Historic districts are important built environments in which architectural form and cultural meaning shape residents’ place-based identity and engagement with conservation under urban renewal. However, empirical evidence on which features of the historic environment most strongly support local identity and conservation participation in migrant-intensive, fast-growing cities remains limited. This study investigates the relationships among architectural heritage, religious elements, cultural activities, local identity, sense of belonging, and conservation participation in five historic districts in Shenzhen, China. Using a residents’ questionnaire survey, we applied hierarchical multiple regression and mediation analysis to examine these relationships. The results indicate that architectural heritage is the strongest predictor of local identity, whereas religious atmosphere and cultural activities show comparatively weak effects. Local identity is positively associated with conservation participation, with only limited mediation through sense of belonging. The findings indicate that in migrant-intensive urban settings, architectural distinctiveness plays a stronger role in shaping local identity than religious or other cultural practices. Overall, the study argues that architectural heritage should be seen not only as a physical fabric to be preserved, but also as a resource that can strengthen local identity, participation, and socially sustainable urban renewal.
Zhong et al. (Fri,) studied this question.