Beyond a Dichotomous Variable: A New Framework and Integrated Model for Assessing Villagers’ Relocation Intentions in Coal Mining Subsidence Areas

Resource-dependent development worldwide imposes considerable environmental costs and challenges to regional sustainability, particularly through forming coal mining subsidence areas (CMSAs). Nonetheless, villagers’ relocation intentions within the CMSA remain underexplored. Additionally, previous research on individuals’ relocation intentions has predominantly conceptualized it as a dichotomous variable, overlooking its intrinsic elements. This work aims to explore constitutive elements of relocation intention by developing a universal conceptual framework from the perspective of individuals’ subjective preferences and establishing an integrated model for empirical evaluation. This model combines the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and obstacle degree model (ODM). Data were collected from the Pan’an Lake CMSA in Xuzhou, China. Results identified core elements of villagers’ relocation intentions, including indicators about houses/farmland destruction at origin and housing quality/services at destination. Notably, we discovered a paradox: aspects expected to deter relocation garner greater attention as intention strengthens. This study advances sustainable relocation governance by exploring internal constitutive elements of individual relocation intention rather than defining it as a dichotomous variable. Additionally, it enhances the evaluation efficiency by determining objective indicator weights from the exploratory factor analysis.