Assessment of Sustainable Development Suitability in Linear Cultural Heritage—A Case of Beijing Great Wall Cultural Belt

Abstract

The Great Wall is an example of linear cultural Heritage (LCH) subjected to a fragile ecological environment and unbalanced economic development. However, no studies have been conducted to assess the sustainable development suitability (SDS) of the Great Wall region. Heritage area development assessments can increase public and government knowledge of the state of heritage areas and aid decision makers in formulating sensible policies or plans to protect and develop heritage areas. The valley is the spatial model of mountain economic development proposed on the basis of a basin combined with the ecological protection, rural development, and cultural inheritance present in mountainous areas. This study chose 169 valley units in the Beijing Great Wall Cultural Belt as research objects. A 15-indicator assessment index system was established based on the ecological, socio-economic, and cultural dimensions. The assessment procedure was enhanced by employing the triangle graphical method, and spatial autocorrelation was used to study the geographical distribution features of the development suitability scores derived from the research region. The results show the following facts: (1) Yanqing, Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu, and Changping have high development suitability results, whereas Mentougou and Changping have low scores. (2) In total, 96 valley units have practical advantages, and 51.5% are comprehensive development types (with advantages in at least two aspects). (3) Valley development suitability scores spatially cluster into seven high- and low-value groups. The ecological carrying capacity of the Badaling Cluster cannot maintain its overheated development. The results match up well with the objective condition of planning in the Beijing Great Wall National Cultural Park. We conclude that the proposed indicator framework and analytical method can be transferred to cases with similar contexts.

Assessment of Yellow River Region Cultural Heritage Value and Corridor Construction across Urban Scales: A Case Study in Shaanxi, China

“…There are not only studies on cultural heritage assessment that evaluate the existing hierarchy [25], but ones that also delve into the potential for sustainable development in the region [28]. However, there is a relative scarcity of research concerning the assessment of cultural heritage's value in regional tourism development.…”

“…Therefore, several scholars have employed methodologies such as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy weight to establish an index system for the evaluation of heritage sites or heritage regions [26,27]. While the research examining value assessments in conjunction with the service capacity of cultural heritage sites, such as transportation and commerce, is relatively limited; most studies, in the selection of evaluation criteria, have traditionally centered on three dimensions: cultural, ecological, and socio-economic (the latter of which relies on government-provided official statistics like the GDP and population [28]). However, given the maturation of remote sensing technologies and big data, emerging data sources like Night Lights and point of interest (POI) information can offer more precise and timely insights into economic development levels and human activities [29][30][31].…”

The Effects of Strong Earthquakes on Built Heritage: A Preliminary Case Study of Rector’s Palace in Dubrovnik’s Old City

“…The overall aim is to find an affordable means of avoiding irretrievable damage to heritage structures in design-level earthquake shaking, e.g., 475-year hazard level [40][41][42]. Achieving this would not only be of great value to Dubrovnik City, i.e., owners of property subjected to destructive earthquakes, but could also make an important contribution to the sustainability of the built heritage [43,44], a matter of great importance to the community and its identity [45,46].…”