Where to Preserve? Evaluating the Integrity Principle for Delineating Protection Scopes of Kaiping Diaolou and Villages

Current preservation efforts at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kaiping Diaolou and Villages may be overlooking critical aspects of cultural value. A quantitative study reveals that existing protection scopes fail to account for the defensive spatial organization of diaolous—multi-story tower dwellings—and their architectural diversity, which are integral to their historical significance. Researchers analyzed 1629 diaolous using GIS-based methods, categorizing them into four defensive region types through principal component and clustering analysis. The findings underscore the need for protection scopes that prioritize both functional distribution and typological integrity, ensuring a more comprehensive approach to heritage conservation.

Yin, J., Tang, X., Zhang, W., Liang, X., & Zhu, J. (2019). Where to Preserve? Evaluating the Integrity Principle for Delineating Protection Scopes of Kaiping Diaolou and Villages. Sustainability, 11(8), 2196. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082196