A study on the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of traditional villages in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract As key repositories of regional cultural heritage and important carriers of rural revitalization, traditional villages require scientific spatial planning and adaptive conservation. This study examines 4736 traditional villages across 11 provincial-level jurisdictions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), using 10 km × 10 km geographic grids and integrating GIS spatial analysis, the Geodetector model and the MGWR model to unpack their spatial distribution patterns and driving determinants. The results indicate that the spatial distribution of traditional villages in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is uneven, and they are mainly agglomerated in the low‑mountain hilly area at the junction of Guizhou‑Hunan‑Chongqing‑Hubei and the mountain‑hilly zone on the Anhui‑Zhejiang border. Their distribution is jointly driven by natural background, socioeconomic and historical‑cultural factors. Natural terrain and climatic conditions form the fundamental constraint across the whole region, while socioeconomic factors have no uniform regional driving pattern. By contrast, ethnic‑humanistic factors show prominent local empowering effects. The MGWR results indicate that the influence of cultural relic density on the spatial distribution of traditional villages exhibits strong spatial heterogeneity across the upper, middle and lower reaches. This study provides empirical support and decision-making insights for targeted conservation, living heritage stewardship, and differentiated planning of traditional villages in the YREB.