%A Pan Liao, Ning Gu, Rongrong Yu, Chris Brisbin %T Exploring the spatial pattern of historic Chinese towns and cities: A syntactical approach %0 Journal Article %D 2021 %J Front. Archit. Res. %J Frontiers of Architectural Research %@ 2095-2635 %R 10.1016/j.foar.2021.04.002 %P 598-613 %V 10 %N 3 %U {https://journal.hep.com.cn/foar/EN/10.1016/j.foar.2021.04.002 %8 2021-09-15 %X

This study explores the spatial pattern of Historic Chinese Towns and Cities (HCTC) by using a syntactic approach. The HCTC is an important element of the built environment and exhibits a variety of unique spatial characteristics. Although previous research has been focused on qualitative analysis, a quantitative approach to exploring this issue is scarce, leading to insufficient understanding of the spatial characteristics of HCTC. This study presents a quantitative approach to analyzing the spatial pattern of HCTC by utilizing the space syntax method. Four well-preserved historic towns were selected as case studies, each representing a typical spatial type of historic town in China. A series of mathematical measures from space syntax were used to explore the spatial characteristics of HCTC, facilitating expanded interpretation of traditional Chinese ideologies. Results contribute to a more critical understanding of the spatial pattern of HCTC.