Objective In the context of urban regeneration, cities in the arid region of northwest China, constrained by limited water and land resources, are progressively implementing the ecological development of inefficient urban lands as an important approach to enhance urban resource utilization efficiency and facilitate the transformation of urban green spaces. Based on existing assessment methods that use ecological value as the criterion, this research proposes the incorporation of a social demand perspective into the priority assessment for ecological construction on inefficient urban lands, thereby clarifying the appropriate scale and priority of such construction and reinforcing the necessity and feasibility of the assessment outcomes.

Methods Taking the main urban area of Hami City in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as the research object, a priority assessment framework for ecological construction on inefficient urban lands in cities in the arid region of northwest China based on the both perspectives of ecological value and social demand. Considering the spatial habitat requirements of characteristic flora and fauna in cities in the arid region of northwest China, the InVEST and MSPA model is employed to identify the ecological security pattern. The ecological value of inefficient urban lands is then assessed based on the analysis of ecological sources, ecological corridors, and habitat quality. Meanwhile, by integrating the needs of multiple stakeholders, three indicators — construction feasibility, distribution evenness, and green space demand — are selected to evaluate the social demand for ecological construction on inefficient urban lands. Finally, the assessment outcomes from the both perspectives are overlaid, categorizing the inefficient urban lands into five priority levels: highest, high, medium, relatively low, and lowest.

Results The integrated assessment from the perspectives of ecological value and social demand indicates that the area ratios of inefficient urban lands designated for ecological construction with the highest, high, medium, relatively low, and lowest priorities are 1∶1.8∶0.8∶4∶2.2. Notably, the inefficient urban lands with relatively low and lowest priorities occupy the largest area, which suggests that most inefficient urban lands in Hami’s main urban area are not suitable for immediate ecological construction. Specifically, a total of 75 sites with the highest (Level I) and high (Level II) priorities — areas where ecological construction should be prioritized — account for 28.54% of the total area of inefficient urban lands, and these sites are generally located within the radiation range of ecological sources as identified by the ecological security pattern assessment, free from interference by large-scale infrastructure. In contrast, there are 14 sites (7.84% of the total area) classified as sites with medium priority (Level III), and 176 sites (accounting for 63.62% of the area of inefficient urban lands) categorized as sites with relatively low (Level IV) or lowest (Level V) priority, which are mainly distributed along the urban periphery and in areas with complex land ownership matters. According to the zoning results of the research area, the Liyuan and Xihe districts are identified as key areas for the ecological construction on inefficient urban lands, as sites with the highest or high priority in these areas constitute over 30% of the total area of inefficient urban lands. In areas such as Donghe District, Tiebei District, and Western New District, constrained by the synergies between ecological and social perspectives, sites with the highest or high priority comprise over 17% of the total area of inefficient urban lands, indicating a relatively higher priority for ecological transformation of inefficient urban lands. Meanwhile, the Huicheng and Tienan areas, with a total area of inefficient urban lands of less than 10 hm², are not suitable for large-scale ecological construction.

Conclusion The main urban area of Hami City is at a stage where both the quality enhancement and transformation of existing stock and the structural adjustment of new increments are concurrently prioritized. The assessment of inefficient urban lands is subject to the dynamic, long-term adjustments influenced by the maturity of urban construction. Notably, the assessment results for the priority of ecological construction on inefficient urban lands differ significantly among the ecological value, social demand, and composite perspectives. The inclusion of social demand indicators reduces the assigned priorities for ecological construction in most districts within the research area, thereby preventing excessive ecological construction on inefficient urban lands that could lead to the consumption of water and land resources. The driving factors for ecological construction on inefficient urban lands in various districts are primarily categorized into four types: ecological − social composite drive, ecological drive, social drive, and constraint-dominated drive. Based on the assessment outcomes, this research proposes five regeneration strategies — ecological mode, functional mode, natural mode, collaborative mode, and reserved mode — for the different priority levels of ecological construction on inefficient urban lands in Hami’s main urban area, with the aim of promoting the practical implementation of ecological construction on inefficient urban lands in cities in the arid region of northwest China and providing feasible theoretical support for urban regeneration initiatives.