Integrating spatial multi-criteria evaluation into the potential analysis of culture-led urban development – A case study of Tainan

Post-1980s, early-developed historical cities attempted to reverse the dilemma of urban modern development and the preservation of historical textures. Culture-led urban development then emerged as a strategy to highlight the advantages of historical cities. However, study that propose practical evaluation framework that integrate culture, historical texture, and relevant resources is less. Furthermore, cultural resources, their characteristics, and their development potential are rarely considered under spatial scales. Therefore, we aim to conduct a spatial potential evaluation framework for culture-led urban development (CLUD), shedding light on the characteristics of the historical and cultural environment and their relevance to social and economic factors. Recent studies suggest that culture-led urban development should focus more on the balance between local cultural context and development planning content, to achieve long-term sustainable development. Consequently, we applied the concept of adaptive development, which emphasizes locally appropriate assess, particularly at a regional level. In this research, a spatial multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) model was developed for the decision-making process, which can contain multiple aspects of the urban environment and related resources. We apply the established framework to Tainan City, due to its rich cultural resources, high cultural participation and intensive support from the government. The results were calculated in different spatial units in response to various purposes. The findings are divided into several zones performing various objectives that are appropriate for specific places. The outcome demonstrates the possibility of development cooperation within the study region. In the future, the framework and the processes can be applied to evaluate other regions to enable more comprehensive understanding before policy inputs.