Multi-scale spatial patterns and driving mechanisms of historical and cultural resources in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Amid rapid urbanization and regional integration in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, clarifying the spatial patterns and driving mechanisms of historical and cultural resources (HCRs) is vital for their sustainable protection and management. This study analyzes four types of HCRs, namely historical and cultural cities, towns, villages, and China cultural heritage, using spatial analysis and driving factor detection to examine their spatial structure, evolution, and formation mechanisms. Results show that HCRs form a stable “core-secondary-belt” structure at the regional scale with evolution closely coupled to shifts in political–economic centers and constrained by long-term geographic patterns. The collaborative distribution and coupling degree of different types of resources reveal the multi-level spatial expression of regional cultural patterns. The driving mechanism is manifested as a composite coupling process of “natural substrate-historical deposition-modern activation”. Based on this, the study proposes a hierarchical, regional, and typological framework for cultural heritage protection and sustainable development.