Cultural narratives and spatial configuration in Mosuo traditional villages: integrating grounded theory and space syntax analysis

Introduction Traditional villages are culturally embedded spatial systems in which social narratives shape configurational logic. Focusing on Mosuo traditional villages in Southwest China, this study examines whether their configurational logic can maintain functional continuity under the pressures of modernization and tourism. Methods An integrated framework combining Grounded Theory and Space Syntax was developed to formalize the relationship between cultural narratives and spatial configuration. Using multi-temporal spatial data from 2004 to 2023, five spatial ontological narratives were identified and examined through global integration (R n ), local integration (R 3 ), and intelligibility (R 2 ). Results The results indicate persistent configurational resilience: despite morphological expansion, cultural cores remained aligned with spatial cores. Low intelligibility was found to reflect a culturally embedded strategy of controlled spatial ambiguity rather than a planning deficiency. Discussion These findings show that Mosuo village morphology continues to encode and mediate cultural narratives amid social change. The study supports a shift from form-centric preservation to narrative-driven governance, with implications for heritage conservation and sustainable tourism.