IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v154y2025ics026483772500095x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decoding the formation mechanisms of rural settlements expansion patterns in transitional China

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Wanxu
  • Duan, Binqiao
  • Bian, JiaoJiao
  • Zeng, Jie

Abstract

In recent decades, the rural settlements (RSs) in China have experienced a remarkable process of differentiation and restructuring during the stages of urban expansion, urban transformation, and coordinated urban-rural development. As an important part of urban-rural integrated development, the quantitative transformation and landscape dynamics of RSs are crucial for optimizing RSs and implementing the national rural revitalization strategy. However, there is still a lack of research on the characteristics and evolutionary mechanisms of landscape patterns of RSs in China. To fill the gap, this study employed land use datasets from 1980 to 2020 to investigate the formation mechanisms of the landscape pattern for RSs in China, utilizing multiple statistical analysis models. The findings revealed a gradual increase in RSs, predominantly resulting from the conversion of cultivated land. During the study period, the overall landscape pattern indices for RSs exhibited an overall increasing trend. The regions exhibiting the high values of patch density and percentage of landscape were predominantly situated within the Huang-Huai-Hai plain. The regions exhibiting the high values of the landscape shape index were primarily concentrated in the Huang-Huai-Hai plain and the Northeast China plain. The counties exhibiting a low agglomeration index were predominantly situated in the middle-lower Yangtze plain. Hotspot analysis revealed that RSs in Huang-Huai-Hai plain exhibited a more pronounced trend of fragmentation during the study period. The Geodetector model revealed that nighttime lighting, land use intensity, slope, elevation, population density, and precipitation were the determining factors in the formation of RSs. Geographically weighted regression model demonstrated significant spatial heterogeneity in the effects of these factors. This study contributed to the formulation of settlement development strategies, the optimization of RSs layouts, and the promotion of rural revitalization.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Wanxu & Duan, Binqiao & Bian, JiaoJiao & Zeng, Jie, 2025. "Decoding the formation mechanisms of rural settlements expansion patterns in transitional China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:154:y:2025:i:c:s026483772500095x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107561
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026483772500095X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107561?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhou, Yang & Zhong, Zhen & Cheng, Guoqiang, 2023. "Cultivated land loss and construction land expansion in China: Evidence from national land surveys in 1996, 2009 and 2019," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    2. Xiaowei Yao & Di Wu, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Changes and Influencing Factors of Rural Settlements in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Region, 1990–2020," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-23, September.
    3. Shan, Zhengying & Feng, Changchun, 2018. "The Redundancy of Residential Land in Rural China: The evolution process, current status and policy implications," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 179-186.
    4. Angelo Castrorao Barba & Carla Aleo Nero & Giuseppina Battaglia & Luca Zambito & Ludovica Virga & Alessandra Messina & Marco Cangemi & Giuseppe Bazan, 2024. "Continuity, Resilience, and Change in Rural Settlement Patterns from the Roman to Islamic Period in the Sicani Mountains (Central-Western Sicily)," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-36, March.
    5. Liu, Shuchang & Xiao, Wu & Ye, Yanmei & He, Tingting & Luo, Heng, 2023. "Rural residential land expansion and its impacts on cultivated land in China between 1990 and 2020," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    6. Shi, Linna & Wang, Yongsheng, 2021. "Evolution characteristics and driving factors of negative decoupled rural residential land and resident population in the Yellow River Basin," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    7. Shuangqing Sheng & Hua Lian, 2023. "The Spatial Pattern Evolution of Rural Settlements and Multi-Scenario Simulations since the Initiation of the Reform and Opening up Policy in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-26, September.
    8. Zhao, Qinglei & Jiang, Guanghui & Yang, Yuting & Tian, Yingying & Fan, Lihui & Zhou, Tao & Tian, Yaya, 2022. "Multifunction change of rural housing land in metropolitan suburbs from the perspective of farmer households’ land-use behavior," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fangqin Yang & Jianwei Sun & Junchang Yang & Xiaojin Liang, 2023. "Expanded Residential Lands and Reduced Populations in China, 2000–2020: Patch-Scale Observations of Rural Settlements," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Hong, Huikun & Cai, Zhicong & Liao, Heping & Liu, Ting, 2024. "Rural housing-jobs synergy at the county level in mountainous and hilly areas of China: Spatio-temporal pattern and driving mechanism," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    3. Yichi Zhang & Kai Xue & Huimin Cao & Yingen Hu, 2023. "The Non-Linear Relationship between the Number of Permanent Residents and the Willingness of Rural Residential Land Transfer: The Threshold Effect of per Capita Net Income," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-23, August.
    4. Zhou, Yang & Li, Peixuan & Zhang, Qi & Cheng, Guoqiang, 2025. "Socio-economic impacts, challenges, and strategies for whole-region comprehensive land consolidation in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    5. Chen, Xin & Yu, Le & Du, Zhenrong & Liu, Zhu & Qi, Yuan & Liu, Tao & Gong, Peng, 2022. "Toward sustainable land use in China: A perspective on China’s national land surveys," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    6. Liu, Shichun & Ma, Libang & Yao, Yao & Cui, Xijuan, 2022. "Man-land relationship based on the spatial coupling of population and residential land – A case study of Yuzhong County in Longzhong Loess Hilly Region, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    7. Ying Chen & Xiaolu Ni & Yajia Liang, 2022. "The Influence of External Environment Factors on Farmers’ Willingness to Withdraw from Rural Homesteads: Evidence from Wuhan and Suizhou City in Central China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-13, September.
    8. Jiamin Ren & Chenrouyu Zheng & Fuyou Guo & Hongbo Zhao & Shuang Ma & Yu Cheng, 2022. "Spatial Differentiation of Digital Rural Development and Influencing Factors in the Yellow River Basin, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Heying Li & Jianchen Zhang & Yamin Shan & Guangxia Wang & Qin Tian & Jiayao Wang & Huiling Ma, 2024. "Study on Spatial Distribution Dispersion Evaluation and Driving Forces of Rural Settlements in the Yellow River Basin," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-21, July.
    10. Jia Gao & Ge Song & Shuhan Liu, 2022. "Factors influencing farmers’ willingness and behavior choices to withdraw from rural homesteads in China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 112-131, March.
    11. Jiatong Han & Minghong Tan, 2025. "Dramatic Decoupling Between Population and Construction Land in Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-13, March.
    12. Lulin Shen & Fang Wang, 2024. "Can Market-Oriented Allocation of Land Factors Promote the Adoption of Cropland Quality Protection Behaviors by Farmers: Evidence from Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, May.
    13. Jia-He Zhou & Chao-Yue Yu & Zheng-Feng Zhang & Lei He & Hong-Li Lin, 2025. "Evaluating and prioritizing interdependent strategies for construction land reduction in China with interdependent sustainability criteria: an integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, December.
    14. Xiaohua Cheng & Difei Xu & Hui Sun & Meiyi Zheng & Jintao Li, 2022. "Rural Spatial Differentiation and Revitalization Approaches in China: A Case Study of Qingdao City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-16, December.
    15. Zhang, Qi & Jin, Cai & Cao, Jing & Hu, Jing & Dai, Chun & Bilsborrow, Richard E. & Li, Tan & Song, Conghe, 2025. "Understanding the role of land attachment in the emergence of hollow villages based on the agent-based complex system framework," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    16. Wang, Rongyu & Tan, Rong, 2020. "Patterns of revenue distribution in rural residential land consolidation in contemporary China: The perspective of property rights delineation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    17. Bin Yang & Ying Wang & Yan Li & Lizi Mo, 2023. "Empirical Investigation of Cultivated Land Green Use Efficiency and Influencing Factors in China, 2000–2020," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, August.
    18. Liu, Runqiu & Jiang, Jian & Yu, Chao & Rodenbiker, Jesse & Jiang, Yongmu, 2021. "The endowment effect accompanying villagers' withdrawal from rural homesteads: Field evidence from Chengdu, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    19. Yuan Yi & Kaifeng Duan & Fang He & Yuxuan Si, 2024. "The Effects and Mechanisms of the Rural Homestead System on the Imbalance of Rural Human–Land Relationships: Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    20. Peizhen Wang & Ligang Lyu & Jiangang Xu, 2021. "Factors Influencing Rural Households’ Decision-Making Behavior on Residential Relocation: Willingness and Destination," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:154:y:2025:i:c:s026483772500095x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.