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The built environment's influence on place attachment has attracted growing attention for its role in fostering perceived restorativeness and residents' well-being. Prior research often focused on macro-scale features, overlooking how human-scale streetscape elements directly shape daily experiences and how these elements influence attachment through perceptual and emotional pathways. This study addresses these gaps by examining how the perceived built environment and individual's emotion mediate the relationship between objective streetscape characteristics and place attachment, aligning physical indicators with subjective evaluations at the pedestrian scale. Using semantically segmented street-level images and a survey of 797 Nanjing residents, we test differences by age and residence duration with partial least squares structural equation modelling and multi-group comparisons. Results reveal that natural elements (vegetation, terrain, sky) indirectly enhance place attachment through positive environmental perceptions, while infrastructural components (road, vehicles, two-wheeler) diminish attachment through perceptual and emotional routes. Building show complex dualistic impacts. Heterogeneity analysis indicates long-term residents' attachment becomes more socially driven, while older adults increasingly rely on natural elements. These findings underscore the need to integrate perceptual and emotional factors into urban design and provide empirical insights for creating urban spaces that cultivate a stronger sense of belonging.
Qi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.