Impact of cultural built heritage on well-being in Beijing

Abstract

Existing research highlights the relevance of heritage visits to mental health, but few studies have measured heritage as part of the built environment geographically. This study aims to uncover the mechanisms influencing the relationship between cultural built heritage (CBH) and self-reported well-being in Beijing and to serve as a suggested tool to improve well-being and health promotion in different populations. Multiple linear regression tests were performed on the hypotheses using large sample and cross-sectional survey data and accessibility and density analysis from the Psychology and Behavior in Chinese Residents' Survey. The results show that the density of CBH is seriously unevenly distributed in Beijing. The five-minute neighborhood density is the main factor affecting the dependent variable in the regression model, and it has a negative impact. This finding highlights the potential of CBH density to impact overall community well-being and is significant as pedestrian communities shrink. This study sheds light on the possible negative externalities of CBH in the conservation process, providing evidence for the well-being of heritage outside Europe, and the findings can be used to increase heritage participation and promote mental health.