Traffic Calming in Historic District Conservation

The Historic Conservation District(HCD) is an important target for urban heritage protection in China. The spatial characteristics of its road system,formed before the appearance of automobile,do not adapt to the car traffic. In the context of very rapid motorization in Chinese cities,the increase in car traffic brings an inevitable trouble for the protection of HCDs. Road widening and pedestrianization are two popular solutions to this problem in current practices; however,both of them may lead to negative consequences. Inspired by the development of Zone 30 in European cities,this paper firstly cleared up first some misunderstandings of the concept of traffic calming,then taking the inner city of Paris as an example,explained how traffic calming measures can be implemented in HCDs and what effects will be generated. Finally,it discussed the possible application of traffic calming measures in HCDs projects in China and pointed out the specific situations of Chinese cities to which the planners should pay more attention.

Community Residents' Heritage Preservation Intentions and Influencing Factors Based on the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior: A Case Study of Historic Districts in Tianjin

Community residents are important stakeholders in preserving historic districts. This paper introduces the extended theory of planned behavior to explore the intentions of residents to participate in heritage preservation, and further explains the influencing factors. Seven historic districts in Tianjin are selected as case studies. The results show that the residents' intentions to preserve heritage are positively influenced by three subjective perception factors of heritage preservation attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, as well as two objective situational factors of environmental quality of historic district and policy guidance for heritage preservation. Furthermore, the objective situational factors indirectly influence heritage preservation intentions through the subjective perception factors. Based on these findings, this paper puts forward corresponding suggestions to enhance the heritage preservation intentions of community residents.

Urban built heritage protection and realistic dilemmas:the development process,protection system,and critical thinking of historic districts in Dalian

In China,the northeastern region has preserved many valuable modern built heritage buildings,which are undergoing difficult exploratory protection during the industrial and urbanisation process.Taking Dalian city as a case study,this article retraces the history of Dalian’s opening up and colonial management from the perspective of urban planning and historic district protection and management systems.This article sorts out the influence of national and local institutional policies on Dalian’s urban construction and development to analyse the past evolution,current problems and internal causes of the renovation and protection of Dalian’s typical historic districts.This influence is mainly reflected in the lack of protection and damage done to unofficial heritage,the disconnection between historic districts and the surrounding environments and urban textures,and the Chinese-style transformation and economic decline of exotic areas.This paper calls for attention to and the rapid clarification of the built heritage list,the improvement of planning and protection systems and related supporting policies,and a focus on the protection of the authenticity of colonial heritage.This paper provides strategic guidance for improving the protection of historic districts in Dalian in Northeast China and hopes to serve as a reference for the protection of built heritage in other nonfamous historic and cultural cities.

Unveiling the potential of space syntax approach for revitalizing historic urban areas:A case study of Yushan Historic District,China

Historic urban areas are a crucial component of urban heritage,embodying the collective memory of urban development and possessing distinctive urban textures and cultural attributes.However,the growing impact of globalization on the urban environment poses challenges to historic urban areas,including diminishing social recognition,aging infrastructure,loss of vitality,and cultural erosion.To address these challenges,this study proposes a novel approach to revitalizing historic urban areas by employing space syntax methodology.The study focuses on Yushan Historic District in China as a case study and uses spatial models within space syntax to describe,analyze,and interpret its urban morphology.The objective is to enhance urban vitality while preserving the heritage fabric of historic urban areas.Additionally,it aims to contribute to the advancement of space syntax research,specifically in the context of urban renewal and revitalization of historic districts.The findings reveal the spatial factors that contribute to the generation of vitality within the district,identify areas requiring intervention,and provide strategies for revitalizing historic urban areas.This study demonstrates the potential of utilizing a space syntax approach in urban revitalization,providing valuable guidance for effectively conserving urban heritage within the context of urban renewal.

Research on the Public Perception of Yangzhou Historical and Cultural Districts Based on Network Review Text Analysis

The historical and cultural districts of a city serve as important cultural heritage and tourism resources.This paper focused on four such districts in Yangzhou and performed semantic analysis on online public comments using ROST CM6 software.According to the high frequency words,attention preference of district site elements,activities and feelings in Yangzhou historical and cultural districts were analyzed.Through the analysis of semantic network and public emotional tendency,the relationship between the protection and utilization of Yangzhou historical and cultural districts and the perception and demand of users were discussed,and some suggestions for the protection,utilization and renewal of historical and cultural districts were put forward.

Evaluation of Walking Suitability of Historical and Cultural Blocks: A Case Study of Shichahai in Beijing

This paper focuses on the Shichahai area of Beijing to assess the walking suitability of its coastal and surrounding streets.Shichahai area,covering an area of about 302 hm2,is an important historical and cultural protection zone in Beijing,with rich historical and cultural heritage and modern urban activities.This paper uses literature analysis,field research and Baidu Street View map data to construct an evaluation system of three first-level indicators,including space safety,walking comfort and landscape enrichment,and determines the weight of each indicator by expert scoring method.The street is evaluated and analyzed by means of statistical analysis.In order to improve the walking environment of Shichahai area,it is suggested to monitor and manage street hygiene,replant vegetation to improve the green coverage rate and landscape richness,and optimize the walking space design to ensure the safety and comfort of pedestrians.These measures aim to balance historical preservation with modern needs and promote the protection and development of historical and cultural districts.

Comprehensive Assessment of Sustainable Tourism-oriented Revitalization in a Historic District: A Case Study of Qianmen Area, Beijing, China

Tourism-oriented revitalization of historic districts has been identified as a form of sustainability which is believed to contribute to both conservation and development.Comprehensive assessments of the effects of such tourism-oriented revitalizations in historic districts are thus a great challenge,and are needed to support sustainable development and management efforts.In this study criteria and indicators were identified by using the AHP method with experts scoring four aspects on two levels.We assess a case in China using this system and outputs indicated infrastructure and environment performed best,while the score for residents’living condition and participation was the lowest.Finally,we offer some suggestions to improve the relatively poor status in order to assist historic districts in achieving sustained revitalization.

Historic Districts in the Wake of Modern Adversities:Reflections from China and Norway

A shift to a market-led economy initialized due to globalization has caused massive restructuring–both economically and spatially.In the midst of such restructuring processes for place promotion and investment marketing,falls culture and heritage.The developed world identified the value of heritage and centered the restructuring around the global-local nexus,whereas the developing world,increasingly influenced by the far west,made progress towards'Americanization.'However different the approaches might be,a similarity in the situation of perception of culture can be found today–induced by the technical and global forces.A new debate emerged in the professional communities on preserving the essence of historic districts/neighborhoods based on the ideologies and perceptions of governments and communities alike.This paper aims to decipher the influence of the changing notion of'development'and the globalization on the historic districts in the developing and developed worlds,by detailing the case of the Drum Tower Muslim District in Xi’an and a mining town named R?ros(a world heritage site)in Norway.The study is primarily based on secondary sources,discussions with experts,field visits,and in depth interviews with local people.The findings from both the cases prove that there is no clear distinction in the current scenario of historic district preservation,although the governing processes and planning mechanisms of both countries have stark differences.

Characteristics of road network forms in historic districts of Japan

This study focused on the structure and the platform of the road space of historic districts. We analyzed the road networks of 16 historic districts in Japan from the perspectives of circularity, accessibility and indirection based on graph theory. By calculatin8 and comparing the indexes of each road network （NW1 and NW2） forms, we quantitatively describe the effects of the main prefectural roads （more than 4 m in width） and narrow streets （less than 4 m in width） on the spatial characteristics. And it turned out that we could divided the 16 objective historic districts into 4 types. Moreover, we qualitatively studied the characteristics of each type of historic districts based on their development background and the structure of road network.

A Field Assessment on Natural Ventilation and Thermal Comfort of Historical District--A Case of the Wugoushui Settlement in Taiwan

Due to the urban and town development, it is common to see historical buildings and new buildings intermingled with one and another inside historical regions in Taiwan. With the increase of new buildings, natural ventilation becomes harder, which leads to the impact on the preservation of historical building and the reduction of thermal comfort for residents. Besides, problems of new buildings＇ construction and design affect the developments of cities and towns in historical district, which has existed for hundreds of years. The Wugoushui Settlement is located in Pingtung County, the southernmost part of Taiwan, and its hot season of a year is pretty long and belongs to warm and humid tropical climate. In 2008, the Pingtung County Government officially registered and announced Wugoushui as traditional settlement and meanwhile, provided the maintenance and preservation for buildings in this region on government subsidies. This paper is based on one-year-long field experiments of Wugoushui Settlement. Residents in Wugoushui Settlement continue constructing new buildings near by the traditional buildings. With the fact that constructions of new buildings result in huge impact on the circumstances of natural ventilation and thermal comfort, which have been for hundreds of years, the simple weather station is set up to collect the data of local microclimate. In addition, four representative traditional architectures were selected to be measured their indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction and thermal radiation both in winter （December to February） and in summer （May to September）. The measurement time of each building is one week and every data record is kept every minute. Besides, residents were asked to fill out the comfort survey. Based on these data, the distributions of indoor and outdoor thermal environment as well as the thermal comfort of living space under the condition of the natural ventilation are assessed. Finally, focused on the indoor living space of historical districts in southern Taiwan, there are two main suggestions given in the essay： first, a provisional comfort zone in summer is planned and proposed; second, the preliminary suggestions for the design and norms of new buildings in historical district are provided.

Revitalization Strategy in Conservation and Renewal of Historical and Cultural Districts:A Case Study of Shangxiahang in Fuzhou City

Taking the revitalization strategy in conservation and renewal of Shangxiahang historical and cultural district as an example,the paper analyzes the main problems at the present stage and the main contradictions with urban development,and puts forward the revitalization practice for conservation and renewal of Shangxiahang historical district by using related revitalization theory and planning principles.Furthermore,the contemporary practicality of Shangxiahang district is increased on the basis of protection,giving play to its contemporary charm.

Sustainable Development and Tourists’Satisfaction in Historical Districts:Influencing Factors and Features

Determining how to achieve sustainable development and protection of historical districts is a worthwhile research topic.As a vital way to update urban space,tourism development in historical districts is an effective tool for redistributing urban functions and increasing urban vitality.This paper takes the Insa-dong in South Korea as a case study for the evaluation of tourist satisfaction in historical districts,based on 550 questionnaires.The questionnaire contains 33 evaluation indicators,and the subjects’subjective judgment and satisfaction with Insa-dong are measured in the form of the Likert scale.Using SPSS to analyze tourists’satisfaction with historical districts,this studyfinds that:(1)The tourist satisfaction evaluation of Insa-dong includes six dimensions in total:"Embodiment of historical elements","The blend of tradition and modernity","Industry distribution and type","Consumer demand","Street layout and function"and"Landscaping".(2)"The blend of tradition and modernity"has the highest weight while"Industry distribution and type"has the lowest one in the analysis of factors influencing overall satisfaction.(3)The analysis of the common factor weights and the common factor satisfaction levels shows that"The blend of tradition and modernity"and"Street layout and function"are the parts that need to be improved."Consumer demand"also has a lot of room for promotion.The research results will be beneficial for enhancing the tourist experiences of historical districts and they provide a theoretical basis and practical experience reference for effective protection and sustainable development of historical districts.

Building Community Trust in Historic and Cultural Districts:A Case Study on Shijia Hutong in Beijing

Concerning the complexity and diversity of demands in historic and cultural districts,the protection and regeneration planning(PRP)practice has been gradually shifted from spatial design to pluralistic and participatory community governance.Previous studies have pointed out that community trust is an essential means to eliminate social resistance and improve community cohesion and executive capability.However,the trustbuilding mechanism has been given little attention in urban planning.This study intends to improve the theoretical cognition of trust in community governance and provide suggestions for addressing issues of protection and regeneration planning in historic and cultural districts.With Shijia Hutong in Dongcheng District of Beijing,as an empirical case,this paper conducts a household survey and applies the Structural Equation Model(SEM)to explore the influencing elements and community trust-building path in the protection and regeneration planning from the perspective of residents.Through analyzing the influencing mechanism of residents’perception,it reveals that,firstly,pluralistic governance that is composed of the grass-roots government,NGOs,and residents can directly promote residents’perception of the protection and regeneration planning,and have a greater influence by facilitating public participation in building up community trust.Secondly,residents’perception of the protection and regeneration planning would not be improved if public participation failed to build up community trust.Thirdly,community trust consists of neighborhood trust and leadership trust,of which the latter is more important.These findings contribute a new perspective and solution to urban regeneration and heritage protection in the future.In addition,this study may inspire research on trust-building through urban planning,governance,and public participation.

Successes and failures of participation-in-design： Cases from Old Havana, Cuba

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba faced a crisis that forced it to change its housing approach. Self-help building programs began to supplant the construction of mass standardized housing estates. The Community Architect Program was developed to provide design advice to self-help builders, and it expanded exponentially within a decade. By the year 2000, all municipalities across Cuba had their own Community Architect Office. White the approach of the Community Architect Program has been hailed a breakthrough in the fields of planning and architecture, the particular case of Old Havana suggests that several obstacles prevent residents from benefiting from its services. The author identifies the strengths and limitations of the approach by looking at two home renovation projects in Old Havana and the perceptions of tow-income residents on the work done by community architects. This research indicates that participatory design methods should be complemented by community-based initiatives that address other aspects of the housing development process, such as access to materials, construction, and construction management.

Preservation and Regeneration Strategies for the Wudadao (Five Avenues) Area, Tianjin, China

Nowadays, Tianjin becomes a major economic development zone, emulating operations seen in Shenzhen and Shanghai. But the corresponding large-scale urban development is bringing great challenges to the existing modern architectural heritage, which is an indispensable part of Tianjin's history, character, and culture. The Wudadao Area in the previous British Concession is such a case. Through examining its development process, this research identif ies four modes of preservation strategies, and analyses the respective characteristics. Multiple stakeholders who take part in Wudadao's preservation and regeneration are recognized. Via case studies, the research elucidates the different roles played by responsible departments in Tianjin Municipal Government, state-owned enterprises, and local residents respectively. In a micro-circulation way, Wudadao has developed from an endangered colonial settlement to a re-recognized symbol of Tianjin's urban culture and a refurbished showcase of global identity.

Urban Conservation Through Chinese Local Original Architecture:The Preservation and Renovation of Zhongshan Road in Hangzhou

How to realise the goal of city revival through the preservation of historic districts is an important issue for all historic cities.This article introduces the Preservation and Renovation Project of Zhongshan Road in Hangzhou regarding its guiding principles,design concepts,and the entire construction process.In this project,the existing historical buildings along Zhongshan Road were preserved by keeping the remains of different historical periods and various lifestyles of the inhabitants.Rather than merely refurbishing the street front only,we reconstructed the Southern Song Dynasty city-block walls along Zhongshan Road and restored the Fangxiang city fabric to create the streetscape of the former Imperial Avenue.Afforested terraced teahouses were built along the road,and the original water system was restored so as to realise the atmosphere of‘watertown’.New buildings were added by adopting local materials and vernacular building forms.The article summarises two strategies for the preservation of a historic district in a large city.One is the comprehensive project planning by research and investigation.The other is the overall design guideline for the street blocks.It also reflects on the disappointing aspects that mainly resulted from time limitations and the poor taste in the refurbishment of shop houses.