Evaluation of urban morphological resilience in Xi’an Hui historical districts in China

Abstract

Urban Hui historical districts in northwestern China represent complex systems characterized by a profound integration of social, cultural, and spatial dimensions. However, research on spatial morphological resilience in such contexts remains underdeveloped, and a comprehensive analytical framework has yet to be established—particularly at the micro-scale, where operationalization is still lacking. Grounded in theoretical foundations, this study advances the concept of spatial morphological resilience by integrating knowledge from urban morphology, socio-ecological resilience science, and complex adaptive systems theory. It aligns the three spatial dimensions of morphological organization with the distinctive attributes of Hui communities in northwestern China, thereby constructing a multidimensional assessment framework encompassing “behavioral space adaptability,” “social space stability,” and “physical space diversity.”Taking the Hui community around the Drum Tower in Xi’an as a case study, the research reveals the following spatial resilience pattern: eight morphological regions exhibit high resilience, 26 show relatively high resilience, seven demonstrate medium resilience, 15 display relatively low resilience, and 12 are characterized by low resilience. Notably, the spatial distribution of resilience displays a clear proximity effect to mosques.