Generation Mechanisms of the Complex Adaptive System in Traditional Settlements: A Case Study of Zheshui Village, China

Traditional villages embody tangible repositories of historical, cultural, and geographical heritage, and their sustainable and authentic development poses a global challenge. By applying complex adaptive system (CAS) theory via a bottom–up approach, we analyze traditional settlements using China’s Zheshui village as a representative case. Road networks and spatial configurations were examined through image analysis (ImageJ 1.54 p, Depthmap+ Beta 1.0), integrating space syntax, box-counting dimension, and point-density analysis to decode hierarchical point-line-plane structures. Key findings reveal that building units self-similarly aggregate into courtyards under landmark constraints, with courtyards further coalescing into villages. Road systems function as adaptive agents that facilitate nodal information flow while exhibiting fluidity and diversity. The village emerges as a macro-scale complex system from the building-unit level, displaying cross-scale self-similarity, yet intrinsic diversity in architecture and roads underlies its core complexity. BTM topic modeling of tourist sentiment—identifying tourists as novel adaptive agents—predictively guides strategies for enhanced cultural dissemination and public infrastructure. By establishing a CAS-driven internal generative mechanism, this work offers a novel methodological framework for authentic conservation and sustainable development.