Land Functions, Rural Space Governance, and Farmers’ Environmental Perceptions: A Case Study from the Huanjiang Karst Mountain Area, China

Jiangjun Wan, Yi Su, Huanglin Zan, Yutong Zhao, Lingqing Zhang, Shaoyao Zhang, Xiangyu Dong and Wei Deng
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Jiangjun Wan: School of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Sichuan Agricultural University, Du Jiangyan, Chengdu 611830, China
Yi Su: Rural Development Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Social Science, Chengdu 610041, China
Huanglin Zan: School of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Sichuan Agricultural University, Du Jiangyan, Chengdu 611830, China
Yutong Zhao: School of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Sichuan Agricultural University, Du Jiangyan, Chengdu 611830, China
Lingqing Zhang: School of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Sichuan Agricultural University, Du Jiangyan, Chengdu 611830, China
Shaoyao Zhang: College of Geography and Resources Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China
Xiangyu Dong: School of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Sichuan Agricultural University, Du Jiangyan, Chengdu 611830, China
Wei Deng: College of Geography and Resources Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: Residents of rural areas live and depend on the land; hence, rural land plays a central role in the human–land relationship. The environment has the greatest direct impact on farmers’ lives and productivity. In recent years, the Chinese government carried out vigorous rural construction under a socialist framework and implemented a rural revitalization strategy. This study was performed in a rural area of Huanjiang County, Guangxi Province, China. We designed a survey to measure rural households’ perceptions of three types of rural spaces: ecological, living, and production spaces. The survey was administered to 379 farmers, and their perceptions and satisfaction with Ecological–Living–Productive spaces were evaluated with the use of structural equation modeling. Analysis of latent and observed variables indicates that: (1) Farmers’ overall satisfaction with Ecological–Living–Productive spaces was moderate. The average satisfaction score for production spaces was lowest (2.881) while that for living spaces was highest (3.468) and that for ecological spaces was in between (3.351). (2) The three most important exogenous observed variables associated with living space satisfaction were house comfort > domestic water supply > domestic sewage treatment. The three most important exogenous observed variables associated with production space satisfaction were irrigation water > cultivated land quantity > cultivated land fertility. The three most important exogenous observed variables associated with ecological space satisfaction were garbage disposal > vegetation cover > flood and waterlogging. Based on the requirements of the rural revitalization strategy and the results of our analyses of rural households’ spatial perceptions, we propose corresponding countermeasures and suggestions.

Keywords: environmental perceptions; land function; rural space; karst mountain area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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