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Spatial Patterns and Their Innovation in Urban Design: Theoretical Inquiry and Practice for New-Quality Development
Author:YANG Chao

Abstract: Spatial production is a critical component in the development of new-quality productive forces. As an internal mechanism of spatial production, the spatial pattern has considerable theoretical significance for fostering new-quality spatial productivity. By clarifying the concept of spatial patterns and systematizing their formative factors, this paper argues that the core of innovation in urban design lies in pattern innovation: the creative recombination of existing spatial elements. It then identifies the underlying logic of such innovation in the attributes of elements and the organization of relationships, and distills eight prototypical schemas: stripe, concentric ring, grid, patchwork, archipelago, linear form, boundary, and unit. This approach moves beyond the morphological understanding of conventional urban design and marks a methodological shift from shaping spatial form to configuring spatial patterns. Drawing on design practices and case studies, the paper further explains how these prototypes operate in application, with the aim of opening an alternative theoretical discourse for urban design.