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Li, Lanxin (2025) A flexible and participatory evaluation framework for historic villages in peri-urban areas in China: multi-dimensional value assessment for conservation and adaptive reuse. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

Historic villages in peri-urban areas hold significant value, including not only their conventional value as historic villages but also their unique value in urban-rural coordination, shaped by their transitional location. As key nodes where urban and rural influence converge, these villages are able to facilitate the exchange of urban-rural resources in terms of economy, ecology, culture, and infrastructure, driving urban-rural integration and mutual development. Conserving the natural and cultural environments of these villages can support urban-rural ecological sustainability and cultural diversity. Adaptive reuse of their physical fabric can also help incorporate them into urban-rural infrastructure and economic networks, therefore contributing to peri-urban governance while narrowing urban-rural gaps in living standards and fostering social stability.

Given the pressures of urbanisation in many areas of the world, it is becoming increasingly urgent to establish an evaluation framework that helps identify the multi-dimensional values of such villages in order to guide conservation and adaptive reuse strategies. Existing evaluation frameworks are often rigid and expert-driven, designed for historic villages in general rather than those in peri-urban areas. As a result, they cannot account for the unique value of urban-rural coordination. Moreover, historic villages vary significantly in their individual characteristics, and different stakeholders may perceive their values differently. This research therefore proposes a new flexible and participatory evaluation framework for historic villages in peri-urban areas to better accommodate contextual variations and diverse stakeholder perspectives.

The development process began with the creation of a preliminary evaluation framework, which incorporated multiple value dimensions and corresponding indicators. This framework was subsequently refined and validated using Structural Equation Modelling based on participant questionnaires obtained from China (n = 1013) and a case-study village in China (n = 319) to identify key multiple value dimensions and their corresponding indicators, assigning weightings accordingly. Then, two final frameworks were generated: one applicable at the national level in China and another tailored to a specific Chinese peri-urban case-study village.

The findings reveal that these villages embody a wide range of values, including historic, cultural, artistic, research, educational, ecological, residential, economic, and urban-rural coordination values and therefore both frameworks specify the indicators to measure these multiple values. A comparative analysis of the weightings between the two frameworks demonstrates significant differences, underscoring the need for flexibility in evaluation. And a comparative analysis of the weightings assigned by different stakeholders also reveals significant differences, emphasising the importance of a participatory approach. Additionally, in-depth interviews (n = 19) conducted in the case village further enriched the contextual understanding of stakeholder perspectives and provided detailed support for the weightings and application of the evaluation framework. Based on these stakeholder perspectives and taking into account the significant differences in weightings, conservation and adaptive reuse strategies for the case village were successfully formulated, while also offering a methodological approach applicable to historic villages in peri-urban areas globally. Establishing such an evaluation framework contributes to sustainable urban expansion and regeneration while fostering public participation in conservation and reuse.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Hale, Jonathan Wiedmann, Florian
Keywords:	Historic villages in peri-urban areas; Multidimensional values; Flexible and participatory evaluation framework; An approach to conservation and adaptive reuse strategy development.
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NA Architecture
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Engineering > Built Environment
Item ID:	82771
Depositing User:	LI, Lanxin
Date Deposited:	09 Dec 2025 04:40
Last Modified:	09 Dec 2025 04:40
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/82771

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