As the core carriers for the continuation of “liveliness”, residential historical and cultural districts face critical challenges in terms of community cohesion, spatial vitality, and cultural inheritance. From a multidimensional synergistic perspective, this study deconstructs the social, environmental, and cultural dimensions of such districts. It proposes a protection-and-renewal framework of “collaborative social governance—optimized spatial environment—revitalized cultural memory”. Taking the North Street area in Pingwang Town, Suzhou, as an example, we develop targeted strategies in three dimensions: socially, by establishing multi-stakeholder co-governance and property rights coordination mechanisms; environmentally, by repairing street-block morphology, supplementing public spaces, and reshaping district character; and culturally, by perpetuating folk traditions and crafting differentiated cultural-tourism carriers. Our findings indicate that a multidimensional synergistic approach can reconcile conservation with development, reinforce community cohesion, and—through spatial enhancements and cultural activation—inject contemporary vitality, thus ensuring the ongoing “liveliness” of residential historical and cultural districts.
Wu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.