Urban Style and Features’ Visual Quality and Influencing Factors: A Case Study of Fangcheng Historical and Cultural District in Shenyang, China

Historical and cultural districts are the outcome of cultural sedimentation brought about by urban development, and they embody distinctive urban historical and cultural connotations. Ignoring the protection of the historical and cultural value contained in streetscapes will not only decrease the life quality of residents but will also diminish distinctive local urban features. This study focused on the Fangcheng historical and cultural district in Shenyang. The scenic beauty estimation method was employed to evaluate urban style and features’ visual quality, while the semantic differential method was used to obtain the subjective perceptual features of samples. The study also systematically explored the dynamic relationship between urban style and features’ quality and subjective perception in historical and cultural districts. The results show that color richness, coherence, iconic status, and continuum all exert significant positive predictive effects on visual preferences regarding urban style and features. Color richness was the primary determinant of urban style and features’ visual quality. Continuum interfaces, a unified spatial texture, and coordinated dimensions contributed significantly to improving urban style and features’ visual quality in historic and cultural districts. The distinctiveness and cultural iconic status of historical and cultural districts enhanced the residents’ identity and place memory. Moreover, the coherence and continuum of style between the old and new elements promoted an integrated aesthetic experience. The evaluation results revealed that the overall visual quality of urban style and features of most streets was medium. However, streets with a higher visual quality cluster among historical streets and commercial streets. The residential streets demonstrated a significantly lower visual quality. Establishing a comprehensive evaluation system that integrates urban style and features, subjective perception, and the style of historical and cultural districts can contribute to covering the shortage in the traditional urban style and features’ research and also provide a basis for urban regeneration at the micro scale.