A Comparative Study of the Spatial Morphology of Traditional Villages as Sustainable Cultural Heritage: The Case of Jiangnan Region

It is necessary to advance traditional village sustainability by exploring the cultural dynamics integrated into contemporary heritage conservation. Jiangnan is located in a typical culturally integrated region of China that encompasses diverse traditional village heritage with variable spatial forms, influenced by a plurality of unique vernacular morphologies. To address the paucity of samples from culturally integrated regions, the simplistic digital quantitative indices, and the problem of non-specific cultural qualitative analyses, this research established a cultural spatial morphology form clue (CSMFC) at three cultural dimensions: Chinese family clan culture; natural ecological culture; vernacular feng shui culture. We constructed an index system and village morphology database comprising five types of traditional villages in Jiangnan. This research proposed a situational research method (SRM) based on metamodern theory to oscillate between quantitative metrics and the qualitative cultural context of 500 villages. The results demonstrate that village spatial morphology exhibits stepwise digital differentiation aligned with cultural boundaries, dynamically revealing the evolving relationship between village culture and spatial morphology. The implementation of an SRM can accurately map cultural distinctions, enhancing the scientific rigor and efficiency of traditional village cultural research and sustainable heritage conservation.