Search Results (662)

The digital economy is profoundly reshaping the global economic landscape; however, its impact on the innovation capacity of cultural and tourism integration—particularly within developing regions—remains insufficiently empirically tested. Utilizing panel data from 43 cities in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River (2009–2023), this study constructs indices for the digital economy and the innovation capacity of cultural and tourism integration using the entropy weight method. Employing a two-way fixed effects model, instrumental variable approach (using lagged variables and historical interaction terms), and mediation effect models, we empirically examine the impact, transmission mechanisms, and heterogeneity across city scales. The findings reveal that: (1) The digital economy significantly enhances the innovation capacity of cultural and tourism integration, with a benchmark regression coefficient of 0.683 (significant at the 1% level). (2) Mediation analysis indicates two transmission pathways—enhancing development potential of culture and tourism and promoting digitalization of cultural and tourism enterprises—with mediating effects accounting for 15.95% and 2.62%, respectively. (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows a significant negative effect in megacities (coefficient = −1.3726, significant at the 10% level), contrasting with positive effects observed in super-large and large cities. This study elucidates the differentiated pathways through which the digital economy empowers cultural–tourism integration innovation, providing empirical evidence for tailored digital–cultural–tourism policies across cities of varying sizes, with implications for other developing regions exhibiting similar urban hierarchies. Full article

From a Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) perspective, varying conservation intensities and statutory boundaries may create “zonal differentiation” within historic districts. However, conventional homogenized renewal strategies frequently overlook this heterogeneity, affecting physical townscapes and human perception. This study analyzes 1714 panoramic street-view images from the Core Protection Zone and Construction Control Zone of Jimei School Village. Eleven objective visual features and six model-predicted perception dimensions were examined, with locally experienced participants providing contextual validation. Integrating K-Means clustering, Random Forest modeling, and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) feature attribution, the study investigates nonlinear, model-based contribution patterns across the two zones. Results reveal significant but non-binary differences in objective features and predicted perceptions. Street-view typologies show zonal tendencies while also indicating within-zone diversity and cross-zone overlap. Feature attribution shows that color composition, greenery, building interfaces, and vehicle presence are more prominent in the Core Protection Zone, whereas greenery, spatial openness, and road-space organization play stronger roles in the Construction Control Zone. This study establishes an interpretable street-view-based framework for historic-district assessment, providing empirical support for differentiated and human-oriented zonal renewal. Full article

Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of land-use and cover change (LUCC) and ecosystem service (ES) responses is essential for assessing ecological functions in regional landscapes. However, conventional LUCC simulations often rely on historical trends and inadequately represent the spatially heterogeneous effects of top-down policy constraints. Taking the Henan section of the Yellow River Basin (HYRB) as a case study, we developed a policy-to-rule framework that translated ecological redlines, urban development boundaries, and restoration requirements into explicit spatial constraints and land-use transition rules in the PLUS model. A policy-constrained High-Quality Development Scenario (HQDS) was established, with the Natural Growth Scenario (NGS) as a reference. Five ESs were assessed using InVEST from 1985 to 2050, and the results were integrated with the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) model and circuit theory to construct an ecological security pattern (ESP). Historical reconstruction of the 2022 land-use pattern achieved an overall accuracy of 90.18% and a Kappa coefficient of 86.39%. The five ESs remained relatively stable overall: water yield, soil conservation, and the sediment-related indicator increased, whereas habitat quality and carbon storage declined slightly. Ecological source areas expanded from 7140.54 km² in 1985 to 12,039.17 km² under the HQDS in 2050, a 68.6% increase. Compared with the NGS, the HQDS increased source areas by 562.42 km² (4.9%), reduced ecological corridors from 26 to 24, and increased their total length from 1068.89 to 1099.61 km. These differences represent the projected, scenario-conditioned consequences of the specified policy constraints and provide quantitative decision support for future ecological management. Full article

The anthropogenic transformation of modern European cities over the past centuries has been characterized by a gradual transition from a natural defensive landscape to a dense modern urban structure. This study aims to reconstruct the historical urban landscape of Sumy (Ukraine) by integrating archival cartographic materials into a digital three-dimensional model to support heritage preservation and post-war urban planning. The proposed methodology combines retrospective source analysis, comparative cartographic assessment, and GIS-based georeferencing. These approaches are used to evaluate the accuracy, scale, and reliability of historical maps. The study analyzed 18 archival maps of the city of Sumy covering the period from the 1670s to 2025. A comparative assessment enabled the selection of 4 representative cartographic sources for reconstructing the historical urban landscape. A GIS-based methodology for georeferencing archival maps was developed and validated in QGIS v.3.44.11. It used the Google Hybrid basemap in the WGS 84/Pseudo-Mercator coordinate reference system (CRS) with identifier EPSG:3857. The methodology employed a first-order affine transformation, a cubic resampling kernel (4 × 4), and 15 stable ground control points (GCPs). This ensured spatial compatibility between historical cartographic materials, contemporary geospatial datasets, and topographic-geodetic reference frameworks. The proposed approach achieved an RMS georeferencing error of 2–9 m, depending on the historical period, the accuracy, and the scale of the original cartographic sources. Furthermore, the methodology enabled the identification of three classes of anthropogenic landscape transformation (minimal, moderate, and critical). As a result, it provided a comprehensive spatio-temporal representation of the historical evolution of the urban landscape. The resulting 3D model provides a reliable geospatial framework for documenting the historical morphology of Sumy and supports future interdisciplinary studies in heritage conservation, urban planning, and post-war reconstruction. The proposed methodology can also be applied to other historical cities where archival cartographic materials constitute the primary source for reconstructing long-term landscape evolution. Full article

Historic landscape forests within cultural heritage sites represent a distinct category of urban green space that provides critical ecosystem services under strict conservation constraints. This study applied i-Tree Eco v6.0 to quantify the ecosystem services of the historic landscape forest of Jinju Fortress (Jinjuseong; Historic Site No. 118), South Korea, with focus on species-level contributions. A total of 822 trees representing 30 species were inventoried across 1.272 ha of tree cover. Zelkova serrata was the dominant species (importance value = 57.8) and contributed disproportionately to all ecosystem service categories, accounting for 40.7% of air pollutant removal, 61.3% of carbon storage, 58.2% of carbon sequestration and oxygen production, and 55.4% of avoided runoff. The forest removed 123.1 kg yr⁻¹ of air pollutant Korean Won (KRW 8.834 million yr⁻¹), stored 200.7 t (KRW 138 million), sequestered 8.834 t/yr (KRW 6.09 million/yr), produced 23.56 t/yr⁻¹ of oxygen, avoided 10,413.7 L yr⁻¹ of runoff and had a structural replacement value of KRW 1.63 billion. Beyond providing a species-level baseline for evidence-based management, this study introduces the concept of Heritage Ecosystem Service Efficiency (HESE) and the Species Ecosystem Service Dominance Index (SESDI), offering transferable frameworks for evaluating and managing ecosystem service performance in conservation-constrained heritage forests. Full article

The purpose of this research is to propose a sustainable urban support regeneration system aimed at recovering the historic urban landscape of Rimac, Lima (2024). The Historic Center of Rimac is currently undervalued due to several issues affecting the district, including citizen insecurity, the limited percentage of green areas, excessive and unplanned urban growth, the abandonment of the district’s historic centers, and its disconnection from the surrounding urban environment. The methodology was developed through a review of bibliographic documents, such as scientific publications, together with the use of 2D and 3D software tools, which enabled the collection of environmental, cultural, physical–spatial, and urban information. The implementation of sustainable public spaces within the historic urban landscape of Rimac will transform the area into an attractive tourist and cultural destination. The viewpoints will provide panoramic views, the urban forests will improve air quality and increase green areas, and the site museum will preserve and disseminate the rich local history. Together, these interventions will promote urban regeneration, community wellbeing, and the sustainable development of the area, thereby offering an efficient proposal aimed at optimizing the district’s potential and implementing strategies that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Full article

Compound crises of heritage cities in the global south led to the destruction of both physical and intangible assets, as well as the processes and relationships that sustain them; nevertheless, while there is more awareness regarding the importance of intangible heritage, regeneration approaches after the crisis period still focus on tangible losses, while the intangible cultural aspects are often overlooked in planning, especially under conditions of restricted field access. This paper proposes a remote-first CESSOP diagnostic model (CSDM), integrating CES and SOP in four decision-focused products: Crisis Pressure Profile (CPP), Biocultural Asset Map (BAM), CESSOP Vulnerability Matrix (CSVM), and modeling and Action Typology and Priority Pathways (ATPP), rather than adopting an existing framework. The Cultural Ecosystem Services and Sense of Place Diagnostic Model (CESSOP Diagnostic Model). The CSDM is new; it is a theoretically constructed, theoretically grounded, crisis-sensitive diagnostic methodology designed for heritage cities under conditions of data scarcity and restricted field access. This approach includes aspects of document research, open-source data, environmental morphological intelligence, social networks and remote participation inputs, supported with embedded confidence rating. The methodology is illustrated by a study of old Sana’a, Yemen, and it is applied in cases when there are few opportunities for direct observation. Full article

Heritage conservation has increasingly shifted from monument-centred protection towards sustainable integrated urban system approaches. However, many operational frameworks still assume adequate governance capacity, institutional coordination, and continuity of implementation. These assumptions are less applicable in contexts where heritage management is fragmented, uneven, or restricted. This study proposes the Constraint–Generator–Instrument (CGI) model as a mechanism-based analytical framework for interpreting urban heritage systems under uneven governance. The model conceptualises heritage outcomes through three interacting mechanisms: Constraint (C), referring to persistence and resistance forces; Generator (G), referring to transformation and activation forces; and Instrument (I), referring to governance mediation capacity. The framework is demonstrated through a qualitative, literature-based comparative application to Erbil, Akre, and Zakho in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Although illustrative, the findings indicate distinct urban heritage outcomes across the three cities. Robustness analyses indicate that Akre is classification-stable, Zakho is moderately stable, and Erbil is boundary-sensitive because all three mechanisms are strongly present and close in value. The contribution of CGI lies in proposing a structured diagnostic approach for examining how persistence, transformation, and governance mediation may interact in unevenly governed urban heritage systems. Further testing with broader case samples, independent expert scoring, threshold and weighting determinations by expert panels, and reapplication is required to evaluate the model’s wider applicability. Full article

Within UNESCO’s framework for sustainable heritage, this study examines how community engagement shapes the conservation of religious architectural heritage and the continuity of cultural landscapes. Using Sanliqiao Catholic Church in Wuxi, China, as a case study, it explores how heritage value is produced through the interaction of everyday practices, place identity, and participation in governance. Drawing on 19 interviews, field observations, archival materials, historical images, and 216 online comments, the findings reveal how everyday spatial practices sustain the cultural landscape. These practices generate differentiated place identities among believers, residents, and commercial stakeholders. Such identity differences, in turn, influence uneven participation in heritage governance and shape how cultural value is experienced and distributed. Cultural landscape reproduction thus emerges as a dynamic process linking everyday practice, identity formation, and participatory governance structures. The study underscores the critical role of inclusive participation in heritage governance and contributes to broader international debates on socially sustainable heritage management, with implications for similar religious and urban heritage sites beyond the Chinese context. Full article

User-generated content (UGC) offers large-scale, naturalistic data for examining tourism destination image. Focusing on the Historic Centre of Macao (HCM), a World Cultural Heritage site, this study collected 3781 tourist reviews from Rednote, Ctrip, Dianping, and TripAdvisor and developed a multi-model text-mining framework integrating TF-IDF, BERTopic, and RoBERTa. The results show that HCM’s online tourism image comprises four dimensions: perceptions of history, culture, and heritage value; perceptions of spatial landmarks and urban landscapes; modes of travel behavior and embodied experience; and emotional evaluation and tourism experience quality. The TF-IDF results indicate that terms such as architecture, history, Portuguese, church, Ruins of St. Paul’s, and Senado Square constitute the core elements of tourists’ cognitive image. BERTopic further identified 18 valid topics and revealed three interrelated semantic clusters: heritage-space cognition, landmark and district experiences, and integrated tourism experiences. The RoBERTa-based sentiment analysis shows that tourists’ overall evaluations are dominated by positive emotions, while crowding, high visitor density, and gaps between expectations and actual experiences remain important sources of negative evaluations. This study demonstrates the applicability of the proposed framework in the Historic Centre of Macao and provides a methodological reference for tourism image research in other cultural heritage destinations. Full article

The 21st century is defined by converging anthropogenic and biophysical stressors. This study assessed the vulnerability of the endemic specialist lizard Liolaemus multimaculatus and the habitat generalist L. wiegmannii to climate change and land-use/land-cover (LULC) transformation within the Pampean Eastern Dune Barrier up to 2050. Using satellite data, LULC spatial projections, and ecological niche models (ENMs), we quantified habitat dynamics and projected future climatic suitability. Historical analysis (1994–2022) revealed a 20% retraction of active dunes driven by exotic afforestation and urban growth. Projections for 2050 indicate an intensification of these trends, with urban areas accounting for nearly 26% of the regional territory, leading to an additional 17% loss of active dunes. Abundance modeling predicted a decline in L. multimaculatus within the remaining active dunes, while ENMs projected a near-total contraction of climatically suitable areas. Crucially, these correlative models may overlook potential physiological or behavioral adjustments; however, the limited dispersal capacity and physical landscape barriers inherent to this specialist likely preclude effective niche tracking. These findings confirm that ecological specialization heightens sensitivity to global change, creating a “double threat” for endemic species. Protecting remnant active dune patches is essential to mitigate the projected collapse of these range-restricted lineages. Full article

As urban renewal shifts toward existing stock, historic-district regeneration requires evaluation methods that address material conditions, governance, and lived experience. Conventional physical metrics often miss subjective perceptions of access, management, and lived experience. Drawing on Lefebvre’s spatial triad, this study develops an operational, case-specific framework using user-generated content from Google Maps and Xiaohongshu. The analysis combines frozen BERT representations and K-means clustering for Gran Clariana, Barcelona (N = 876), with deterministic lexicon matching and corpus-specific sentiment procedures for two Shanghai historic districts (N = 522) and Het Westerpark, Amsterdam (N = 1310). In Shanghai, Spatial Practice was the most frequent dominant dimension, whereas Representational Space had the highest within-category positive sentiment share. For Gran Clariana, K = 3 was the most stable solution tested (mean ARI = 0.974), while Landscape Perceived Value was the leading profile discriminator (Welch F = 48.98, p < 0.001). In Westerpark, Spatial Practice was most lexically prominent, and Representational Space showed the largest, though weak, positive association with VADER sentiment (r = 0.138, p < 0.001). Taken together, these case-specific, exploratory mappings lack external validation but complement post-occupancy evaluation by interpreting platform-visible, inclusion-relevant perceptions rather than measuring demographic representation, affordability, accessibility compliance, or distributive justice. Full article

This study examines how the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, proposed by UNESCO, can support the integration of leftover heritage buildings while balancing conservation with sustainable urban development. Furthermore, it investigates how the HUL approach can contribute to Manama’s ongoing efforts toward UNESCO World Heritage inscription aligning with the Vision 2030. The research adopts an exploratory case study methodology, utilizing qualitative research techniques including document analysis and fieldwork. The data analysis follows the six-step process of HUL, which focuses on managing and safeguarding these leftover heritage buildings as part of urban heritage, while field observations provide direct evidence of physical deterioration and underutilization. The analysis reveals persistent fragmentation within the historic core of Manama, despite multiple conservation phases led by state authorities. Findings highlight that, while the heritage buildings were deprioritized during the post-modernization era, their integration through the HUL approach can act as a catalyst in sustainable urban development. By providing a framework, findings illustrate that such integration will enhance socio-economic vitality, contributing to Manama’s UNESCO inscription, after being on the tentative list for nearly a decade. The research findings are anticipated to inform Bahrain’s Development Strategy of the Vision 2030, which emphasizes continuous strategic planning to guide policy decisions, emphasizing sustainability-oriented planning that responds to national opportunities and constraints. Full article

This study examines the challenges of conserving and enhancing geological and historical cultural heritage in urban areas of the southern Apennines, focusing on the Basilicata region in Southern Italy. The area’s complex geological evolution has produced diverse landscapes shaped by outcropping lithologies with different characteristics. Many urban centers are surrounded by rugged terrain where geological and geomorphological features remain visible and accessible. The research analyzes several urban geosites through four case studies: Pietragalla, Laurenzana, Brienza, and Lagonegro, located in northeastern and central Basilicata. These sites display significant geological features closely connected with historical structures and urban development, offering strong potential for geoheritage interpretation. By combining a bibliographic review of geological and socio-cultural contexts with detailed field surveys, site-specific features and potential threats can be identified. The main objectives are to document and analyze geological characteristics, assess conservation conditions, and propose geoconservation measures for protection and sustainable use. The study also supports valorization strategies, promoting sustainable geotourism and increasing public awareness. The results emphasize the importance of integrating restoration actions with educational initiatives to ensure sustainable management, provide guidelines for site enhancement, encourage community involvement, and show how valorization of urban geological heritage can strengthen identity and support heritage conservation. Full article

Long-standing studies of historical cultural spaces have primarily focused on the preservation of heritage objects and landscapes, while insufficient attention has been paid to the structural relationships, land-use transformations, and cultural–ecological processes that sustain their long-term continuity. Taking the World Heritage site of Lijiang as a case, this study develops a three-dimensional structural decoding framework composed of spatial base, spatial network, and spatial entity, together with an analytical pathway of “Identification–Interpretation–Evaluation–Synthesis–Practice.” By integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches with multi-source data, the study establishes an evidence chain linking historical processes and contemporary conditions to examine the formation mechanisms, continuity, and contemporary deviations of Lijiang’s historical cultural space. The results show that terrain–habitat adaptability, water system coupling, and environmental risk avoidance shaped environmental adaptation; historical corridors, landscape perception, and core node associations organized spatial networks; and functional diversity, cultural capital agglomeration, and spatial-scale compatibility supported entity-based spatial practices. Although tourism development, urban expansion, and land-use transformation have not completely dismantled these historical relationships, they have caused localized deviations in ecological boundaries, path continuity, visual connections, functional vitality, and spatial scale. This study argues that the governance of historical cultural spaces should shift from preserving isolated heritage objects to sustaining cultural–ecological relationships that support memory, identity, spatial practice, and adaptive land governance. Full article