Analysis on the geographical pattern and driving force of traditional villages based on GIS and Geodetector: a case study of Guizhou, China

Abstract

Traditional villages have received widespread attention from all walks of life based on important carriers of Chinese rural culture. The mutual superposition of natural and cultural factors may exacerbate the evolution of traditional village geographical patterns. To understand such relationships and effects, factors and degrees influencing traditional villages need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data of 724 traditional villages in Guizhou recognised by relevant national ministries and commissions in China using average nearest neighbour analysis, Tyson polygon analysis, nuclear density analysis and Geodector. The geographic pattern feature revealed that traditional villages, in general, are highly clustered regionally and have significant edge effects on administrative units. Different substrate environments result in significant spatial heterogeneity in village spatial density, clustering, surface undulation, sun exposure, and waterfront. The geographic pattern of traditional villages is mostly affected by the closest distance to river valleys, the types and number of intangible cultural heritage resources in the county, river gorge density, edge effect index, degree of county ethnic language use, and proportion of paddy fields to the regional area; and their combined effects influence and control the community structure. The results highlight the impact of nature and culture on the distribution of traditional villages, which helps traditional village conservation and scientific exploration of human-land relationship issues in the mountainous areas of Southwest China.

Spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of traditional villages based on geodetector: Jiarong Tibetan in Western Sichuan, China

“… Humanistic factors are the key to the survival and development of Jiarong Tibetan traditional villages, in which the positive effect of the regional economic level is significant, followed by population and ICH, and transportation is relatively limited. Unlike the views held by most previous studies 14 , 15 , 45 , 48 , this paper finds that the controversies caused by economic development need to be discussed in context, and that a certain degree of economic growth is rather beneficial to the renewal of traditional villages 13 , 50 . …”

“…Second, the positive role of intangible cultural heritage inheritance for traditional villages conservation has become a consensus, and there is generally a high degree of spatial consistency 15 , 51 . This paper finds that ICH is the cultural soul of traditional villages, which can simultaneously have strong effects with climate, economy, and population, together contributing to the development of traditional villages of Jiarong Tibetan.…”

“…Most of the existing studies have a macro perspective, unfolding in cities or provinces. There are remarkable literature outputs in Hubei, Guangdong 40 – 42 , Jiangsu and Zhejiang 10 , 11 , which are rich in traditional villages, and some discussion is found in Jin et al 43 , 44 in the Central Plains and Yun et al 14 , 15 , 45 in the Southwest. In recent years, some scholars have embarked on cross-regional studies, targeting a particular landform type or watershed.…”

“…Meanwhile, with digital technologies such as ArcGIS and CIM becoming more and more mature, the exploration about the driving mechanism of spatial distribution is getting deeper. Based on ArcGIS, Geodetector, Multi-scale Geography Weighted Regression (MGWR) to carry out the study of spatial differentiation 15 , 53 , 54 , geographic pattern 44 , 51 , and spatio-temporal evolution 46 , 55 , 56 of traditional villages, which facilitates the identification with the core influences. These are currently effective means for quantitatively analyzing the distributional characteristics and formation of traditional villages.…”

“…With regard to research on the spatial distribution of villages, most of the current studies concentrate on the more economically developed eastern and southeastern coastal areas 10 , 11 . There are also some discussions on special geomorphological zones 12 , 13 , and southern multi-ethnic settlement areas 14 , 15 . However, China's Tibetan areas are located deep in the western border, sparsely populated, and inconveniently accessible.…”