Spatial Representation of Place Meaning in Urban Historical Parks – A Case Study of People’s Park in Guangzhou, China

Abstract

As people’s demand for public space continues to rise, historical urban parks, which are an essential part of the city’s public space and people’s emotional space, are facing the need for renewal and renovation. By introducing the concept of Place Meaning and based on a systematic review of related literature, this paper selects Guangzhou People’s Park as a case study, empirically exploring the spatial representation of Place Meaning in Guangzhou People’s Park using the cognition map method. It is found that the spatial representation has differential characteristics when based on Historical and Cultural Factor, Leisure and Recreation Factor, Landscape Ecology Factor and Social Interaction Factor. By conducting scientific research on the spatial representation of place significance, this paper can provide a reference for the transformation of urban historical parks, highlighting the image of urban environment and historical culture, and meeting the construction of urban environmental engineering under the new situation.