Comprehensive evaluation of socialist built heritage and its cultural route planning: an exploration of holistic conservation from Chongqing, China

Socialist built heritage (SBH) is a key component of modern heritage yet faces conservation challenges. To support regional-scale conservation, this study took Chongqing, China, as a case, proposing an evaluation framework and planning approach for SBH cultural routes. A total of 303 officially recognized SBH sites were identified and classified into five thematic categories. An evaluation framework covering heritage value, conservation risk, and regional development conditions was constructed, with sixteen experts providing random ratings. The minimum cumulative resistance model was then applied to generate thematic cultural routes. Results showed that SBH in Chongqing was concentrated in central and western urban areas but sparse in peripheral districts. Socialist construction–related SBH accounted for 60.73% and was highly clustered, while socialist system and history–related SBH were scarce and fragmented. A hierarchical spatial structure existed, with central urban areas showing high value, low risk, and favorable conditions, whereas non-central areas exhibited mismatched dimensions and weaker potential. The socialist construction theme formed the densest cultural route network, while routes related to socialist system and history were more fragmented and localized. Based on these findings, this study proposed holistic conservation recommendations, providing framework references for (post-)socialist cities to integrate SBH conservation at the regional level.