Abstract
The central scientific question in heritage geography is how heritage is constituted and transformed as a dynamic socio-spatial process under the joint influence of spatial heterogeneity, power relations, place identity, and governance. This study systematically synthesizes the theoretical evolution, spatial typologies, major research themes, methodological developments, and emerging frontiers of heritage geography, with particular attention to digital spatial representation, heritage tourism and place identity, vulnerability under global change, multicultural heritage, and spatial justice. By integrating GIS and remote sensing, sociocultural inquiry, spatial modeling, and interdisciplinary approaches, the study develops an analytical framework that links the power–identity–space nexus with an Observation → Heterogeneity → Infrastructure logic, connecting heritage value formation and spatial differentiation to institutional and governance responses. The synthesis indicates that heritage conservation is increasingly concerned not only with the preservation of material entities but also with the processes through which heritage values are selected, interpreted, spatially reproduced, and renegotiated across actors and scales. The framework further incorporates community participation, digital governance, sustainable development, and resilience as complementary dimensions for addressing heterogeneous heritage conditions under global change. By reconceptualizing heritage as a dynamic socio-spatial process rather than a fixed protected object, this study advances heritage geography toward a process-based and multiscale understanding of how heritage values, spatial heterogeneity, and governance infrastructure interact, providing a coherent theoretical foundation for comparative research and adaptive heritage governance.
