A Geographic Analysis on Rural Reconstruction-Transformation-Revitalization: A Case Study of Jianghan Plain in China

Abstract

At the beginning of the 21st century, with the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization, production factors such as population, capital, and land between urban and rural areas in China have gradually shifted to non-agricultural fields, the structure and function of rural territorial systems have been reconstructed and transformed therewith. In response to the relatively declining villages, the Chinese government proposed rural revitalization strategy. Taking the human–land relationship as the theoretical basis and functional changes of rural region as the main line, the study analyzes the characteristics of rural reconstruction, interprets the rural transformation mechanism and deconstructs paths of rural revitalization by using the rural reconstruction index, the model of rural transformation measurement and rural spatial transformation effect. The case study shows that: (1) Rural reconstruction in Jianghan Plain is characterized by temporal continuity and spatial imbalance. The periodical changes presents from social-reconstruction-dominated, economic-reconstruction-dominated to spatial reconstruction -dominated. The distribution of high values varied from the U-type to O-type along the main transportation routes, while that of low values alternated between points (hinterlands of the Plain) and lines from spatial viewpoint. (2) The driving mechanism of rural transformation was the coupling effect of the exogenous drivers and endogenous responses. The standardized regression coefficient between the drivers and the changes to rural regional functions is 0.766. The endogenous response is mainly manifested as the negative effect of the rural spatial reconstruction on the territorial agriculture-oriented function. (3) The key path of rural revitalization facilitated the optimization of regional functions through reorganization of the rural elements in Jianghan Plain. It is the strategic choice of rural areas to implement regional function zoning and realize the balance of spatial function. The research results can provide inspiration for theoretical research on rural geography, and provide policy and method support for rural revitalization in case areas.

The Spatiotemporal Evolution Characteristics of Cultivated Land Multifunction and Its Trade-Off/Synergy Relationship in the Two Lake Plains

“…Based on the balance and coordination of multi-functional space in cultivated land, this paper reconstructs the zoning scheme primarily based on the difference in internal structural characteristics between different functions within the same area. The result of the zoning process is intended to maximize the dominant functional advantages of cultivated land in different regions and achieve the objective of “fostering strengths and avoiding weaknesses.” In light of the obvious regional differences in the multi-functionality of cultivated land, it is necessary to propose differentiated and diverse multi-function utilization and management policies in order to optimize the functional layout of cultivated land [ 86 ].…”

Empirical Analysis of Population Urbanization and Residents’ Life Satisfaction—Based on 2017 CGSS

“…There are few studies on the impact of population urbanization on human capital [74][75][76] and family capital [77,78] accumulation, but from the perspective of urbanization, it is found that the process of urbanization will affect various aspects of society [79][80][81]. In the process of population urbanization, the change in social population structure will improve the basic platform of the individual [10,62], and the individual human capital will be enhanced [75].…”

The Correlation Effects and Mechanisms of Rural Restructuring and Transformation: A Case Study of the Jianghan Plain in China

“…The integrated factor system summarizes the overall characteristics of the system reconstruction and provides accurate information for the identification of dominant factors. Therefore, based on the previous results of our research group [55], RRC, RX, RY, and RZ were used to denote the comprehensive, economic, social, and spatial restructuring indexes of a certain rural area, respectively, with their numerical magnitudes reflecting the degree of drastic structural changes in the rural regional system. The measurement index system is shown in Table 1.…”

“…Rural regional systems embody composite functional structures. Based on our previous research results [55], the functions of rural regional systems were simplified into production function (economic output), living function (population carrying), and ecological function (ecological service), while the cultural function was integrated into the nonagricultural industrial production function and cultural service ecological function, respectively. Accordingly, the measurement benchmarks were unified through functional value marketization, and the transformation modes were summarized through functional structure heterogeneity.…”