Spatial patterns and preservation inequality of socialist built heritage in Beijing: a GIS–geodetector analysis (1915–1978)

Abstract Socialist Built Heritage (SBH) represents a crucial part of China’s modern urban memory, embodying the historical legacy and ideological aspirations of the socialist construction era. Yet, amid rapid urbanisation, SBH faces growing threats from redevelopment and policy neglect. Taking Beijing as a case study, this paper establishes a database of SBH built between 1915 and 1978 and employs Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis combined with the Geodetector model to examine its spatial distribution, protection disparities, and driving mechanisms. Results show that: (1) the spatial pattern of SBH exhibits both historical path dependence and typological differentiation, which to some extent reflect the evolutionary trajectory of socialist revolution and construction in Beijing; (2) SBH protection demonstrates significant structural imbalance and typological bias, with central districts exhibiting high heritage density but low protection rates, revealing the tension between urban growth and heritage conservation; (3) multidimensional driving mechanisms jointly shape the spatial disparities in SBH protection, among which socioeconomic, policy, and sociocultural factors are the primary drivers of spatial variation in protection rates. The study highlights the institutional constraints of SBH preservation within the urban growth framework and provides quantitative evidence to inform more balanced, resilience-oriented heritage conservation strategies.