Analysis of the Expansion Characteristics of Rural Settlements Based on Scale Growth Function in Himalayan Region

Kairui Guo, Yong Huang and Dan Chen
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Kairui Guo: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
Yong Huang: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
Dan Chen: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Road infrastructure is reshaping the rural settlement landscape in the Himalayan area of China through the construction of the rural road and strategic highway network. However, most methods based on multiple factors described in spatial analysis of rural settlement are limited by poor spatial response mechanisms of key factors. This study provides insight into the temporal and spatial process involving 15 rural settlements of Zhada County, west of the Himalayas. The growth of rural settlement follows a “short-head S-shape” function and the general expansion rule. It indicates the mode of evolution and the characteristics of construction. The results show that 70% of rural settlements continue to report the inertia of growth, while the reconstruction of the original site leads to historical spatial displacement under spatio-temporal compression. In addition, rural settlements display a spatial organization of interface area, hinterland, and fringe area and reveal two spatial paradigms of near-road expansion and peripheral extrusion. Further, the hinterland space, which is the core of rural settlement, is compact and intensive; a quarter of the hinterland space encompasses 45% of the settlement scale. These conclusions provide guidance for delineating village boundaries and improving the human settlement environment in the Himalayan-alpine plateau.

Keywords: himalayan mountainous area; scale growth of rural settlements; evolution model; spatial differentiation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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