Regeneration or degeneration? Living heritage evaluation for traditional villages by GWPCA model: Evidence from 60 cases in southeast Shanxi, China

Given the challenges of declining rural heritage vitality due to global urbanization, it is crucial to scientifically construct an evaluation system for traditional village living heritage value (TVLHV). However, existing studies suffer from biases due to subjective weight dependence and the lack of spatial heterogeneity. We suggest a novel TVLHV evaluation and regeneration framework that combines geographically weighted principal component analysis (GWPCA) and obstacle factor diagnosis (OFD) in order to overcome these constraints. A sample of 60 traditional Chinese villages in southeast Shanxi is used for empirical validation and analysis. The findings demonstrate that (1) the level of TVLHV evaluation shows significant urban-rural gradient effects and spatial differentiation patterns; (2) GWPCA significantly outperforms global PCA in characterizing spatial heterogeneity of TVLHV, evidenced by a 40.5% average increase in cumulative proportion of total variation (CPTV), confirming the method's robustness and effectiveness; (3) by identifying four distinct living heritage value typologies, we propose targeted and refined regeneration strategies for each type. This study establishes a solid foundation for living heritage conservation and offers valuable insights to support evidence-based decision-making for rural regeneration in comparable global contexts.