Post-utilization Evaluation of Public Space in Traditional Villages and Towns from the Perspective of Space Syntax

Abstract

After the Rural Revitalization Strategy was formally put forward in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017, the protection and utilization of traditional villages and towns have received significant attention from China’s academic circle and society as an important aspect of the strategy. Although many Chinese traditional villages and towns have been reconstructed successfully, there are still relatively limited academic studies on the assessment of their performance after utilization. It is a challenge that has to be solved urgently for current academic studies on traditional village protection and updating to develop village renovation techniques to provide a suitable living environment and protect traditional regional characteristics. Therefore, a systematic study on traditional village protection in China based on demonstration areas has important academic and practical significance in implementing the rural revitalization strategy and promoting overall urban-rural development. A post-use quantitative evaluation system of traditional villages and towns was established in the present study by introducing the leading space syntax theoretical technology in the field of urban morphological analysis and combining with the AHP-fuzzy comprehensive method, combining existing qualitative and quantitative analysis means. Moreover, reconstruction strategies of traditional villages and towns were proposed according to feedback information from evaluation results. Results showed that (1) according to a case study based on typical traditional villages and towns in Shawan Ancient Town in Guangzhou City, the post-utilization evaluation system of public space in traditional villages and towns demonstrates applicability and generalizability. (2) From 2010 to 2020, the highly integrated network of Shawan Ancient Town formed a ‘cross’ pattern. The accessibility and traffic capacity of the road network improved to a certain extent after the renovation. (3) Public space in Shawan Ancient Town is ranked as ‘good’ concerning cultural construction, while the functional evaluation and economic, social effects are ‘moderate’. Finally, a public space protection and renewal framework of traditional villages and towns was established from the perspectives of an optimized spatial layout of ancient towns, enhancing users’ satisfaction and actively conducting cultural activities. This study is expected to provide scientific references to rebuild rural images and inherit regional context.