ABSTRACT

The history of urban transformation is a unique symbol of a city and the key to inheriting regional culture. In most current studies, the historical cities are analyzed considering water or multi factors; however, the basic fact of Basin is ignored. The basin provides the natural material conditions for the origin of the cities and affects the military and transportation in the region. These influences lead to the urban distribution in different periods and different urban forms in the same period. This research selects Jinzhong Basin, provides a framework to study transformation of historical cities considering the unit of the basin and selects three levels: regional level, including urban density, urban structure and urban distribution; city group level, including urban agglomerations under the influence of water system, military and traffic factors; and city form level, including city shape, street form and functional zoning. The results show that the geographical factors of the basin determine the origin and change of cities, which could be used to guide the future culture oriented development of Jinzhong Basin region, and also serve the “ Ten thousand-li Tea Road ” application for world heritage, and provide historical and theoretical reference for urban planning.This research selects Jinzhong Basin, provides a framework to study transformation of historical cities considering the unit of the basin and selects three levels: regional level, including urban density, urban structure and urban distribution; city group level, including urban agglomerations under the influence of water system, military and traffic factors; and city form level, including city shape, street form and functional zoning.