Land consolidation： An indispensable way of spatial restructuring in rural China

The implementation of new type industrialization and urbanization and agricultural modernization strategies lacks of a major hand grip and spatial supporting platform, due to long-term existed ＂dual-track＂ structure of rural-urban development in China as well as un- stable rural development institution and mechanism. It is necessary to restructure rural pro- duction, living and ecological space by carrying out land consolidation, so as to establish a new platform for building new countryside and realizing urban-rural integration development in China. This paper develops the concept and connotation of rural spatial restructuring. Basing on the effects analysis of industrialization and urbanization on rural production, living and ecological space, the mechanism of pushing forward rural spatial restructuring by carry- ing out land consolidation is probed. A conceptualization of the models of rural production, living and ecological spatial restructuring is analyzed combining with agricultural land con- solidation, hollowed villages consolidation and industrial and mining land consolidation. Fi- nally, the author argues that a ＂bottom-up＂ restructuring strategy accompanied by a few ＂top-down＂ elements is helpful for smoothly pushing forward rural spatial restructuring in China. In addition, the optimization and restructuring of rural production, living and ecological space will rely on the innovations of regional engineering technology, policy and mechanism, and mode of rural land consolidation, and more attentions should be paid to rural space, the foundation base and platform for realizing urban-rural integration development.

Rural restructuring in China： Theory, approaches and research prospect

Rural restructuring is a process of reshaping socio-economic morphology and spatial pattern in rural territory in response to the changes of elements both in kernel system and external system of rural development, by optimally allocating and efficiently managing the material and non-material elements in the two systems. It aims at ultimately optimizing the structure and promoting the function within rural territorial system as well as realizing the coordination of structure and complementation of function between urban and rural territorial system. This paper establishes a theoretical framework of rural restructuring through elabo- rating the concept and connotations as well as analyzing the mechanism pushing forward rural restructuring based on the evolution of ＂elements-structure-function＂, and probes the approaches from the three aspects of spatial restructuring, economic restructuring and social restructuring. Besides, the authors argue that the study of rural restructuring in China in the future needs to focus on the aspects of long-term and multi-scale process and pattern, mechanism, regional models, rural planning technology system and standard, policy and institutional innovations concerning rural restructuring as well as the impacts of globalization on rural restructuring, in order to serve the current national strategic demands and cope with the changes of rural development elements in the process of urban-rural development transformation.

Spatio-temporal characteristics of rural settlements and land use in the Bohai Rim of China

Based on multiple remote-sensing image interpretation and classification, and economic and social data, this study focused on rural settlement and land use change amidst rapid urbanization. Rural settlements, spatial and temporal patterns of land use and influ- encing factors in the Bohai Rim were explored within 5x5 km grid cells, as per GIS spatial analysis and geostatistical analysis. Results show that the spatial distribution of rural settle- ments in the Bohai Rim is remarkably varied. The number of rural settlement sites in a 5x5 km grid cell exceeding 5.0 are distributed in a six-area pattern in the Bohai Rim; rural settlement dispersion is particularly high in agricultural regions in south Hebei and southwest Shandong, suggesting rural settlement density keeps increasing from northeast to southwest, charac- terized by high density and dispersed spatial distribution in traditional agricultural regions. Furthermore, rural settlements show dramatic spatial differences in terms of distribution and dynamic change degrees in the Bohai Rim. In terms of spatial distribution, rural residential land is always extensive in plains, with a high density of rural settlements, on the North China Plain in particular, and rural residential land in the south of Shandong province is also exten- sive, with most rural settlement land use areas in the 5x5 km grid cells exceeding 3 km2. However, traditional agricultural regions have underdeveloped economies, industrialization and tertiary industries, characterized by low urbanization rates, with farmers not feeling as- similated in rural or urban areas. In terms of the temporal sequence, urban expansion rapidly promotes the transformation of rural residential lands in rural-urban transitional belts of pro- vincial capital or prefecture-level city into urban lands, and in traditional rural areas, residen- tial lands are growing. The natural environment, transportation conditions, economic devel- opment and farmers＇ incomes all have effects on type of land use change and pattern of rural settlements. It is a core objective for future rural development to reconstruct a rational spatial pattern of villages or towns and well-organized village-town systems, build central villages, key towns or central towns, optimize or reconstruct production, living and eco-space of rural areas. It is of significance for rural geographical research to further interpret and explore spatial reconstruction theory.

Rural vulnerability in China:Evaluation theory and spatial patterns

An indicator system is constructed and applied for comprehensive measurement of rural vulnerability in China’s counties.Through the selection of five representative transects we explore regional differences in,and driving forces of,China’s rural vulnerability.The results show that(1)The rural vulnerability of counties in China is generally within the threshold range of low to medium,and exhibits obvious spatial differences.Along the"Bole-Taipei Line",there is a spatial pattern of north-south differentiation.Villages in the northeast part of the counties have low vulnerability,while those in the southwest are relatively vulnerable(2)External environmental phenomena are the leading factors that induce rural vulnerability.Specifically,the rural ecological subsystem composed of ecological exposure,ecological sensitivity,and ecological adaptation is the principal determinant of rural vulnerability.The rural economic subsystem composed of economic exposure,economic sensitivity,and economic adaptation is also a core determinant of rural vulnerability.The social subsystem composed of social exposure,social sensitivity,and social adaptation is also an important determinant of rural vulnerability.(3)According to the principle of adapting measures to local conditions,different regions should seek to reduce regional embeddedness and path dependence.We should strengthen the prediction and monitoring of sources of disturbance in rural areas,and scientifically control the sensitivity of the system itself.Then the adaptive capacity of the rural system can be improved pursuant of promoting sustainable development.

Disciplinary structure and development strategy of human geography in China

Human geography is a discipline that studies the formation and evolution of the geographical distribution pattern of human activities.The main research objects of human geography focus on human activities and human-environment relationship.The scientific questions to be answered by human geography cover both natural science and social science,and thus it has distinctive interdisciplinary features.In China,human activities’economic and social processes play an essential role in explaining the law in human geography discipline as human society development is approaching or has entered the post-industrialization stage.The logic and methods of social science have become important tools through which human geography’s changes in processes and patterns of human geography can be reasonably discussed and adequately understood.The research methodology of human geography shows integration characteristics between natural sciences and social sciences.The outcomes of human geography research reveal scientific laws in geographical distribution patterns and the evolution of human activities.It becomes one of the primary disciplines for both the national and local governments to manage and optimize spatial development and protection patterns.It has wide applications in spatial planning,regional strategy and policy-making,and the modernization of spatial governance.The unique feature in integrating academic research and policy-making applications provides human geography discipline in China a superiority of leading the world in the discipline.Besides integrated human geography,human geography in China has five subdisciplines:economic geography,urban geography,rural geography,socio-cultural geography and political geography.Each subdiscipline has priority and critical research fields and coordinates with the rest of the subdisciplines.

Progress in the micro-perspective studies of economic geography in China since 1980s

Micro-perspective studies on economic geography in China can be classified into geography of the enterprise, geography of the rural household, and small-scale studies on economic activities. Literature on geography of the enterprise includes spatial expansion of the enterprise, industrial location, firm's networks, industrial relocation, industrial clusters, and the relationship between industrial organizations and the environment. Studies on geography of the rural household(GRH) include the theoretical framework of GRH, the locations of rural economic activities, and the interrelation between rural households and geographical environment. Small-scale studies focus on human-land interaction from a land plot perspective, relations between specialized villages and the environment, and regional sustainable development research at site-specific scale. Micro-perspective studies on economic geography attempt to search for the basic unit of economic-geographical landscape, exploring the geographical process and the formation mechanism of geographical phenomena. The exploration of these three perspectives anticipates new approaches to economic-geographical studies with China's special background.