Exploring the cultural heritage space adaptability of the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal based on point of interest data

Abstract This study explores the interaction between linear heritage and cities by examining the adaptability of the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal. We extracted and visualised the point of interest data of 22 cities along the canal using Python, ArcGIS 10.7, and R language and evaluated adaptability in terms of three kinds of spatial relationships: agglomeration, dependence, and diversity. Our findings suggest that, first, the differences in the distances between the canal and the city centres lay the foundation for differentiating the canal’s role in each city. Second, with city expansions and social changes, the canal’s decline has shifted the city’s centre to varying degrees, demonstrating a different degree of historical continuity. Our adaptability study provides a significant reference for the relationship between the city and the water system, the conservation and development of the canal’s cultural heritage, and research methods for studying linear cultural heritage.