Village morphology and the construction of place identity in the Aihui area along the Heilongjiang River, China

Abstract

Place identity is the emotional connection between people and a place. It is significant for local development and people's satisfaction and happiness in where they reside. The physical environment is one of the most important factors affecting people's emotions toward a place. In order to clarify the theoretical analytical framework of the process from village space morphology to place identity, this study takes the area of Aihui along the Heilongjiang River, China, as a case study. The research was conducted considering two aspects: First, we analyzed the space morphology of the villages in the Aihui district and interpreted their locality. On this basis, we conducted a survey of villagers’ subjective perceptions of the village space and their place identity through in‐depth interviews. From the collected interview texts, we extracted, verified, and analyzed the role of morphological constituents in the construction of place identity. Second, a comprehensive framework was established. The features of space morphology are the projections of locality in physical space. People use morphological constituents to construct an image of the village and scenes of local life. Morphological constituents with local characteristics can help enhance people's place identity.

Locality and the adaptation of river‐related built environment

“…Their research reveals a coupled artificial‐natural environment interactions with adaptation to account for water (the river), which is specifically interpreted through the processes of restriction, inducement, adjustment, and synergistic effects. Wei et al (2022) studied the village morphology and the construction of place identity along the Heilongjiang River, China. People there use morphological constituents to construct an image of the village and scenes of local life so that morphological constituents with local characteristics can help enhance people's place identity.…”

Research on the Public Environment Renewal of Traditional Villages Based on the Social Network Analysis Method

“…Based on the natural geographic conditions of the Mentougou mountainous area, this study comprehensively considered the mountainous conditions, hydrological conditions, transportation conditions, and other different natural geographic elements and selected three different forms of traditional villages in the mountainous area of the region for in-depth analysis, that is, three typical village forms of cluster form, linear form, and dispersed form, respectively [23]. In addition, by using social network analysis method and comparing with traditional villages, network indicator models of different forms of villages were found [24]. By using the social network analysis method [25], we compared and found out the network index law of different forms of villages and discovered the interactive relationship between the spaces and people in different forms of traditional villages.…”

Fractal Characteristics of the Spatial Texture in Traditional Miao Villages in Qiandongnan, Guizhou, China

“…Traffic and ecological conditions not only restrict the local economic development, but also provide a natural barrier for the preservation of historical features of villages. However, in the rapid urbanization process in China, new technologies and standards have infiltrated from cities to rural areas, damaging the original spatial form of villages [14], further leading to the convergence of village forms and landscape [15]. At the same time, rural tourism has become an important new type of development in rural China, often located in remote and conservative areas.…”