Evolutionary mechanism of vernacular architecture in the context of urbanization: Evidence from southern Hebei, China

Abstract

Vernacular architecture is an important artificial habitat landscape that responds to and evolves with specific natural and social contexts. Although abundant evidence highlights the fragility of vernacular architecture in the urbanization process, in-depth discussion of the resilient manifestations represented by its anonymous evolution is lacking. Liangshuixiu, a courtyard-form vernacular building in Southern Hebei, is taken as the example. This study explored its spontaneous evolution mechanism characterized by the courtyard being covered (CBR). Benefiting from the computer vision technology and the remarkable orthophotos of Liangshuaixiu, the distribution characteristics of the CBR phenomenon in 131 townships were identified by high-resolution network. Subsequently, 14 potential influencing factors were selected according to “push–pull” theory, and explanatory variables that affect the development of CBR were identified using redundancy analysis. Spatial autocorrelation analysis of the CBR showed a significant clustering trend of high in the south and low in the north. Redundancy analysis results showed that the combined effects of push–pull factors were the most important aspects to explain the evolution of Liangshuaixiu. Urban pull and rural push made a greater contribution to the development of CBR, with education level being the most critical factor, followed by population decline rate and government revenue. Rural pull and urban push had limited contribution to the development of CBR, in which the aging rate was an important explanatory factor. This study revealed the evolutionary characteristics of specific vernacular buildings in a data-driven manner, thereby providing quantitative insights into how urbanization drives the evolution of vernacular habitats.