The structural and functional evolution of rural homesteads in mountainous areas: A case study of Sujiaying village in Yunnan province, China

Kangchuan Su, Baoqing Hu, Kaifang Shi, Zhongxun Zhang and Qingyuan Yang

Land Use Policy, 2019, vol. 88, issue C

Abstract: Clarifying the structural and functional evolution and driving mechanism of rural homesteads at different stages is crucial for understanding the interaction and coupling of the human-land relationship in mountainous areas. Based on the typical case area household survey and Google Earth high-definition remote sensing image data, this study adopts participatory rural appraisal (PRA), a participatory rural mapping method and a driving mechanism framework for the structural and functional evolution of rural homesteads. The study reveals the evolutionary characteristics of the structure and function of rural homesteads in different stages of mountainous areas and identifies the characteristics and driving mechanism of the evolution. The results demonstrated the following. (1) Due to the influence of social and economic development and the production and living needs of farmers in different periods, the structure and function of homesteads vary obviously in different stages. (2) The structural and functional evolution of rural homesteads in mountainous areas shows a typical pattern of "single-complex-differentiation-diversification". (3) The study of a typical village shows that the evolution and upgrading of the structure and function of homesteads are influenced by factors such as expanding production, improved living conditions and the promotion of regional economic development, as well as the optimization and upgrading of building materials and mutual comparison between neighbors. (4) The structural and functional evolution of rural homesteads in mountainous areas is closely related to economic and social transition and the change of farmers' livelihood strategies. (5) In terms of policy implications, in the process of implementing the Rural Revitalization strategy, the government should follow the basic rules of the structural and functional changes of the homestead, prudently carry out the rectification of rural homesteads, and be alert to the similarities between rural and urban communities, which are not conducive to the agricultural production of farmers.

Keywords: Mountainous areas; Rural homesteads; Structural and functional evolution; Driving forces (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719300870
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:88:y:2019:i:c:s0264837719300870

DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104100

Access Statistics for this article

Land Use Policy is currently edited by Jaap Zevenbergen

More articles in Land Use Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Joice Jiang ().