Where to Revitalize, and How? A Rural Typology Zoning for China

Yaojin Zhou, Yao Shen, Xuexi Yang, Zhifang Wang and Liyan Xu
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Yaojin Zhou: College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University, 5 Summer Palace Road, Haidian, Beijing 100871, China
Yao Shen: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Yangpu, Shanghai 200092, China
Xuexi Yang: Department of Geo-Informatics, School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, 932 Lushan South Road, Yuelu, Changsha 410083, China
Zhifang Wang: College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University, 5 Summer Palace Road, Haidian, Beijing 100871, China
Liyan Xu: College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University, 5 Summer Palace Road, Haidian, Beijing 100871, China

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-21

Abstract: Under China’s Rural Revitalization program, it is essential to accurately determine the prospects of revival or decay for the villages alongside specific goals and paths, which existing literature lacks a systematic coverage. Based on rural typology theories, this paper proposes an analytical framework to determine the type of village revitalization from the perspective of factor endowments. Utilizing five groups of 45 indicators characterizing the natural, socio-economic, and cultural endowments of villages, this paper applies the Self-Organizing Mapping neural network to cluster 2,388,579 natural villages in 48,322 townships across the nation into the four basic types of rural revitalization as directed by China’s Strategic Plan for Rural Revitalization (2018–2022): (1) Agglomerative Promotion, (2) Suburban Annexation, (3) Special Endowment-based Development, and (4) Out-migration and Relocation. The results of cluster analysis are spatially visualized to form a national rural revitalization zoning map at the township level, the first attempt to our knowledge. We conclude the paper with discussions on the revitalization paths of the various types of villages, particularly the seemingly gloomy prospect of 2/3 of the villages falling into the fourth category, and ways to interpret the deterministic nature of the conclusion. The paper expands the understanding of rural typology to a national scale with both innovative categorization processes and strong linkages to revitalization practices.

Keywords: rural revitalization; rural typology; factor endowments; territorial zoning; China; self-organization map (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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