City gate as key towards sustainable urban redevelopment: A case study of ancient Gungnae City within the modern city of Ji'an

Abstract

Culture is a key tool for promoting sustainable urban redevelopment, by preserving the urban identity, attracting activities and visitors, and fostering the quality of life. While cultural heritage sites are characterized by a large concentration of visitors, causing increased traffic flows, it is necessary to provide optimal access to cultural monuments in terms of sustainable mobility. This study focused on the city gates that have access to the cultural World Heritage Site of Gungnae City within the city of Ji'an. Space syntax approach was used in the study to explore spatial accessibility by remodeling of city gate. It is of concern that the identity characteristics of a sustainable urban form and cultural feature of the city can be recognized through the spatial configurations of urban spaces. Spatial accessibility is regarded as an integral part of the sustainable use and contemporary expression of the cultural heritage. It is noted that accessible cultural monuments can perform their function for sustainable urban redevelopment. We argued that the city gates play a crucial role in the mutual interactions among urban spaces, street networks, and human traffic, and provide people with places on gate to stay. It is of concern that the city gate remodeling in the study enables overlapping use of ancient and modernized urban zones and offers an example of multi-layered street networks and mixed-use urban ensembles in terms of urban sustainability. We concluded that urban cultural heritage should be integrated into sustainable urban redevelopment strategies to enhance the liveability of historic cities while respecting their identities.