DOI: 10.38007/978-1-80053-505-3

Propelled by China's new urbanization strategy, the deep fusion of ICT, IoT and artificial intelligence has become a core pillar of urban renewal, giving rise to the booming development of smart city infrastructure. As a representative type of outdoor intelligent urban furniture, smart benches have attracted widespread academic attention globally. Prior research carried out in the United States, Singapore and Hangzhou has preliminarily investigated basic functional configurations of smart benches, yet domestic scholarship on such facilities remains fragmented with two divergent research orientations: some scholars focus on upgrading digital service functions, while others stress localized aesthetic and cultural embedding. Three prominent research gaps still persist in existing literature: the absence of systematic, multi-dimensional design guidelines; insufficient empirical evidence revealing the correlation between design criteria and practical operational performance; and the lack of human-centred frameworks catering to diverse resident groups with differentiated demands. 

The research finally develops an eight-dimensional integrated design system covering safety, ergonomics, material structure, intelligent modules, environmental resistance, sustainability, maintainability and cultural aesthetics, and further constructs a hierarchical, synergistic principle framework. The established design standards fill the identified domestic research gaps, generate evidence-based, operable recommendations for urban planners, landscape designers and municipal administrators, and deliver replicable mixed-method research and design references for intelligent urban furniture development in China’s high-density smart cities. 

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