Influential Factors and Mechanism of Sense of Place in Historic Districts

As urban renewal becomes an integral part of urban development, the focus of urban planning has risen from environmental qualities to spiritual needs. Improving sense of place helps to activate lost spaces. Therefore, the study of sense of place in historic districts is critical. Taking the Nancang historical and cultural area in Dunhuang as an example, a structural equation model is constructed based on social attributes, built environments, crowd activities, emotional intentions, residence time and sense of place. Collecting subjective evaluation data through questionnaires for model fitting, data analysis and hypothesis testing, and then the mechanism is explored. The results show that there is a hierarchical relationship. Based on social attributes, built environments and crowd activities, emotional intentions are generated through interaction between people and places over time to form sense of place further. Meanwhile, the study confirms that sense of identity and direction are the two most direct and relevant factors. In addition, social attributes have a positive influence on residence time and residence time has no significant influence on sense of place. The study offers a useful guidance for protecting and promoting sense of place in historic and cultural area.