ZHAO Hengyu, SUN Yue
With the modernization of urban construction, the urban traditional water system pattern and ecological texture have undergone wide and drastic changes. Wuchang Ancient Town was developed because of water, and the formation and development of urban blocks are closely related to it. By studying the landscape of Nancheng historical blocks in Wuchang, urban imagery and the spirit of place are recognized to provide a reference value for protecting urban historical blocks and the organic renewal of urban space.
The developments of Wuchang Ancient Town have experienced various universal changes, such as degradation of the water system, changes to land and water transportation, and reorganization of urban boundaries, which are typical of Wuchang's transformation from an ancient water town to a modern metropolis. The evolution of the two old blocks of Bapu Street and Baoan Street in Nancheng is analyzed as an example to understand the intervention and change of the waterfront landscape by the urban living environment based on a three-dimensional perspective of multiple dimensions of space and time. First, the land and water landscape replacement process, embankment-street morphology reorganization, and street space derivation in the historical blocks are carefully distinguished. The evolution of historical blocks is interpreted and analyzed to understand the morphological changes and recognizability from multiple dimensions, including sensory communication and semantic information of landscape behavior. Second, the psychological identity of "embankment-street" across time and geographical dimensions is analyzed. The expressive task of historical blocks is often realized by controlling and guiding human-land interactions and social structures. Readability is interpreted in two ways—phenomenological and semiotic representations—revealing that the names of surface features and landscape characteristics preserve much of precious collective memory. Therefore, there is a need for more compatible research methods between the landscape and symbols of historical blocks. Finally, the concept of "topology" is introduced into the study of historical blocks through the topological relationship of "embankment-street"; old and new embankments, old and new buildings, and the various schemes of "embankment-street" prototype construction information are summarized in terms of structure, order, emptiness, and reality.
The unique landscape of "embankment-street" mutual growth has formed in-depth value cognition, thus discovering the important law of the spatial topological growth of "embankment-street" and summarizing the renewal mechanism of the historical block's self-expansion and derivation. The results from topological pattern clustering analysis are more valuable than the traditional description of indicators. It is necessary to explore further the inner production logic of waterfront settlements that have constantly renewed, upgraded, and iterated in different periods. The case study of two historical blocks inside and outside of Nancheng presents the process of transformation and cyclic regeneration of the landscape qualities of urban historical blocks, which is the uninterrupted "water culture" of Wuchang, an ancient town on the waterfront. It is particularly inspiring for the renewal of old towns and the continuity of the local landscape. The evolution of "street-embankment" is closely linked, and its historical imprint plays an important role in urban renewal. It is clear that the memory of "street-embankment" is transformed into a text and symbol system that continues to extend. Moreover, with the help of the residual material and spatial carriers, it effectively conveys the information to the public, evokes the people's identity and sense of belonging to the city, and highlights the city's cultural heritage and historical characteristics.
The unique "embankment-street" landscape pattern is a non-renewable urban landscape heritage. For the once marginalized waterfront blocks, it is necessary to recognize the mechanism of their historical evolution in the process of modernization and change and carefully renovate them to promote the organic growth and renewal of this vulnerable space. It should be approached as spatial topology and regeneration, with environmental restoration instead of large-scale demolition and construction. Therefore, a more diversified understanding of urban heritage requires greater cognizance of the complexity, contradiction, creativity, and aesthetics of urban historical space. It is a typical example of the joint participation and co-creation of urban habitat behaviors, which is especially important for cultural dissemination.
