Aligning UNESCO HUL Approach with Digital Transformation: A Spatiotemporal Inventory Framework for Urban Landscape Heritage

Abstract

This study investigates the integration of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach with sustainable digitization frameworks to address gaps in heritage informatics infrastructure for urban landscape conservation. Employing mixed-methods research (document analysis, case study, and spatiotemporal modeling), this project analyzed the historical accumulation and dynamic evolution of heritage values in World Heritage sites, with a focus on the Lushan Kuling historic town. Results demonstrate that a multidimensional spatiotemporal inventory system, grounded in human-environment interaction theory, effectively captures heritage significance through three operational layers: theoretical frameworks, technical workflows, and digital deliverables. Building on critical heritage studies, the findings reconceptualize inventory-building as a cyclical process of data generation, interpretation, and application rather than static documentation. The proposed digital management framework was empirically validated through geospatial visualization of temporal layering patterns in Lushan Kuling historic town. This research provides policymakers with a model for aligning UNESCO's HUL recommendations with digital twin technologies, particularly in addressing the fragmentation of heritage attributes in rapidly urbanizing contexts.