Research on the Development Logic and Sustainable Transformation Path of Suburban Villages from the Perspective of Relational Turn: A Case Study of Panlongling Village

Ziyi Yan, Enpu Ma, Liuwen Liao () and Yanru Yang
Additional contact information
Ziyi Yan: Future School of Design, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518055, China
Enpu Ma: School of Geographical Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
Liuwen Liao: College of Economics and Management, Changsha University, Changsha 410022, China
Yanru Yang: School of Geographical Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-28

Abstract: Against the backdrop of urban–rural element flow and rural transformational development in China, suburban villages, as frontier zones connecting cities and rural areas, are pivotal in promoting urban–rural integration and fostering sustainable growth. This study takes Panlongling Village in China as a case study, utilizing theoretical methods from the perspective of the relational turn in geography to analyze the relational logic of rural socio-economic phenomena and address related conflicts. Based on data from multiple field surveys and interviews, this study identifies problems already discovered in Panlongling Village’s development, such as superficial economic enhancement, low villager participation, unidirectional benefit flow, and so on. This study proposes a hypothesis about the causes of these problems and validates this hypothesis through Actor–Network Theory, including unequal benefit distribution, insufficient technical support, inadequate governance and supervision, and a lack of self-improvement awareness among the actors. This study further offers targeted future development pathways for the village’s industrial transformation through actor–network reconstruction, taking into account the multidimensional relationships of stakeholders within the village, urban–rural relations, and socio-economic–natural interactions. It highlights the importance of a people-centric approach, shared benefits among actors, and cross-regional and cross-scale relational connections, offering insights for promoting sustainable development and the transformational development of suburban villages.

Keywords: relational turn; transformational development; urban–rural integration; suburban villages; Actor–Network Theory; Panlongling Village; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1104/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1104/ (text/html)

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:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1104-:d:1579822

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().