention for its implementation of sustainability. This study aims to reveal the driving factors behind the livable neighborhood life circle amid rapid urbanization by conducting a systematic review of relevant empirical research within China’s context. We used Scopus and WoS as search databases, identifying and extracting a literature review of 67 publications from 2010 to 2025. The findings indicate that the driving factors of a livable neighborhood life circle are a structure constructed comprising social well-being, management and regulation, the built environment, and economic vitality, which are interconnected in multiple ways. This study has advanced discussions on the livable neighborhood life circle and expanded the existing knowledge and literature. It has also deepened insights into how sustainability concepts impact livable neighborhood life circles in China. The study offers insights into four aspects: the systematization of concepts and driving factors related to the neighborhood life circle in China, the development of assessment tools, the establishment of new planning paradigms, and the localization of implementation frameworks. Additionally, it further enriches the global application of the x-minute city and the neighborhood life circle.