Chinese Modern Architectural Heritage Resources: Perspectives of Spatial Distribution and Influencing Factors

Abstract

Architectural heritage refers to buildings, complexes, and sites with historical, cultural, artistic, technological, and geographical values, including ancient buildings, historical buildings, places of interest, dwellings, and industrial sites. China’s 20th-Century Architectural Heritage List is a state-level list that includes architecture of historical, cultural, technological, and artistic value in China in the 20th century. It is the carrier of the past century and the monument to witnessing the change in human knowledge, culture, technology, and even art. This list is from China, a country with a vast land area, a densely populated population, and numerous architectural relics. This study used ArcGIS to analyze 597 cases in 6 batches in China’s 20th-Century Architectural Heritage List. Its spatial structure was studied by calculating the nearest neighbor index, Gini coefficient, imbalance index, and kernel density. The results showed that the distribution of the Chinese modern architectural heritage resources is cohesive and uneven in China. Next, the geographical detector model was used to analyze its influencing factors from the perspective of 12 factors. This study found that the spatial distribution of this type of resource was condensed. The provincial level showed a distribution pattern of seven centers with one core and multiple scattered points. Its distribution in 34 administrative regions is extremely uneven, with 57.29% being located in North and East China. It also focused on analyzing five influencing factors, namely, topography, regional status, culture and education, social and economic development level, and external contact. Exploring its spatial structure and influencing factors will not only enable a comprehensive understanding of the development context and current situation of 20th-century architectural heritage, but also provide a reference for its protection and sustainable use.