The Range of Home: Residents’ Cognition of Nanluoguxiang Historic Conservation Area in Beijing, China

The concept “home” can manifest at different spatial scales. This paper identifies the range of home for residents in historic conservation areas by examining how their spatial cognition of the neighborhoods changes with the distance from their dwellings. Nanluoguxiang historic conservation area in Beijing, China, is used as a representative case that accommodates historic attractions and living communities. Based on the effects of distance on spatial cognition, the paper sheds light on varied modes of distance-cognition relationships across six categories of places within Nanluoguxiang and its surroundings, including public service facilities, hutongs (historic alleys), historic and cultural facilities, tourism facilities, community commercial and leisure facilities, and green landscape. The result reveals that local residents exhibit strong cognition of hutong and neighborhood space, demonstrating their cognitive home range. At the hutong scale, residents’ cognition of places for daily demands reaches the peak, whereas the whole neighborhood shapes residents’ historic and cultural identity as Nanluoguxiang inhabitants. The paper concludes by providing practical implications for preserving residents’ home in historic conservation areas.