Residents’ Perceptions of Vernacular Residential Built Environments, Place Attachment, and Built Heritage Conservation Intention in Dong Villages, China

The sustainable conservation of vernacular dwellings requires not only the preservation of historic architectural fabric but also an understanding of how residents perceive and use traditional residential built environments. This study examines how four perceived attributes of vernacular residential built environments (authenticity, distinctiveness, aesthetics, and functionality) are associated with residents’ place attachment and built heritage conservation behavioral intention. Survey data from 1000 adult residents across five Dong-village contexts in southwestern Huaihua, China, were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling with mediation, moderation, moderated-mediation, and supplementary multigroup analyses. All four built-environment perceptions were positively associated with place attachment, with distinctiveness showing the strongest relationship (β = 0.421), followed by functionality (β = 0.350). Place attachment was positively associated with conservation behavioral intention (β = 0.432), and significantly mediated all four perception–intention relationships through complementary mediation. However, tourism involvement did not significantly moderate the functionality–attachment or aesthetics–attachment relationships, and the corresponding moderated-mediation effects were nonsignificant. Exploratory Southern–Northern comparisons suggested directional contextual differences but lacked sufficient measurement invariance for confirmatory interpretation. The findings indicate that the long-term conservation of vernacular built heritage depends on balancing the preservation of culturally distinctive architectural character with the continued residential usability of traditional dwellings and settlement environments.