Page 88 - JCAU-6-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Residential urban heritage space study

1. Introduction spatial regeneration (Li & Han, 2021). In addition, research
examines internal spaces of historic cities, such as studies
In the era of post-modernization, urban spaces are based on road connectivity to describe touristic spatial
undergoing profound changes. These changes not only forms within city areas (Li & Xu, 2018). Other investigations
affect the structure of modern cities but also challenge focus on optimizing courtyard environments in Suzhou’s
our traditional understanding of urban heritage spaces. four great gardens through space syntax analysis (Zhao
Urban heritage includes not only historical buildings, et al., 2017), or explore individual urban heritage buildings,
monuments, and cultural landscapes but also extends to such as spatial forms and their conservation and utilization
traditional neighborhoods and city centers. Collectively,
these elements endow the city with rich historical and in Daqing Hongqi Village’s Ganda Lei architecture (Zhao &
cultural characteristics, reflecting its diversity, identity, Chen, 2022). These studies predominantly concentrate on
and social cohesion. Within this context, residential urban heritage spaces in cities with high commercial value and
heritage spaces emerge as an important subset of urban development potential, leaving a gap in research exploring
heritage, offering insights into city life and social structures the internal spatial topology of residential heritage spaces
from the perspective of residents (Ashrafi et al., 2021). primarily serving residential functions.
These spaces represent the evolution of urban residential In terms of research methods, on the one hand, quantitative
patterns and social structures over different periods, often descriptions of heritage spatial forms through spatial
containing unique architectural styles, road space forms, topology, along with the proposal of planning or conservation
and land use statuses. However, the intervention of power, strategies, have emerged as the mainstream approach. For
capital, and diverse social forces complicates the quest for instance, research has been conducted to analyze the spatial
balance between historical preservation and the modern structure of coastal settlements in Guangzhou, leading to the
development of residential urban heritage spaces (Bafna, proposal of adaptive development strategies for surrounding
2003). Therefore, investigating the spatial paradigm shifts of historic towns (Zhang & Ke, 2016). Similarly, research has
residential urban heritage spaces during the modernization analyzed the spatial connectivity values within the core area
process, exploring the impact of their spatial structures and of Gansu Tianshui City’s historic district, proposing spatial
land use patterns on their modern transformation, and activation strategies (Tian et al., 2021). Moreover, analyses
proposing strategies for their development and preservation have been conducted on the spatial distribution of heritage
have emerged as important topics in the protection of urban resources in Changsha city, integrating them with cultural
historical heritage (Li et al., 2021). spaces and proposing tourism planning strategies based
2. Research background on traffic connectivity (Lu & Guo, 2014). In Chongqing
city, spatial network analyses have been conducted on
2.1. Related research and research objectives “isolated” areas within historical districts, aiming to identify
The road system and land use status within urban spaces are optimization strategies (Cui et al., 2016). On the other
external manifestations of urban residential life and social hand, research based on land-use attributes concerning
organization. The use of digital technology for investigating the spatial use and distribution of urban heritage spaces is
road topology and land use morphology in urban spaces scant. A majority of studies concentrate on the distribution
has found widespread application across various disciplines, characteristics of heritage spaces within a broader spatial
such as planning (Jia et al., 2019), architecture (Del Espino context, such as the spatiotemporal distribution of industrial
Hidalgo, 2019), and landscape (Du et al., 2019). Moreover, heritage in the northwest region and the spatiotemporal
research focusing on the spatial attributes of urban heritage distribution characteristics and tourism relevance of
has witnessed significant development (Ashrafi et al., 2021; intangible cultural heritage in Shanxi (Zhou et al., 2012).
Pizarro-Reyes et al., 2022). Internal studies of heritage spaces include hierarchical
entropy analysis of spatial distribution in Pingyao historic
In terms of research subjects, studies primarily involve
traditional villages, urban industrial heritage, and core city in Shanxi to guide its tourism development planning and
the use of information entropy to evaluate the tourism value
historical heritage spaces (Huang & Shi, 2015). For example, of the silk roads heritage (Du & Liu, 2011).
research delves into the spatial forms and characteristics of
urban industrial heritage, exploring the relationship between It is evident that current research on urban heritage
spatial forms and industrial development, such as the case spaces places more emphasis on the spatial structure of
of industrial heritage in Shenyang (Liu et al., 2019). There urban heritage, specifically spatial topology. Conversely,
is also an analysis of the spatial features of Changchun’s there is a dearth of research concerning the material
automotive industrial heritage to evaluate the project cases structure of spaces, such as their internal use attributes
in planning and construction, proposing pathways for and land distribution. Research methodologies are mainly

Volume 6 Issue 2 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1732