A new approach towards the sustainability of urban-rural integration:The development strategy for central villages in the Abbasiya District of Iraq using GIS techniques

The development of rural areas usually has a positive impact on the urban-rural integration. This study explores an innovative approach to stimulate rural development by proposing qualified villages as central villages that can provide basic urban services for their residents and residents of neighboring villages. This approach can contribute to overcoming the various problems that rural areas faced at the social, economic, and environmental levels. It seeks to achieve spatial sustainability of rural areas, representing a new approach by integrating urban development methods to revitalize rural villages. The study analyzed 15 villages belonging to Abbasiya District of AL Kufa City in the Najaf Governorate of Iraq. Based on the GIS techniques and the analysis of urban service indicators(village population, percentage of urban building materials used in villages, distance between village and health centers, distance between village and main roads, nature of economic activity, distance between village and educational institutions, distance between village and drinking water sources, number of communication towers, and distance between village and urban administrative center), this study proposed that Abu Gharb and Albu Ghraib can served as central villages in Abbasiya District in the future. This study establishes a new rural spatial structure to achieve rural sustainable development, improves the development status of rural areas, and provides a theoretical basis for the government and relevant institutions to use urban service indicators, achieving rural sustainable development and formulating relevant development policies in Abbasiya District.

Rural sustainable development:A case study of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China

Sustainable development is the central theme of modern global development.With the arrival of the urban era,the vulnerability and instability of rural areas have significantly increased,and rural sustainable development faces serious challenges.To address these issues,the study took the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China under the National Sustainable Development Agenda as a case,combined with economic,social and land use data during 2016-2020,and applied Granger causality test method to explore the theoretical and practical pathways of“innovation-driven rural sustainable development”.The results showed that rural sustainable development and economic sustainability displayed a trend of synergistic change,with“explosive”growth from 2018 to 2020.The social sustainability steadily increased from 2016 to 2020.Ecological and spatial sustainability continuously declined during the study period.Moreover,the rural innovation capacity of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone displayed rapid growth during 2016-2020.Although the rural innovation capacity of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone has rapidly improved,it has a weak driving effect on rural sustainable development and economic sustainability.There are two primary challenges that must be overcome to ensure the rural sustainable development of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone.The first challenge is the imbalance among the multi-dimensional relationships in the process of rural sustainable development,and the second challenge is the weakening of rural innovation capacity to drive rural sustainable development.To overcome these challenges,this study proposed a systematic pathway for rural sustainable development in the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone from multidimensions,such as policy actions,technologies,projects,and institutional guarantees,and formed a universal and representative“Zaozhuang model”.This study expands the theoretical foundation of rural sustainable development and provides theoretical and practical support for innovation-driven rural sustainable development.

Evaluating rural sustainable land use from a system perspective based on the ecosystem service value

Rural sustainable land use(RSLU) is important to China’s implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of rural revitalization strategy in China. Research on RSLU is key to understanding the impact of human activities on rural sustainability. This paper explored the evaluation method of RSLU from a system perspective based on the ecosystem service value(ESV). Three systems were proposed for consideration when conducting this evaluation method. One was the sustainability of the land system, the other was the sustainability of the ecoeconomic system, and the rest was the sustainability of the land-eco-economy system. Indicators including(1) land use intensity and land system stability,(2) gross domestic production(GDP), ESV, and the eco-economic harmony degree(EEHD), and(3) coupling degree and coupling coordination degree were used to analyze the sustainability of the land, eco-economic, and landeco-economic systems, respectively. An empirical research on Yanhe ecovillage was conducted and the study period extended from 2008 to 2020. The results showed that forest land had always accounted for more than 81.20% of the total area in Yanhe eco-village from 2008 to 2020, which greatly influenced land system stability and restricted economic development. This feature contrasted with RSLU. The total ESV of Yanhe eco-village declined by 1.60×106CNY during 2008–2020 because of land use changes. The EEHD was –0.01, which presented that there was a very slight unharmonious between ecology and economy. The coupling degree and coupling coordination degree showed that the development between the land and ecoeconomic systems exhibited a coupling coordination relationship. The results indicated that ecology and economy in Yanhe eco-village will change significantly in response to land use changes in rural areas, which further revealed the dynamic linkage between human beings and nature. Moreover, opposite variation tendencies in land system stability and ESV revealed that the contradiction between the high stability of the land system and well development of the eco-economic system. The results of this study implied that it is necessary and useful to integrate ESV into land management to achieve RSLU.

Spatial pattern of urban-rural integration in China and the impact of geography

Urban-rural integration (URI) is a global challenge that is highly related to inequalities, poverty, economic growth, and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has evaluated the extent of URI and explored its influencing factors, but urban-rural linkages are seldom incorporated in evaluation systems, and geographical factors are rarely recognized as the influencing factors. We construct a URI framework including regional economy, rural development, urban-rural linkage, and urban-rural gap. Based on a dataset consisting of 1,669 counties in China in 2020, we reveal the spatial pattern of URI and find a high correlation between the spatial pattern of URI and the relief degree of land surface (RDLS). Using structural equation modeling, we discover that topography has direct ( − 0.18, p < 0.001) and indirect ( − 0.17, p < 0.001) effects on URI. The indirect negative effects are mediated through the infrastructure, and the combination of localized advantages and modern technical conditions could mitigate the negative impact of topography. Finally, we identify 742 counties as lagging regions in URI, which can be clustered into eight types. Our findings could facilitate policy designing for those countries striving for integrated and sustainable development of urban and rural areas.

Shape Analysis of Agricultural Parcels for Land Consolidation Priorities in Tekirdag Province,Turkey

Shape irregularity,a sub-factor of parcel fragmentation is a problem that hinders sustainable agriculture and is solved using land consolidation projects.Determination of the parcel shape degree contributes significantly to spatial prioritization where there is also a high probability of achieving positive effects of consolidation projects.This study aims to determine the shape degree of the agricultural parcels both at singular and rural county scales in Tekirdag Province,Turkey in 2020 by combining the parcel shape index(PSI) with the minimum bounding geometry index(MBG) to improve parcel scores.Hot-spot zones of the highly irregular and near optimum parcels were also determined using Getis-Ord G_(i)^(*) statistic.The parcel degrees were classified into four categories,namely highly irregular,irregular,regular and near optimum.The obtained unweighted scores of the parameters exhibit deviations from the expected values.After weighting by pairwise comparison,the values approached ideal scores.Among 346 740 parcels,53% were highly irregular and irregular and 47% were regular and near optimum shapes after weighting whereas these were 70% and 30%,respectively before weighting.The average parcel degree of 63 rural counties was regular while the average parcel degree of the remaining 264 rural counties was irregular.The combined use of PSI and MBG index improved the correctness of the parcel shape score.It could be suggested to use as a tool in land consolidation prioritization.

Path of Rural Sustainable Development Based on the Evolution and Interaction of Rural Functions:A Case Study of Chongqing Municipality,China

In order to investigate the evolutionary characteristics of rural functions and their interaction,37 districts and counties in Chongqing,China are used as research objects to measure the level of rural functions and analyze the interaction between rural functions using entropy value method and spatial autocorrelation method.The results show that from 2009 to 2019,the three main functions of production,living and ecology in Chongqing’s villages have been greatly enhanced,especially the production function.On the whole,the production and living functions are stronger in the western part,while the ecological functions are significant in the eastern and southern parts of Chongqing,with some differences in local spatial characteristics.This finding is consistent with the regional economic and social development of Chongqing.In addition,the interaction between rural functions is also evident.In general,production and living functions are mainly expressed in synergistic relationships.Ecological and production functions,including ecological and subsistence functions,mainly present a trade-off relationship.The interactions between rural functions also show clear spatial and temporal differences.In addition,different regions have different comparative advantage functions,and in this study,the counties of Chongqing are classified into four types.Policy makers are advised to adopt different measures according to the different types to promote sustainable rural development by coordinating the’production-living-ecological’functions of rural areas.This study reveals the spatio-temporal evolution of rural functions and the interaction between rural functions,which can provide theoretical support and practical reference for rural revitalisation and sustainable development.

Relationship between multifunctionality and rural sustainable development: Insights from 129 counties of the Sichuan Province, China

Rural areas are multifunctional and often have production,living,and ecological functions.The high-quality and balanced development of these three functions is key to sustainable rural development(SRD).Thus,the evaluation of SRD based on rural multifunctionality is of immense significance.This study clarifies the rela‐tionship between multifunctionality and sustainable rural development.An evaluation index system with six sub-components was established for calculating the SRD.In addition,we included 129 counties from the Sich‐uan Province in our case study,and used this index system to analyze the characteristics of rural multifunc‐tionality for evaluating the SRD.The results showed indisputable evidence of multifunctional development.At the county level,rural multifunctionality faces the challenge of insufficient and uneven development,particu‐larly in production functions.Significant spatial differences existed in rural multifunctional development,and the suburban counties generally performed better.Moreover,a mutually reinforcing relationship between pro‐duction,living,and ecological functions was established;however,there was still a significant gap in realizing SRD.Our results emphasize the necessity of a differentiated SRD strategy that should be formulated and imple‐mented based on rural multifunctionality differentiation rules.Our study offers useful guidance for realizing rural multifunctional and sustainable development.

Considerations on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Dryland Areas

Drylands of the world cover 41% of the Earth's land surface and are a direct source of livelihood for 6.5 billion people, especially in developing countries. However, nearly all drylands are at risk of land degradation as a result of human activities. Poverty and desertification in dryland areas are major problems threatening sustainable agriculture and rural development in dryland areas.Several topics that are significant for sustainable agriculture and rural development for food security and environmental rehabilitation in dryland areas were stressed in this paper.

中国县域乡村脆弱性空间特征、形成机制及应对策略

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.