Integrating Community Fabric and Cultural Values into Sustainable Landscape Planning: A Case Study on Heritage Revitalization in Selected Guangzhou Urban Villages

Abstract

China’s rapid urbanization has presented challenges for sustainably revitalizing the historic and cultural heritage within its urban villages. Often, these efforts overlook the crucial roles of community ties and cultural values. This study focuses on 15 representative urban villages in Guangzhou (2019–2024). It tests the core idea that the physical layout of these spaces reflects underlying community structures and cultural values shaped by specific policies. Integrating this understanding into landscape planning can significantly improve revitalization outcomes. We used a mixed-methods approach: (1) Extended fieldwork to understand community networks and cultural practices; (2) Spatial analysis to measure how building density relates to land uses; (3) Sentiment analysis to reveal how people perceive cultural symbols; (4) A coordination model to link population influx with landscape suitability. Key findings reveal different patterns: Villages with strong clan networks maintained high cultural integrity and public acceptance through bodies like ancestral hall councils. Economically driven villages showed a split—open for business but culturally closed, with very low tenant participation. Successful revitalization requires balancing three elements: protecting physical landmarks in their original locations; modernizing cultural events; and reconstructing community narratives. Practically, we propose a planning framework with four approaches tailored to different village types. For instance, decaying villages should prioritize repairing key landmarks that hold community memory. Theoretically, we build a model linking social and spatial change, extending the cultural value concepts of Amos Rapoport to the context of fast-growing cities. This provides a new methodological perspective for managing urban–rural heritage in East Asia.

1. Introduction

China’s rapid urbanization has produced a large number of urban villages [1]. Taking Guangzhou as an example, its urban villages are not only products of spatial transformation, but also microcosms containing complex social structures and cultural significance, reflecting the evolution of urban–rural relationships. However, current urban landscape planning predominantly focuses on the shaping of physical forms [2,3,4,5], relatively neglecting the core driving role of social and cultural structures in the generation and evolution of space [6]. Some scholars emphasize the dynamic isomorphism between space, society, and culture [7,8]: cultural customs shape urban functions and spiritual significance [9], while urban changes also have a counter-effect on culture [10]. The revitalization practices of heritage in Guangzhou’s urban villages and their transformation from ‘villages’ to ‘cities’ exemplify this interaction [11] (see Supplementary Material Figure S1). The physical layout of these villages itself embodies the specific socio-cultural and institutional environment [12]. Landscape planning that overlook social and cultural aspects fail to make heritage meaningful to local communities and can even weaken their community identity and vitality [13]. Therefore, planning must be systematically integrated into social structures and cultural values, including respecting existing social network textures, translating historical and cultural symbols, and constructing diverse collaborative governance mechanisms. This will significantly enhance the cultural adaptability, social acceptance, and sustainability of planning, achieving a unity of material modernization and cultural continuity [14]. For this purpose, this study will propose a framework of ‘cultural adaptability landscape planning,’ employing multidimensional empirical methods to explore the typology and regeneration strategies for heritage revival under rapid urbanization. The aim is to provide a solution that is both theoretical and operational for sustainable renewal, promoting a balance between heritage conservation and modern development.

Current research on urban landscapes has deficiencies in integrating social and cultural dimensions. Urban landscapes is a unique representation formed by the joint influence of history, nature, space, and culture [15,16]. Current urban landscape planning, although drawing on various theories, still overly focuses on the shaping of physical space [17,18,19,20] and lacks systematic integration of social networks and cultural values [21]. Community research reveals its complex social structure and cultural values [22,23,24,25]. Taking Guangzhou as an example, its community culture exhibits dual characteristics of traditionality and openness [26]. Different types of communities show significant structural differences, facing challenges of weakened traditional bonds and the reconstruction of modern connections. Cultural values present a pattern of coexistence of diversity [27,28,29,30], posing new issues for the continuation of traditional values and the construction of harmonious communities [31,32]. Although recognizing that Guangzhou’s urban villages are spatial material expressions of specific social structures and cultural values within an institutional environment [33], and observing their complex social stratification, power dynamics, and culture [34,35], related research often remains independent of landscape planning strategies and fails to translate into design principles. Urban anthropology reveals the ‘space-society-culture’ dynamic isomorphism, but its core viewpoints have not been systematically incorporated into mainstream planning methodologies. This theoretical-practical divide hinders the activation of the living value of cultural heritage and sustainable community governance [36], urgently necessitating the construction of a new planning framework that integrates the dynamic relationships of ‘space-society-culture’.

Therefore, this study aims to bridge the aforementioned critical gap, which is the lack of effective and systematic methods to incorporate the community social structures and cultural values that shape urban spatial forms into sustainable landscape planning strategies, especially within the complex context of revitalizing historical and cultural heritage in Guangzhou’s urban villages. This study takes Guangzhou as a case study, based on the perspective of urban anthropology, to explore and construct a framework and practical path for ‘cultural adaptability landscape planning’ that integrates social and cultural dimensions. Core assumptions and exploratory questions revolve around the synergistic mechanism of ‘social structure-cultural values-landscape planning’: Are the specific spatial characteristics of Guangzhou’s urban villages a direct material manifestation of their intrinsic social structures and cultural values under specific environmental conditions? Do planning strategies that ignore these dimensions lead to inefficient heritage activation and weaken community identity? Can a strategic framework that systematically integrates these dimensions significantly enhance the cultural adaptability, social acceptance, and long-term sustainability of planning, ultimately achieving the organic unity of material space modernization and social-cultural continuity?

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Research Area

The method of selecting samples in this study is to use the ‘cross-section research method‘. From the city center to the suburbs, three types of urban villages in different locations, unreconstructed, micro-reconstructed, and reconstructed, were selected for investigation (see Figure 1 and Supplementary Material Figure S2). To understand the protection and activation and utilization of historical and cultural resources in different periods of urbanization, and to compare and analyze their use functions, users, and usage status, this study was formed.

This study strictly adheres to the national and local policy framework, selecting 15 urban villages in Guangzhou that have policy constraints and typical characteristics as samples. Sample selection is based on four key dimensions: coverage of different policy periods, representative transformation stages that track the impact path of policies on heritage revitalization [37]; Spatial protection types differentiation reflecting the application of point, block, and sheet protection strategies and policies [38] (see Supplementary Material Figures S3 and S4); Examine the intrinsic cultural gene differences such as the strength of clans and changes in locational functions [39], revealing the typical characteristics of dynamic cultural features in the reconstruction of culture and space [40]. Prioritize cases of urban villages that have been renovated and have complete documentation. The sample space distribution forms a gradient of ‘core area-riverfront zone-suburban area-ecological zone’, which effectively supports the construction of the dialectical logic framework of ‘policy rigid constraints-local adaptive updates’. It facilitates comparative analysis of conflicting characteristics in different locations. Based on this sample, this study will integrate the ‘space-society-culture’ dynamic isomorphism theory from urban anthropology to construct a synergistic analysis framework of ‘social structure-cultural values-landscape planning’ to address the core research questions. (Specific sample characteristics are detailed in Supplementary Table S1; spatial distribution, protection type cases, and conflicting features are illustrated in Figure 1 and Supplementary Figures S3–S5; theoretical support is provided in Supplementary Tables S2 and S3).

2.2. Research Framework

This study constructed a synergistic analysis framework of ‘social structure-cultural values-landscape planning’ (Figure 2), based on the urban anthropology theory of ‘space-society-culture’ dynamic isomorphism, aiming to systematically analyze the bidirectional construction process of material spatial form and social cultural customs in the urban village context. The core of this framework lies in addressing the following three interrelated key issues:

Social structure driving mechanisms: How does the specific spatial form of urban villages (such as high-density texture, ancestral hall distribution) reflect their intrinsic clan and neighborhood relationships?

Cultural adaptability transformation path: How can traditional values (such as clan concepts, openness, and inclusiveness) enhance social acceptance of heritage revitalization through spatial translation?

Sustainable governance effectiveness: How do diverse collaborative strategies (such as community involvement, flexible functional substitution) balance material renewal and cultural continuity?

This framework emphasizes examining the interconstructive relationship between social–cultural forces and material space from a spatiotemporal perspective. Its application aims to reveal the deep mechanisms behind the formation and evolution of urban village landscapes, providing a systematic analytical tool to compensate for the inadequacies in existing landscape planning theories regarding the social and cultural dimensions and the wisdom of folk construction. For example, analyzing the socio-cultural logic of non-formal space production in specific cases, or evaluating the value of residents’ spontaneous spatial translation practices for heritage activation. (See specific case analysis diagrams in Figures S6 and S7, see Supplementary Documents).

2.3. Research Methodology

In order to realize this analysis process, it is necessary to identify, classify and analyze these elements, and form a typology system that takes into account China‘s particularity and global universality. It not only reflects the characteristics of property rights under collective ownership and the continuity of clan culture, but also provides a methodological logic for the protection of historical and cultural heritage in other rapidly urbanizing areas.

The experimental and research methods adopted include:

2.3.1. Theoretical Framework for Adaptive Landscape Conservation in Sustainable Urban Transition

The core of this study’s dynamic landscape conservation theory is to regard urban villages as ‘living heritage’ rather than static specimens, integrating multiple theoretical supports: the dialectics of social space (Lefebvre) focuses on the power struggles in the spatial production of urban villages, revealing the social logic of informal spaces [41]; the stratification theory of cultural landscapes emphasizes the analysis of cultural layers formed during historical evolution, and proposes a strategy of ‘selective retention + innovative translation’ [42]; the resilient city theory regards urban villages as ‘resilience nodes’ within cities, advocating for enhancing their ability to cope with market/policy fluctuations to avoid cultural disruptions caused by large-scale demolition and reconstruction [43].

2.3.2. Sentiment-Informed Perception Assessment: A Semantic Analytical Framework for Web-Based Textual Data in Urban Contexts

This study employs the ROST Content Mining System (Version 6.0) network text semantic analysis method to collect user reviews from social media platforms and review websites within the research area, measuring the reinforcing effect of cultural symbol translation on public emotional attachment. The method includes three progressive analysis steps: Term frequency analysis—perform high-frequency word statistics on crawled and preprocessed text (based on custom dictionary filtering) to reveal key focal points of public image perception [44]; Semantic Network Analysis—utilizing software features to generate semantic network diagrams, analyzing user impressions and cognitive structures in depth through the density of connections between nodes (indicating association strength) and the shade of node colors (indicating core degree) [45]; Sentiment analysis—by assigning scores to sentiment feature words in reviews (positive words +5 points, negative words −5 points), accumulating the scores to determine sentiment orientation (score ≥ 0 indicates positive, <0 indicates negative), and quantifying emotional intensity using the absolute value of the score.

2.3.3. Comparative Multi-Case Study Methodology

This study adopts a stratified sampling strategy, selecting six representative Guangzhou urban village samples based on three key dimensions: renovation stage (unrenovated/minor renovation/completely renovated), spatial form (point-like/block-like/area-like), and clan strength (strong/moderate/weak) (see Supplementary Documents Table S4). Sample distribution reflects typical patterns, such as strong clan + unrenovated Shipai Village (clan spatial power retention), strong clan + renovated Huangpu Ancient Village (clan-led preservation). The Wuyanqiao Village and Zhoumen Village, characterized by weak clan ties and minor renovations (disintegration of social networks, spatial decay). And Pantang Wuyue, which underwent policy-led transformation (government intervention in institutional innovation), and Xiaozhou Village, which experienced market-driven transformation (capital reconstruction and commodification of symbols).

To analyze the spatial socio-cultural dynamics evolution of these samples, a historical geographic information system (HGIS) was established (1920–2024). This system overlays historical maps, planning diagrams, and current images to quantitatively analyze the spatial texture changes in key indicators (see Supplementary Material Figures S8 and S9). By comparing functional transformation, spatial changes, and protection mechanisms across different periods, such as Xiaozhou Village’s transition from restricted development to artistic, this triggers micro-renovation. Reflection was taken regarding the protective effects of some projects. Moreover, tables were constructed to analyze activation and utilization patterns (such as cultural tourism/agricultural tourism/creative industry classification, Supplementary Material Table S5), systematically extracting the historical evolution logic of ‘people-space-culture’ interactions within sample villages.

2.3.4. Urban Anthropological Field Research in Sustainable Development Contexts

Research through field surveys deeply analyzes the adaptive role of informal practices such as villagers’ self-built activities in cultural adaptation. Specifically adopt the following path: a. Deep involvement observation, where researchers participate as ‘community planning assistants’ for 6–12 months, systematically recording daily spatial practices (such as the frequency of ancestral hall usage, alleyway interaction patterns), ritual activity trajectories (such as space occupation during dragon boat races), and informal economic activities (such as rooftop planting, spatial negotiation of alleyway shops); b. Multi-layered interviews: Establish a three-tier interview network targeting the core layer (20–30 villagers, conducting life history interviews to trace the evolution of personal-space relationships), the intermediate layer (10–15 village committee members/developers, discussing the logic behind policy implementation decisions), and the peripheral layer (5–8 city-level planning managers, understanding considerations in institutional design). Interview strategies and objectives are detailed in Supplementary Material Figure S10.

2.3.5. Interdependence Analysis of Spatial Morphology and Functional Typologies in Urban Villages

Research evaluates the impact of spatial intervention strategies on functional sustainability through the analysis of the coupling between spatial morphology and functional formats. Based on the three-dimensional spatial data of the sample urban village (building outlines, heights) and urban points of interest (POI) business type data, select core spatial form indicators: spatial density (SD), which is the ratio of building projection area to land area, reflecting horizontal density, and spatial height (SH), explaining the average number of building floors, reflecting vertical scale (as shown in Supplementary Material Table S6). After unified data processing on the ArcGIS platform, the spatial coupling relationship between the SD/SH morphological indicators and the distribution of different types of Points of Interest (POI) was analyzed using the bivariate spatial autocorrelation method, revealing their association strength and spatial aggregation characteristics [46]. Additionally, kernel density analysis is used to measure the spatial concentration or dispersion of functional land use patterns [47]. To further analyze local details, construct a fishnet to partition and assign values to the study area, visually presenting the spatial distribution trends and dispersion of various indicators. Finally, based on the analysis results from the Geoda platform, overlay the characteristics of high and low correlation plots, and distill spatial planning insights.

2.3.6. Policy Discourse Analysis

Assess the effectiveness of governance mechanisms in advancing sustainable goals through policy text analysis. Utilize the ‘policy tool-effect of implementation’ discourse analysis framework to systematically code three categories of core texts: municipal policy documents (78 from 2004 to 2021), village collective transformation agreements (43 from 11 villages), and planning review meeting minutes (217). Simultaneously develop institutional flexibility evaluation indicators based on a 5-level Likert scale, independently assessed by five domain experts for the ‘proportion of culturally adaptive clauses’ and the ‘completeness of villagers’ participation mechanisms’ in each case study.

2.3.7. Interdependence Analysis of Migrant Population Influx and Spatial Landscape Adaptability in Urban Villages

A coupled analysis of population inflow into urban villages and the spatial landscape compatibility. First, calculate the population inflow rate of the sample urban village based on data from the sixth and seventh national censuses, and then standardize it. Simultaneously construct a spatial landscape compatibility evaluation index system (as shown in Supplementary Material Table S7), covering three assessment layers: architectural features, street space, and cultural and functional aspects. Standardize each indicator (as shown in Equations (1) and (2), and determine the weights of the indicators using the objective coefficient of variation method (as shown in Equations (3) and (4)) [48]. Calculate the comprehensive index of spatial landscape compatibility (RL value) for each village using weighted summation method (as shown in Equation (5)). A higher value indicates better spatial landscape compatibility [49]. Finally, the coupling coordination degree model is used to quantitatively evaluate the interaction and level of coordinated development between the population inflow index and the spatial landscape compatibility index (as shown in Equation (6)).

When evaluating the urban form of urban villages, we first standardize all indicator values to fairly compare across different measurements.

Positive indicator standardization:

$${\mathrm{Z}}_{\mathrm{i}}={\displaystyle \frac{{\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{i}}-\mathrm{m}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}\left({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{i}}\right)}{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{x}\left({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{i}}\right)-\mathrm{m}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}\left({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{i}}\right)}}$$

(1)

Negative indicators standardization:

$${\mathrm{Z}}_{\mathrm{i}}={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{x}\left({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{i}}\right)-{\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{i}}}{\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{x}\left({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{i}}\right)-\mathrm{m}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{n}\left({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{i}}\right)}}$$

(2)

In Equations (1) and (2), C_i represents the original measured value of the i-th indicator for each village, while Z_i denotes its standardized value through calculation. Here, max(C_i) and min(C_i) correspond to the maximum and minimum values observed for that specific indicator.

This study applies the objective Coefficient of Variation method to determine indicator weights.

$${\mathsf{\delta }}_{\mathrm{i}}={\displaystyle \frac{{\mathrm{D}}_{\mathrm{i}}}{{\overline{\mathrm{Z}}}_{\mathrm{i}}}}$$

(3)

$${\mathrm{W}}_{\mathrm{i}}={\displaystyle \frac{{\mathsf{\delta }}_{\mathrm{i}}}{{\sum }_{\mathrm{i}=1}^{\mathrm{n}}{\mathsf{\delta }}_{\mathrm{i}}}}$$

(4)

In Equations (3) and (4), δ_i represents the coefficient of variation for each indicator, D_i denotes its standard deviation, Z_i stands for the mean value, W_i indicates the assigned weight [50].

The composite suitability index of spatial landscape for urban villages (evaluation units) was calculated using the weighted summation method, with the computational formula expressed as follows:

$$\mathrm{R}\mathrm{L}={\sum }_{\mathrm{i}=1}^8{\mathrm{W}}_{\mathrm{i}}\times {\mathrm{Z}}_{\mathrm{i}},$$

(5)

In Equation (5), the composite score (RL), representing the spatial landscape suitability of urban villages, is calculated through the weighted summation of standardized indicator values, where Zi denotes the standardized value of each evaluation indicator, Wi corresponds to the assigned weight of indicator i, and n signifies the total number of indicators.

The study further employs a coupling coordination degree model to quantify the interdependent relationship between demographic dynamics and spatial landscape systems, with the evaluation model formulated as follows:

$$\mathrm{C}=\sqrt[2]{{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{X}\mathrm{Y}}{{(\mathrm{X}+\mathrm{Y})}^2}}},$$

(6)

In Equation (6), C denotes the coupling degree between population dynamics and spatial landscape suitability, where X and Y represent the population-related index and spatial landscape suitability index, respectively.

2.4. Source of Evidence (Data Collection Procedures for Case Studies)

This study employs a multi-source data collaborative framework to support empirical analysis. Literature and Policy Review: Collect policy and regulatory documents as well as planning and design texts related to Guangzhou’s urban villages. Compare historical maps from 1920 with current imagery from 2024 to analyze changes in spatial texture. Clarify the policy background and spatial evolution (as shown in Supplementary Material Figure S11 shows the protection requirements for Huocun Village Historical and Cultural Conservation Area based on planning and cultural evaluations). Field investigation and participant observation: conducting material space documentation (such as ancestral hall restoration/mapping and photographing of alleyway textures with functional annotations, see Figure S12 for Huocun Village spatial structure restoration, Figure S13 for ancestral hall function extension) and sociocultural interviews (semi-structured interviews with villagers/tenants/planners, discussing ritual modern transformation and community identity, see Figure S14 for ancestral hall activities). Multi-source data integration: Analyze the implementation texts of planning, extract key strategies such as protection principles, and functional positioning to support subsequent evaluations (e.g., relocation and revitalization of historical buildings in the ‘Rong Deli’ case, see Figure S15 in Supplementary Material).

3. Results

3.1. Social Acceptance

3.1.1. Emotional Orientation and Public Perception

Based on the analysis of ROST Content Mining System (Version 6.0) emotional perception, the social acceptance of the selected samples showed a certain degree of difference. Pantang Wuyue, Huangpu Ancient Village and Xiaozhou Village obtained high-frequency evaluations such as ‘nostalgic’ and ‘leisure’ due to the integrity of historical landscape and the integration of cultural and tourism functions. Due to the high density of ‘handshake building’ and health problems, Shipai village is labeled as ‘depressed’ and ‘messy’, but its pyrotechnics and convenience are still recognized by foreign tenants. The Wuyanqiao Village and Zhoumen Village leave a certain degree of negative perception.

3.1.2. The Coupling of Inflow of Population and Suitability of Urban Landscape

Combined with the sixth and seventh census data, the coupling coordination degree between the inflow rate of foreign population and the adaptability of urban village style is calculated.

The coupling coordination calculation results are as shown in

Table 1. Coupling Coordination calculation results in Urban Villages.

	Standardized Rate of Inflow of Foreign Population	Comprehensive Index of Landform Suitability	Coupling Coordination Index
Wuyanqiao Village	1	0.5014	0.7507
Pantang Wuyue	0.7158	0.4395	0.5777
Xijiao Zhoumen	0.3611	0.34498	0.353
Shipai Village	0.1	0.2976	0.1988
Huangpu Village	0.855	0.5653	0.7102
Xiaozhou Village	0.5875	0.4505	0.519

and coupling coordination type are shown in

Table 2. Coupling Coordination Type Classification Table.

Value Range	0	(0, 0.3]	(0.3, 0.5]	(0.5, 0.8]	(0.8, 1]	1
Coupling degree	Uncoupled	Low coupling	Moderate coupling	Benign coupling	High coupling	Fully coupled

.

The population inflow rate and landscape suitability of Wuyanqiao, Pantang Wuyue and Huangpu Village showed a positive correlation. However, the low landscape suitability of Shipai Village was accompanied by high population inflow rate, reflecting the logic of “survival needs overriding spatial quality” in tenant selection.

The findings indicate a positive correlation between community population inflow rates and landscape suitability. Wuyanqiao Village, historically a commercial hub, has seen its status diminished due to declining geographical value and deteriorating buildings with obsolete functions. Despite its low architectural quality, the village attracts migrants attracted by its inclusive social structure and affordable living costs. Based on case studies from Pantang Wuyue and Huangpu Village, along with references like Wenchongxi and Shabu Village, we can infer thatUrban villages with high landscape suitability (such as the renovated “Xingfuli” in Wenchongxi and “Rongdeli” in Shabu) have enhanced spatial quality through revitalizing historical buildings and introducing functional elements like cultural and creative industries and commercial activities, attracting more residents. When maintaining high architectural suitability (such as preserving traditional textures and improving supporting facilities), these areas also demonstrate higher population inflow rates, as tenants tend to prefer regions with pleasant environments and rich cultural atmospheres.

3.2. Drivers and Barriers

3.2.1. Spatial Form-Functional Form Synergy

In Xiaozhou Village (Moran index 0.298) and Huangpu Village (0.26), there is a strong positive correlation between spatial height and functional density, which also verifies the effectiveness of the ‘vertical mixed use’ model, while the spatial correlation between low-rise buildings and low functional density in Zhoumen Village (Moran index-0.073) reveals that ‘spatial fragmentation hinders business agglomeration’.

3.2.2. The Perceptual Reinforcement Effect of Cultural Symbols

Combined with the results of word frequency analysis and network semantic analysis, Pantang Wuyue ‘Dragon Boat-March Three-Litchi Bay’ is a high-frequency word with high correlation, Huangpu Ancient Village ‘Maritime Silk Road-Wanpu Port’ is a significant high-frequency word, and Xiaozhou Village’s ‘Art Village-Water Town-Gupu’ all indicate that traditional festival activities and specific cultural symbols can enhance community cohesion. The emergence of negative words such as ‘Renting-handshake building-dense’ in Shipai Village shows the separation of cultural heritage and residential function to a certain extent.

3.3. Emotional Orientation

Through the semantic analysis of network text, it is explained from the following emotional dimensions, ‘Miss Xiguan’ and ‘Old Town’ of Pantang Wuyue; the ‘ancient port vicissitudes’ and ‘Maritime Silk Road’ of Huangpu Ancient Village reflect historical identity from the perspective of nostalgic attachment. Shipai Village ‘rent’, ‘environment’, ‘dense space’; and the ‘governance’ and ‘Sima chong’ of Zhoumen Village in the western suburbs reflect the defects of material space from the dimension of survival; ‘Tongfu Bridge’, ‘Wukong Bridge’, ‘Provincial Buddha Tongqu’; the words such as ‘Art Village’, ‘Ancestral Hall’ and ‘Gupu’ also show the degree of interpretation of cultural heritage in Wuyanqiao Village and Xiaozhou Village to varying degrees.

4. Discussions

The purpose of this study is to verify the core hypothesis from the perspective of urban anthropology: the spatial form of urban villages in Guangzhou is the material expression of its specific social structure and cultural values in the institutional environment; ignoring these elements will lead to the failure of historical and cultural heritage activation and the weakening of community identity; systematic integration into landscape planning strategies, such as social network protection, cultural symbol translation, and collaborative governance, can significantly improve cultural adaptability, social acceptance, and sustainability. The empirical results support these hypotheses and reveal a deeper interaction mechanism. The following are the details.

4.1. The Deep Impact of Community Social Structure on Spatial Governance

The empirical study of urban villages in Guangzhou shows that the impact of community social structure on spatial governance presents two typical models.

4.1.1. An Economy-Driven Social Network (Shipai Village)

Although urbanization has diluted traditional clan relations, village collectives have built new economic ties through land leasing and property management, forming a community of interests with rental income as the core [51]. The original villagers of Shipai Village obtained economic benefits through self-built high-density ‘handshake building‘. Although the traces of historical natural villages have almost disappeared and the spatial features are chaotic, the population inflow rate is still high, which confirms the key role of economic-driven social structure in community cohesion. The experiment shows that the spatial landscape suitability index is only 0.2976 (low level), but due to low rent and location advantages, the standardized value of the inflow rate of migrant population is 0.1, and the coupling coordination index is 0.1988 (low coupling). Villagers rely on collective economic benefits to strengthen collaboration and keep the community alive in high-density chaotic spaces [52]. The economic drive replaces the clan ties, forming an “open economy-closed culture” fragmented state-the ancestral temple that is only used by villagers, and the participation of foreign tenants is close to zero (as shown in Supplementary Material Table S8).

This model also leads to the fragmentation of ‘economic openness-cultural closure‘—although foreign tenants are embedded in the economic network, they find it difficult to participate in clan culture (such as ancestral temple activities), highlighting the complexity of social structure transformation.

4.1.2. Clan-Led Spatial Governance (Huangpu Ancient Village vs. Zhoumen Village)

The survival intensity of the clan network directly determines the cultural integrity of the space transformation. The Huangpu Ancient Village (Strong Clan) takes the Pan, Chi and Dong Sanxing Ancestral Temple Council as the core, strictly controls the renovation of buildings, the landscape suitability index is 0.5653, the population inflow rate is 0.855, and the coupling coordination index is 0.7102 (benign coupling), forming a complete transmission chain of ‘clan power → spatial regulation’. The fragmentation function of Zhoumen Village (clan disintegration), the landscape suitability index is 0.34498, the population inflow rate is 0.3611, and the coupling coordination index is 0.35 (moderate coupling). The mixed spatial functions lead to the demise of cultural identity, reflecting the disorder of cultural space caused by the collapse of social structure. The survival intensity of the clan network directly determines the cultural integrity of the space transformation (echoing Rapbutt‘s argument that “culture highly examines architectural value”).

4.2. The Relationship Between Cultural Adaptability and Community Cohesion

Cultural adaptability is the core mechanism to maintain community cohesion in the renewal of urban villages. Its essence lies in balancing authenticity protection and modern functional requirements through dynamic translation of cultural symbol system [53]. The empirical study of urban villages in Guangzhou shows that the success of cultural adaptability directly determines the social integration and emotional belonging intensity of the community, which is embodied in three typical modes: closed cultural field. Shipai Village is survival-driven. The network sentiment analysis shows that the frequency of negative words such as ‘Renting-handshake building-dense’ accounts for 38.81%, and the semantic network dispersion reflects the fracture of cultural identity. The coupling coordination index is only 0.1988 (as shown in Table 1), which confirms the unsustainable state of ‘economic opening-cultural closure’. Single-dimensional material innovation ignores ritual and narrative dimensions. Xiaozhou is a typical art village. Artists rent traditional dwellings and transform oyster shell houses into galleries. In 2021, Jian‘s ancestral hall was leased to hold contemporary art exhibitions, which triggered protests from ethnic groups. There is a conflict of values between tenants and local residents, and the phenomenon of art space colonization emerges. The collaborative regeneration of cultural symbol system. The Pantang Wuyue coupling coordination index is 0.5777 (as shown in Table 1), reflecting the appreciation of social capital. By transforming the pavilion into a ‘new and old residents‘ council hall’ to mediate spatial function disputes, a new cultural interface has been created. At the same time, 3D printing technology has been introduced into the dragon boat production workshop. The participation of young tenants has been continuously improved, while maintaining the complete inheritance of traditional processes and realizing the integration of the value of new and old residents in the community.

Through actual cases and analysis, the following key findings are found: effective symbols need to have both material perceptibility (such as dragon boat entity), ritual repeatability (such as annual festivals) and narrative integrity (such as the story chain of the Maritime Silk Road); there are three manifestations of the rupture of symbols: the disappearance of material carriers (such as the loss of function of the ancestral hall in Shipai Village), the interruption of rituals (the suspension of the festival activities) and the fragmentation of narratives (the rupture of historical memory).

The spatial identity system of the two elements of material and ritual is the cornerstone of community cohesion (see Figure S16 in Supplementary Materials). The rupture of symbols directly leads to the loss of social capital (such as Shipai Village), while one-sided innovation leads to cultural conflicts (such as Xiaozhou Village) [54]. Specifically, the material layer is to identify the core cultural carriers (such as ancestral temples, ancient trees), and maintain the perception through functional symbiosis (such as community center + sacrificial space); the ritual layer is a collective memory that transforms traditional festivals (dragon boat races, clan sacrifices) into open public activities.

4.3. The Technical Path of Sustainable Landscape Planning: From “Spatial Transformation” to “Social-Spatial Collaborative Governance”

The study found that the sustainability of urban villages depends not only on the transformation of material space but also on the survival and adaptability of their internal social capital. Taking Shipai Village as an example, although the spatial landscape suitability index is only 0.2976 (low level), the inflow of foreign population still shows a positive growth trend due to the economic ties constructed by the village collective through land leasing (such as the rent dividend mechanism), and the coupling coordination index is 0.1988 (low coupling). This shows that economic social networks can replace traditional clan relations and form community cohesion with benefit sharing as the core; however, this model can easily lead to the separation of “economic opening-cultural closure”—ancestral halls are only used by villagers, and tenants‘ cultural participation tends to be zero, weakening long-term social resilience.

Based on the above research findings, sustainable landscape planning needs to reconstruct the technical path (see Supplementary Material Figure S17 for details): Quantitative indicators-assess clan network persistence, collective economic collaboration intensity, and tenant participation in cultural activities (see the classification framework of Supplementary Material Table S9). Spatial intervention matches the type of social structure: for clan-led villages such as Huangpu Village, community service functions should be implanted with ancestral halls as hubs while avoiding the commercialization of cultural symbols; in the market-driven villages such as Xiaozhou, a hierarchical renewal strategy is adopted—the core area protects the cultural space, the transition area integrates commercial and cultural functions, and the vertical space realizes functional mixing. Establish a ‘cultural symbol repair-space update‘ feedback mechanism: give priority to the repair of ancient trees, street nodes and other memory anchors, and then reconstruct the narrative integrity through oral history. In the ‘Rongdeli‘ project of Shabu Village, the original community sacrificial function was retained when the historical buildings were relocated, which successfully attracted the return of the aborigines and significantly increased the rate of return.

5. Conclusions

5.1. Systematic Element Classification and Typological Division Framework Taking Guangzhou Urban Village as an Example

Based on the previous research results of the historical and cultural characteristics of urban villages in China, this study deeply analyzes the uniqueness of specific villages (such as Shipai Village and Liede Village in Guangzhou) in terms of land system, social structure and cultural tradition. In the context of China’s urban–rural dual structure, it focuses on material space elements, social and cultural elements and policy intervention elements (as shown in Supplementary Material Figure S18); a systematic framework of element classification and typology is constructed (as shown in Supplementary Material Tables S8 and S9).

5.2. The Relationship Between the Perceptual Reinforcement Effect of Cultural Symbols and Community Cohesion

The essence of urban village transformation lies in the profound impact of urbanization on traditional social networks, thereby triggering a crisis of cultural identity [55]. The existing ‘cultural evaluation system’ overly focuses on the material value of architecture while neglecting its function as an emotional carrier, which can easily lead to ‘preservation that retains space but erodes culture’, such as the excessive commercialization of the Wenchongxi Ancestral Hall weakening the sanctity of clan rituals. In comparison, Nanwan Village effectively promoted the continuation of emotional attachment by preserving buildings on their original sites and involving villagers in operations, indicating that material space transformation must balance preservation and innovation to maintain continuity between people and history. To achieve cultural resilience, it is necessary to systematically strengthen the perception of cultural symbols: on one hand, by protecting sites through ‘memory anchor’ methods and promoting functional symbiosis (such as ancestral halls serving dual roles as community centers) to safeguard cultural roots [56]. On the other hand, promote the modernization transformation of rituals (such as brand development of Liede Village’s dragon boat races), avoiding cultural symbol disconnection similar to that seen in Zhoumen Village. The study emphasizes that emotional belonging is the foundation for cultural continuity and social stability, suggesting that cultural symbol evaluation should be incorporated into the preliminary procedures of updates, establishing a synergistic mechanism of ‘symbolic value-space planning-community governance’, and providing a basis for future research directions such as addressing intergenerational transmission challenges, global impact, and the integration of digital and traditional symbols.

5.3. Towards Socio-Spatial Synergistic Regeneration

This study resonates with Rapport’s argument of ‘assessing architectural value from a cultural perspective’ and further reveals the tensions in the transition of clan organizations to modern governance within the Chinese context. Urban anthropology perspectives indicate that maintaining community vitality depends not only on improvements in physical space but also on the adaptive adjustments of social networks [57].

The core contradiction in the renewal and transformation of urban villages lies in balancing the authenticity of historical and cultural heritage with the functional needs of modern urban development [58]. Overemphasis on the preservation of physical forms can hinder spatial functional upgrades, turning cultural heritage into ‘static commodities’. Conversely, complete demolition and reconstruction would sever cultural continuity [59]. Resolving this dilemma requires prioritizing the identification of community social capital, managing historical spaces through collective cooperative organizations, while safeguarding the interests of the original villagers and responding to the needs of diverse stakeholders [60]. The key lies in achieving dynamic protection of cultural connotations, allowing functional adaptive transformations, and activating cultural memory through festival exhibitions [61]; functional implantation should prevent excessive commercialization and retain low-cost residential functions to avoid social functional disconnection. This study emphasizes the need to shift from a ‘space-led’ approach to a ‘social-spatial synergy’ model, which not only restores the physical environment but also cultivates social relationship resilience, making historical heritage truly become ‘living urban texture’ [62], providing a human-oriented governance path for urban village renewal. Future updates must seek a dynamic balance between economic integration, cultural continuity, and spatial governance.