From reviews to perceptions: quantifying cultural ecosystem services in historic districts via social media analysis

Historic districts, as essential carriers of urban history and cultural identity, not only preserve the material memory of urban development but also reflect residents’ sense of place and emotional belonging. However, the rise of heritage tourism has posed significant challenges to their cultural ecosystems, leading to increasing cultural homogenization and the gradual erosion of originality and integrity. While existing studies primarily focus on spatial morphology or tourism practices, comprehensive and systematic research on Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) in historic districts remains insufficient. This study investigates five representative historic districts in Changsha, China. Using the BERTopic model, we construct a CES classification system and further integrate sentiment analysis, spatial clustering, and Asymmetric Impact–Performance Analysis (AIPA) to examine the spatial distribution of CES types and their influence on visitor satisfaction. The results reveal three CES categories: cultural heritage, recreational tourism, and aesthetic enjoyment. Among them, cultural heritage acts as a basic factor that should be prioritized, recreational tourism is a linear factor, and aesthetic enjoyment serves as an excitement factor. This study proposes a multidimensional analytical framework that offers practical guidance for the identification, evaluation, and refined management of CES in historic districts.