Evaluation of social network conservation in historical areas of mountainous towns in Chongqing, China

Over recent decades,historical areas conservation has become an important strategy to improve urban competitiveness in the global economy.As shown in existing studies that the conservation of historical areas mainly focused on the physical environment,there is still room for the non-physical study,and researches on the social network conservation in mountainous historical areas are particularly insufficient.Therefore,this paper aims to establish an evaluation system which is helpful for the social network conservation of historical areas.The evaluation system is based on social network analysis and the information of social relationships gathered in field surveys using a specifically designed questionnaire method in four mountainous towns in Chongqing,China.And it was analyzed from three perspectives,i.e.,by the basic statistical properties,condensate subgroup,and centrality.Then five analysis indicators were conceived,including density,lambda set,k-core,degree centrality,and betweenness centrality.The analysis results demonstrate that the social networks of the four towns show different indicators,which are respectively relevant to completeness degree,edgerelatedness level,local stability,structural balance,and concentrated trend of social relationships.Results from SNA modeling indicate that neighborhood residents of historical areas who have more stable and healthier social relationships are relatively not easily be destroyed.The results also illustrate that the social networks structure is influenced by the terrain,form,and function of historical areas,and the change of historical areas is caused by"individual-family-society".Finally,the strategies guiding the social network conservation are put forward from two aspects.These findings suggest that the conservation and management of social network and aborigines in historical areas should be emphasized to increase the collective benefits and vitality.

Reconstruction Strategies for Historical and Cultural Areas from the Perspective of Urban Renewal:Taking Xigu of Tianjin as an Example

With the development and changes of the times,many cities have to face the problem of renewal.However,in the context of globalization,urban renewal also makes urban cultural characteristics and regional characteristics inevitably missing.Therefore,we should pay attention to the protection and planning of regional historical and cultural heritages in the process of urban renewal,which plays an important role in the construction of urban characteristics and the shaping of city card.Xigu area of Tianjin also faces the problems of cultural loss and need for reconstruction,its function,layout,industrial structure and land use are adjusted and optimized in this article,with a view to showing the value of historical and cultural heritage and context of regional history.

Revitalization of Historic Conservation Areas:The Landscape Design for Yongqing Fang Phase III in Guangzhou,China

1 Introduction The regeneration and revitalization of historic conservation areas is not only of significant importance for the transformation of urban spaces but also has become a widely discussed topic in recent urban renewal efforts.The Yongqing Fang,sitting in the Enning Road 1 Introduction The regeneration and revitalization of historic conservation areas is not only of significant importance for the transformation of urban spaces but also has become a widely discussed topic in recent urban renewal efforts.The Yongqing Fang,sitting in the Enning Road Historic Conservation Area in Guangzhou,China is renowned as“the most beautiful old-style street in Guangzhou.”Through its staged redevelopment since 2016,Yongqing Fang has turned into an attractive destination with distinctive Lingnan(Cantonese)characteristics,providing places for specialty dining,creative industries,cultural performances,recreational and cultural experiences,etc.This renewal project has also stimulated the coordinated development of the surrounding areas.

Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Coverage Rate of Commercial Facilities in 15-minute Radius Livelihood Service Circles of Chunshu Street

Building a 15-minute radius livelihood service circle from the needs of residents is a topdown process of optimizing urban layout and promoting high-quality development implemented by the government.In September 2022,Xicheng District of Beijing served as a national pilot of the 15-minute radius livelihood service circle.Based on the data of POI,urban walking network and building outline,this paper studies the coverage of commercial service facilities in the 15-minute radius livelihood service circle of Chunshu Street by using kernel density analysis and urban network analysis tools.The research shows that the commercial facilities are concentrated in Zhuangsheng Square and Dazhalan commercial district.There are large gaps in housekeeping and couriers logistics facilities,which need to be further improved.

Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area

SITUATED in the northwestern part of Sichuan Province, Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area is renowned for its beautiful mountainous scenery, with relatively undisturbed and highly diverse forest ecosystems.

Historical Breakthroughs Made in Jiangsu-Anhui Area

JiangsuOilfieldhassteppeditseffortsinenhancingitsmanagementefficiency.Asaresult,abundantachievementshavebeenmadeinoilandgasexplorationinJiangsuandAnhuiprovincesunderitsjurisdictionbyrelyingonscienceandtechnology.TheOilfieldfinisheditsreservesquotafor...

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.

A novel approach for assessing color harmony of historical buildings via street view image

While new buildings continue to emerge in the process of urbanization,historical buildings,as valuable legacies carrying national historical memory,play an important role in the urban landscape.Previous studies have shown that color harmony is a crucial factor in coordinating urban landscapes.However,the evaluation of color harmony in historic areas and buildings lacks effective quantitative standards,often overlooking factors such as complementary color harmony and the compatibility of analogous colors.This study aims to build a new method to evaluate the color harmony of historical buildings through street view technology,semantic segmentation algorithms,quantification of color harmony methods based on image property detection and classification,questionnaire verification,and takes Shanghai’s historical buildings as an example to explore.Our study categorizes six types of color harmony indexes for Shanghai street-facing historic buildings into three levels,with the top tier serving as a benchmark for excellence and the lowest tier highlighting areas in need of urban environmental improvement.This study uniquely considers color compatibility within hue ranges and expanded relationship types like complementary harmony.This approach,applicable to cities globally,offers practical tools for urban planners and conservators in managing and preserving historic areas and buildings.

Tourist Perception and Development Strategies on Culture and Commerce in a Historic Area: A Case Study of Dayan Ancient Town in Lijiang

The development of tourism in historic areas imposes immense pressure on heritage conservation, leading to issues such as commercial encroachment and the loss of cultural uniqueness in many domestic areas. Dayan Ancient Town, as an integral part of the Old Town of Lijiang, a World Cultural Heritage Site, faces increasing challenges due to commercialization. This paper explores the cultural and commercial development of Dayan Ancient Town from the perspective of tourist perception. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP), this study develops an evaluation system and visualization to analyze both cultural and commercial perceptions of tourists. The findings reveal that tourists' cultural perception of the town is limited, while their commercial perception is prominent. Furthermore, the study examines the distribution of cultural attractions and commercial establishments, revealing that the current cultural attractions can't contribute to high and continuous cultural perception results. The study finally proposes recommendations for enhancing tourist perception of the ancient town, such as establishing multi-level protection and development strategies, infusing cultural attributes into business, and expanding cultural attraction clusters.

An evaluation approach to spatial identity in historic urban areas from a humanistic perspective

Urban spatial identity,as the core content of a distinctive urban image and the representation of urban competitiveness and attraction,is critical to cities in the rapid development process.In view of maintaining and strengthening the spatial identity in a historic urban area,which is the key issue of urban construction in China at present,based on the literature review of Chinese urban spatial identity studies,three research paradigms are summarized:landscape,culture,and economy.Although the traditional evaluation method of spatial identity in historic urban areas has focused on the scarcity of characteristic resources,the relation-ship between characteristic resources and human beings has been ignored.Therefore,based on the declaration of the fundamental mechanism of urban spatial identity in historic urban areas,a new evaluation method was proposed considering four aspects,including object,subject,content,and indicators.The results indicated that the framework of evaluation and design,which is based on the assessment of the relationship between characteristic resources and human beings,is an effective strategy to improve the scientific evaluation of urban spatial identity.Our study has substantial implications for urban planners and managers in solving the urban identity crisis issue in historic urban areas.

The Landscape Space Types of Xiqiao Mountain in Ming and Qing Dynasties

By combining with the local chronicles,poems,travel notes and image data and combing the landscape space types of Xiqiao Mountain Scenic Spot,the typical space was summarized as follows:the space of Neo Confucianism education advocating nature,the space of landscape sightseeing with spaciousness and profundity alternation and the space of religious sacrifice with the unity of heaven and man.A preliminary study on the landscape spatial characteristics of Xiqiao Mountain enriches the research on the landscape characteristics of south of the five ridges scenic spot.

A graphical method of presenting property rights, building types, and residential behaviors: A case study of Xiaoxihu historic area, Nanjing

One of the main reasons for the decline of urban historic areas in China is the coexistence of multiple property rights.It also deeply affects conservation and regeneration practice.This paper aims to propose a graphical method that illustrates the association between property rights,space,and resident behavior.Based on typological maps and justified graphs,a three-step method was proposed to visualize the relationships between these three elements.The final graph and quantitative data were used to observe the evolution of the courtyard building from a diachronic perspective,as well as to compare the residential behavior in different types from a synchronic perspective.The results show that following the subdivision of property rights,the building layout become more diverse due to various illegal additions,while the residential behavior within different building types tends to be consistent.Moreover,the study observed the traditional Chinese courtyard buildings’adaptability.The findings contribute to understand the evolution of Chinese urban historic areas and internal motivation,and provide guidance for the conservation and regeneration practice.

Heavy metal pollution characteristics and health evaluation of farmland soil in a gold mine slag area of Luoyang in China

The characteristics of eight heavy metals(lead,zinc,copper,nickel,chromium,cadmium,mercury and arsenic)in the surface soil of the historical slag area of the Au ore dressing plant in the South-West of Luoyang City were investigated and evaluated in terms of a pollution index,potential ecological hazards and health risks.The results showed that the average amounts of the heavy metals Pb,Zn and As in the soils of plots S3,S5,S7,S12 and S18 exceeded the soil pollution risk screening values.The Mero comprehensive pollution index in plots S7,S12 and S18 was greater than 3,indicating severe pollution.The severe pollution plot integrated the potential ecological risk index(RI)of each sampling point,which was in the order of RI_(S12)>RI_(S18)>RI_(S7)>RI_(S5)>RI_(S3).Among the heavy metals,Cd poses the greatest threat to ecological and human health.The effects of heavy metals in soil on the single non-carcinogenic health risk index(HQ)and the non-carcinogenic total risk index through three exposure pathways were in the order of HQ_(Hg)<HQ_(Cu)<HQ_(Ni)<HQ_(Zn)<HQ_(Cd)<HQ_(Cr)<HQ_(Pb)<HQ_(As)<1,which meant that the adult and child total carcinogenic risk(TCR)and individual carcinogenic health risk indices CRAs and CRCd were above the maximum acceptable human health level recommended by the USEPA(10^(-6)).TCRAs and TCRCd accounted for 75.65%and 23.94%of the adult TCR,respectively.TCR^(As) and TCR^(Cd) accounted for 75.93%and 23.97%of the child TCR,respectively.Overall,the TCR of children was greater than that of adults.In summary,the soil in the historical slag area of the Au ore dressing plant constitutes a serious threat to the surrounding ecological environment and to residents.