Research on the Spatial Pattern and Morphological Genealogy of Waterfront Settlements from the Perspective of Water-land Gradient: A Case Study of the Baiyangdian Region

Traditional waterfront settlements have developed a distinctive spatial pattern and morphology along the water-land gradient, yet they have also been substantially impacted during modernization. Owing to an incomplete understanding of the developmental laws governing settlement space, the development and conservation of traditional waterfront settlements face a persistent dilemma. From the perspective of the water-land gradient, this study establishes a cross-scale "pattern-morphology" research framework for settlements. Taking the Baiyangdian region as a case study, this study quantitatively assesses both the economic development vitality and the ecosystem service capacity of waterfront settlements. By employing quadrant-based clustering combined with space syntax analysis, it investigates the spatial patterns and morphological genealogy of these settlements. The main findings are as follows: (1) With increasing distance from the water body, the economic development vitality of waterfront settlements fluctuates, whereas their ecosystem service capacity exhibits a downward trend; (2) The morphology genealogy of waterfront settlements exhibits significant differentiation and comprises three categories and six typical layout patterns: the lake-adjacent category (leaf-shaped and divergent types), the lake-edge category (ring-shaped and linear types), and the intra-lake category (open and enclosed types); (3) The restructuring of the gradient patterns of waterfront settlements is driven by three factors: economic location eroding the original ecological location, spatial mechanical constraints limiting settlements' development vitality, and the decoupling of human-water relationships undermining the spatial morphology. The study can provide support for the scientific conservation and sustainable development of waterfront settlements.