Authenticity, Integrity, and Cultural–Ecological Adaptability in Heritage Conservation: A Practical Framework for Historic Urban Areas—A Case Study of Yicheng Ancient City, China

Historic urban areas must adapt to modern cultural ecology for sustainable development while preserving the authenticity and integrity of their cultural heritage. However, this goal is highly challenging due to the complexity of authenticity, integrity, and cultural–ecological adaptability. To promo...

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Main Authors: Ruiqiang Liu, Wanfei Gao, Fan Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/8/1304
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author Ruiqiang Liu
Wanfei Gao
Fan Yang
author_facet Ruiqiang Liu
Wanfei Gao
Fan Yang
author_sort Ruiqiang Liu
collection DOAJ
description Historic urban areas must adapt to modern cultural ecology for sustainable development while preserving the authenticity and integrity of their cultural heritage. However, this goal is highly challenging due to the complexity of authenticity, integrity, and cultural–ecological adaptability. To promote the dynamic protection and sustainable development of historic urban areas and their cultural heritage, this study aims to systematically define the authenticity, integrity, and cultural–ecological adaptability of historic urban areas and promote their intrinsic unity through the analysis, integration, and deduction of existing research findings and case validation. The empirical research uses Yicheng Ancient City as a case study. The key findings are as follows: (1) Authenticity must preserve the genuineness of daily life, material cultural carriers, and intangible cultural heritage. (2) Integrity should protect all distinctive cultural elements, social functions, material spatial structures, and visual landscapes. (3) Cultural–ecological adaptability must meet the universal demands and local needs of modern cultural ecologies, with particular focus on cultural subjects, functional efficacy, cultural forms, and spatial attributes. (4) All elements of these three concepts are interrelated, and their intrinsic unity can be effectively promoted by integrating their unique characteristics, change features, and mutual compatibility. (5) The authenticity, integrity, and cultural–ecological adaptability of Yicheng Ancient City face five key issues, and six corresponding strategies have been proposed to address them.
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spelling doaj-art-2b46b5859a6b4e8d9a88f4f536242ba72025-08-20T03:14:21ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-04-01158130410.3390/buildings15081304Authenticity, Integrity, and Cultural–Ecological Adaptability in Heritage Conservation: A Practical Framework for Historic Urban Areas—A Case Study of Yicheng Ancient City, ChinaRuiqiang Liu0Wanfei Gao1Fan Yang2School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaHistoric urban areas must adapt to modern cultural ecology for sustainable development while preserving the authenticity and integrity of their cultural heritage. However, this goal is highly challenging due to the complexity of authenticity, integrity, and cultural–ecological adaptability. To promote the dynamic protection and sustainable development of historic urban areas and their cultural heritage, this study aims to systematically define the authenticity, integrity, and cultural–ecological adaptability of historic urban areas and promote their intrinsic unity through the analysis, integration, and deduction of existing research findings and case validation. The empirical research uses Yicheng Ancient City as a case study. The key findings are as follows: (1) Authenticity must preserve the genuineness of daily life, material cultural carriers, and intangible cultural heritage. (2) Integrity should protect all distinctive cultural elements, social functions, material spatial structures, and visual landscapes. (3) Cultural–ecological adaptability must meet the universal demands and local needs of modern cultural ecologies, with particular focus on cultural subjects, functional efficacy, cultural forms, and spatial attributes. (4) All elements of these three concepts are interrelated, and their intrinsic unity can be effectively promoted by integrating their unique characteristics, change features, and mutual compatibility. (5) The authenticity, integrity, and cultural–ecological adaptability of Yicheng Ancient City face five key issues, and six corresponding strategies have been proposed to address them.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/8/1304historic urban areascultural heritageauthenticityintegritycultural–ecological adaptabilityplanning strategies
spellingShingle Ruiqiang Liu
Wanfei Gao
Fan Yang
Authenticity, Integrity, and Cultural–Ecological Adaptability in Heritage Conservation: A Practical Framework for Historic Urban Areas—A Case Study of Yicheng Ancient City, China
Buildings
historic urban areas
cultural heritage
authenticity
integrity
cultural–ecological adaptability
planning strategies
title Authenticity, Integrity, and Cultural–Ecological Adaptability in Heritage Conservation: A Practical Framework for Historic Urban Areas—A Case Study of Yicheng Ancient City, China
title_full Authenticity, Integrity, and Cultural–Ecological Adaptability in Heritage Conservation: A Practical Framework for Historic Urban Areas—A Case Study of Yicheng Ancient City, China
title_fullStr Authenticity, Integrity, and Cultural–Ecological Adaptability in Heritage Conservation: A Practical Framework for Historic Urban Areas—A Case Study of Yicheng Ancient City, China
title_full_unstemmed Authenticity, Integrity, and Cultural–Ecological Adaptability in Heritage Conservation: A Practical Framework for Historic Urban Areas—A Case Study of Yicheng Ancient City, China
title_short Authenticity, Integrity, and Cultural–Ecological Adaptability in Heritage Conservation: A Practical Framework for Historic Urban Areas—A Case Study of Yicheng Ancient City, China
title_sort authenticity integrity and cultural ecological adaptability in heritage conservation a practical framework for historic urban areas a case study of yicheng ancient city china
topic historic urban areas
cultural heritage
authenticity
integrity
cultural–ecological adaptability
planning strategies
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/8/1304
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