Balancing Heritage Conservation and Urban Renewal: A Cultural Sustainability Evaluation Approach for Historic Districts

Abstract Cultural sustainability assessment is essential for the renewal of historic districts. However, there is a significant deficit of quantitative research focusing on cultural sustainability in Chinese historic districts. The selection of relevant indicators tends to be limited, and existing international evaluation systems do not fully align with local historical cultures and conservation concepts. This study proposes a novel methodology for evaluating the cultural sustainability of historic districts in China. Based on the three modes through which cultural sustainability contributes to sustainable development (in, for, and as), five evaluation dimensions of cultural sustainability are established: cultural heritage, cultural vitality, society, economy, and environment. Drawing upon extensive literature and optimizing through the 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and the Culture 2030 indicators, a 31-indicator system and corresponding scoring system are developed. The Bayesian Best–Worst Method is employed to assign weights to these indicators. Additionally, given the specificity of the culture, multisource data are obtained through expert questionnaires and spatial analysis using a geographic information system to calculate scores for each indicator. The Cloud-Matter Element Model is then used for a comprehensive evaluation of cultural sustainability. Utilizing the Shaocheng Historic and Cultural District in Chengdu as a case study, this research validates the applicability of the methodology and assesses its cultural sustainability, thereby facilitating the identification of further improvement strategies. Finally, an analysis of the sensitivity of the evaluation results to indicator weights demonstrates the reliability of the model. The results show that commercial and cultural integration, historic building preservation benefits and authenticity, and intensity of specialized funding are the most critical indicators determining the cultural sustainability of historic districts. Moreover, the findings reveal issues within Shaocheng district, including insufficient preservation of traditional features and excessive building density. The results of this study offer implications for policy regarding the advancement of the cultural sustainability of historic districts in China.