Based on “space-culture-role” three-dimensional integration perspective for construction of characteristic conservation areas for traditional villages in Southwest Zhejiang, China

Abstract Under the current cluster-based conservation model, traditional villages face multiple challenges, including a one-dimensional research perspective, administrative boundaries fragmenting cluster divisions, and homogenized conservation approaches. Therefore, there is an urgent need to reconfigure traditional village characteristic conservation areas from a multidimensional perspective to achieve cross-regional, interconnected, and distinctive conservation. Taking 331 national-level traditional villages in Southwest Zhejiang, China as the subject, this study employs the MCR model to measure geographic environmental resistance and establish spatial boundaries. It then quantifies regional cultural indicators using inverse-distance weighting to preliminarily delineate eight characteristic areas. Furthermore, Social Network Analysis is introduced to identify the “roles” of all villages. By synthesizing the compositional logic of “Space-Culture-Role” factors, preliminary zones are refined into distinctive conservation clusters. Results indicate: (1) Villages exhibit significant spatial differentiation, where high-resistance terrain is proven to constitute a protection mechanism for architectural integrity; (2) Diverse cultures formed characteristic distributions within historical-social contexts: She extensive settlements, Hakka scattered points, and Southern Confucian concentric diffusion; (3) A three-tiered “core-connecting-general” network structure confirms that cross-regional social connections establish resilient collaborative mechanisms transcending physical barriers. Consequently, this study proposes organizing conservation zones based on the “Space-Culture-Role” three-dimensional integration perspective to optimize cluster effects in protection and utilization.