This study examines the notion of placeness of city center commercial plazas within the context of globalization. Contemporary improvements of commercial public spaces aim to globalize the city image at the expense of local identity and regional characteristics. Although recognized as a major landmark that reflects the globalized image of Nanjing City, Deji Plaza cannot establish a unique sense of place and identity for the community. By adopting a humanist perspective, this study emphasizes people's experience, perception, and emotional needs of the place as crucial dimensions for improving the relationship between people and commercial spaces. A structural equation model is used to develop a measurement system that evaluates the interaction between the different dimensions of placeness. Findings indicate that optimized locations and environmental characteristics of city center commercial plazas may enhance their image but transform them into consumption spaces for tourists rather than public places for the local community. The results of this study deepen the current understanding and assessment tools of placeness in city commercial public spaces, which are relevant to Nanjing City and similar contexts.

本研究考察了全球化背景下城市中心商业广场的位置概念。当代商业公共空间的改进旨在以牺牲地方身份和区域特征为代价，实现城市形象的全球化。德基广场虽然被公认为是反映南京城市全球化形象的主要地标，但无法为社区建立独特的地方感和身份感。本研究采用人文主义视角，强调人们对场所的体验、感知和情感需求是改善人与商业空间关系的关键维度。结构方程模型用于开发测量系统，以评估不同维度之间的相互作用。研究结果表明，城市中心商业广场的优化位置和环境特征可能会提升其形象，但会将其转变为游客的消费空间，而不是当地社区的公共场所。本研究的结果加深​​了当前对与南京市和类似背景相关的城市商业公共空间场所性的理解和评估工具。