Defining Rural Types Nearby Large Cities from the Perspective of Urban–Rural Integration: A Case Study of Xi’an Metropolitan Area, China

Xiji Jiang, Jiaxin Sun, Tianzi Zhang, Qian Li, Yan Ma, Wen Qu, Dan Ye () and Zhendong Lei ()
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Xiji Jiang: College of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Jiaxin Sun: School of Future Technology, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Tianzi Zhang: College of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Qian Li: College of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Yan Ma: College of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Wen Qu: College of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Dan Ye: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Zhendong Lei: College of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-23

Abstract: Urban–rural integration (URI) is essential to achieving sustainable development. However, the rural areas surrounding large cities typically have a large scale and significant differences in development conditions. It is necessary to formulate rural development policies by category to better promote the integrated development between urban and rural areas, stimulate rural vitality, and create more significant opportunities for rural development. This study constructs an evaluation system for rural areas under URI, using the Xi’an metropolitan area as a case study. A clustering algorithm enhanced by the random forest (RF)–principal component analysis (PCA)–partitioning around medoids (PAM) method is applied to evaluate rural integration comprehensively. Key findings in this study include the following: (i) URI should be decoupled from administrative divisions, considering the complex impacts of multi-town functional spillover; (ii) ecological environment, economic development, public service allocation, and construction land supply are key factors influencing URI; (iii) the overall URI index in the Xi’an metropolitan area presents a “high in the center, low in the east and west” pattern. The rural areas with high URI index are around Xi’an and Xianyang, while other cities show insufficient communication with neighboring villages; (iv) rural areas can be categorized into four types of integration: ecological, ecological–economic, ecological–social–spatial, and ecological–economic–social–spatial, which exhibit an outward expansion of layers and extension along the east–west axis in the spatial structure of integration. Finally, differential development policies and suggestions for promoting urban–rural integration are put forward because of the different types of rural villages. This paper provides a framework for formulating rural development policies, significantly deepening urban–rural integration.

Keywords: urban–rural integration; rural classification; evaluation index system; differential development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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