Landscape transition of historic villages in Southwest China

The environment in villages in Southwest China has been experiencing constant changes, indicating related change-inducing factors as well as their constitution and hierarchy. Starting from the classification of built environment according to Rapoport＇s view, the ＂environment＂ consists of fixed, semi-fixed and unfixed elements （A. Fixed-feature elements： infrastructure, buildings, walls, floors, etc. B. Semi-fixed-feature elements： ＂furnishings＂ of the environ- ment, interior or exterior, trees and gardens, fences, signs, billboards, lights, etc. C. Unfixed- feature elements： typically people and their activities, behaviors, etc.）. Five representative historic villages in Southwest China （Zhenshan Village in Guizhou, Zhangtang Village in Yunnan, Motuo Village in Sichuan, Huaili Village in Guangxi, and Gongzhong Village in Tibet） were investigated to demonstrate the changes in terms of landscape in the last decade. This article provides an analysis of the dialectical relationship between reservation practices and evolving landscapes from a diachronic perspective. This analysis reveals defects of heritage conservation projects for historic villages in Southwest China. The results indicate the following： （1） there exists an important relationship between unfixed-feature elements of Landscape and cultural heritages in historic villages; （2） semi-fixed-feature elements, although being neglected in most preservation practices, show strong sensitivity to mass tourism; （3） fixed-feature elements are highly vulnerable to civil engineering techniques; and （4） the most active change-inducing factors for evolving landscapes in historic villages include value orientations of villagers, relative locations of villages, ethnic groups, customs, and economic development.In conclusion, approaches to promoting sustainable development of historic village in Southwest China are explored.

Toward sustainable development： Lessons from vernacular settlements of Sri Lanka

From modern urban perspectives, indigenous housing practices are regarded as undeveloped, backward, and require improvements. They may be valid for measuring on the basis of standards alien to the communities. However, these perceptions have obfuscated the appreciation and potential adoption of hotistic, culturally relevant, and traditionally tested approaches to planning and housing that have sustained communities for centuries. Sri Lankan indigenous settlements have been founded on principles and understanding acquired through the wisdom of Buddhism. For the Sri Lankan indigenous, sustainability has been an intrinsic accompaniment to everyday life, unlike articulated modern discourses. However, these traditions exert minimal benefits to recent housing practices, and researchers are Looking etsewhere to develop mechanisms to infuse sustainability as a recently discovered issue of significance. The present study examines the principles underlying several indigenous settlements in Sri Lanka through dose observations supported by documented evidence and demonstrates their validity and appropriateness for contemporary planning practices. This study argues that approaches to sustainabitity shoutd be generated hotisticatty from within rather than from the outside and offers several propositions that can redirect the contemporary housing and planning practices.