Spatial Configuration and Environmental Adaptability of Traditional Settlement in Hilly Valley:Taking Fengtai Village in Qianjiang,Chongqing,China as an Example
The diverse and heterogeneous geographic environment of the Bayu region,southeast China has cultivated highly distinctive traditional settlement configuration.Traditional settlements were addressed in previous studies for their spatial structures,layouts,features,types and evolution laws,but for the ethnic settlements in the Wuling Mountain Region,where it is a complex of multicultural residence,there was little effort to make for a comprehensive interpretation of its spatial pattern and environmental adaptability,even without inclusion of multi-factor elements of social environment in research framework.In this paper,Fengtai village,a Tujia settlement at a hilly valley site in Qianjiang county,Chongqing municipality,China,was taken for a case study of traditional settlement research.By spatial syntax method,it conducted modelling of traditional settlement regarding the Integration and settlement structure,the Choice and settlement nodes,and the Intelligibility and settlement interface,which contributed to a full understanding of the interaction mechanism between natural element and artificial element of traditional settlement for environmental adaptability.Then process of triggering,constraining,synergizing and adapting this interaction was further specified in relation to the multifactorial influences of the geographic,livelihood and cultural environments.(1)The settlement structure at Fengtai village was a zonal pattern,spatially organized by restriction of both main axis and contour line;thus the spatial layout was clustered in the middle and scattered at the edges,forming a settlement texture conforming to local terrain,parallel axis and uniform distribution.Ethic settlements with the similar features were widely distributed in the mountainous areas of south China,such as southeast Chongqing,southwest Hubei and northwest Hunan.(2)Fengtai village situated along valley contour,exhibited a shape of long streets but short alleys,which exemplified a popular structure of settlements created on local habits and customs.This type of settlement structure was loaded with multiple functions such as intensive production,public life and neighborhood communication,reflecting the characteristic of the rural society in hilly valley regions.(3)The public space of Fengtai village could be divided into three categories of attributes,i.e.,production,life and culture,among which the connectivity of living space was high,being related with the continuation of contemporary agricultural livelihood.The limited selectivity of cultural space was related with the weakening of behavior perception under insufficiency of public space environment supporting.(4)The settlement interface of Fengtai village was the result of interaction between natural element and artificial element under human-land relationship,embodying a kind of internal mechanism of settlement community based on livelihood,folk culture and natural geography;therefore,a distinct living area,production area and public cultural area were delineated,reflecting a cultural custom with multi-ethnic integration in local society.This research can provide theoretical support for heritage protection and restoration of traditional settlements,cultural tourism development and comprehensive rural revitalization construction,and offer practical guidance for sustainable development of traditional settlements in hilly valleys.
hilly valleyspatial syntaxspatial morphologyenvironmental adaptabilityChongqingFengtai village
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