Work

Coupling coordination and obstacles in industrial historical spaces: the environment-value-memory framework in Shenyang

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Industrial historical spaces serve as vital repositories of urban memory and industrial civilization, with their multidimensional, coordinated conservation being crucial to preserving the cultural fabric of former industrial cities. However, existing research has insufficiently examined the coupling mechanisms and coordination barriers within the complex systems of industrial historical spaces. This study investigates 64 industrial historical spaces in Shenyang and establishes a systematic coordination evaluation framework grounded in an ‘Environment-Value-Memory’ coupling perspective. Employing the coupling model, coupling coordination model, and obstacle diagnosis model, together with GIS spatial analysis and qualitative research methods, it dissects the interactive mechanisms and coordination barriers across these three systems. The results indicate: (i) Shenyang's industrial historical spaces exhibit significant typological variations in coordination. The industrial culture and industrial production categories demonstrate superior coordination in heritage preservation and memory transmission, whereas the industrial transportation category shows the lowest coordination due to environmental fragmentation and the destruction of memory carriers; (ii) Environment and value systems face prominent conflicts, with inadequate built environment capacity and lagging historical value excavation as core constraints; (iii) Non-linear interactions between systems generate either ‘high coupling with low coordination’ or ‘low coupling with high coordination’ phenomena. This study provides both theoretical foundations and practical pathways for the collaborative governance of industrial historical spaces in old industrial cities.

Source: npj Heritage Science

DOI: 10.1038/s40494-026-02378-x