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The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 12595

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shuyi Xie

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Guest Editor

School of Architecture, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China
Interests: urban regeneration; rural studies; urban shrinkage; urban morphology; urban conservation

Dr. Li Zhang

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Guest Editor

Urban Planning Department, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: urbanization; rural studies

Prof. Dr. Miaoxi Zhao

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Guest Editor

Urban Planning Department, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Interests: urban and rural planning

Dr. Lie You

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Guest Editor

School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: regional and urban-rural development; rural shrinkage; urban economics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Villages and small towns are vital elements of settlement systems around the world. Since the second half of the 20^th century, many villages and small towns worldwide have confronted an increasingly severe phenomenon of population contraction. Most of these villages and towns suffer from declining industries, dwindling job opportunities, and ever-decreasing physical, social, and cultural attractiveness. Nevertheless, there is a broad consensus among policymakers, scholars, and planners that existing policies, strategies, and planning are ill-prepared for managing villages and small towns under the situation of population contraction. Hence, how to lead the sustainable development of depopulating villages and small towns becomes an urgent problem to break through.

Population contraction is most often regarded as a crucial indicator of urban shrinkage. As a multifaceted, multidimensional, multi-scalar, and multitemporal phenomenon, urban shrinkage encompasses worldwide regions, cities, parts of cities, metropolitan areas, small towns, and villages. Rich evidence suggests shrinking regions, cities, areas, small towns, and villages have more difficulty in achieving sustainability. The research on the depopulation of villages and small towns is an indispensable part of urban shrinkage study in a general sense. Yet, under the situation of population contraction, villages, small towns, cities, etc., demonstrate distinct features.

We are pleased to invite the submission of papers to this Special Issue “Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction”. In doing so, we aim at deepening our understanding of the development trend of worldwide villages and small towns, enriching the research perspectives, methodologies and object types of issues associated with the sustainable development of villages and small towns, urban shrinkage, urbanization, etc., and providing references for possible intervention strategies and measures. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

The macro and micro features presented by villages and small towns in the context of population contraction;
The causes and consequences of population contraction occurring in villages and small towns;
The dynamic influences of population loss on sustainable development;
Policies, strategies, and planning to address population contraction and lead to sustainable development;
The distinct features demonstrated by villages, small towns and cities under the situation of population contraction;
The cross-country comparative study of depopulating villages and small towns.

Dr. Shuyi Xie
Dr. Li Zhang
Prof. Dr. Miaoxi Zhao
Dr. Lie You
Guest Editors

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Keywords

villages and small towns
population contraction
sustainable development
planning strategies
urban shrinkage
urbanization
land use
smart shrinkage

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3779 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Urban Revitalization in Small Cities across the Atlantic Ocean

by Carlos J. L. Balsas

Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 639; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020639 - 11 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1044

Abstract

City centers and riverfronts across the Atlantic Ocean have undergone substantial transformation over the last two decades. This paper analyzes walk-only precincts and waterfront revitalization in two pairwise cases (PCs) of small city exemplars on two continents in locations at about the same latitude but separated by the Atlantic Ocean. The argument is twofold. First, to be fully effective, city center revitalization interventions need to be coordinated with appropriate institutional programs to create collaborative management opportunities among multiple civic and business agents. Second, multiple cultural offerings, environmental amenities, and pro-active leadership positionalities have contributed positively to the evolution of waterfront community economic redevelopment opportunities in riverfront locations. The methods involved multiple site visits to cities of various sizes on the Iberian Peninsula and the Northeast of the United States at different times during the last twenty years, extensive literature reviews and syntheses, data analyses, assessment of policy priorities, and interviews with employees in various economic sectors, business owners, residents, elected officials, planning professionals, and community leaders. Two of the main conclusions are that, to be fully effective, the public space interventions on the Iberian Peninsula had to be coordinated with appropriate regulatory and institutional programs to generate collaborations with multiple civic and business agents and that the Northeastern cities have attempted to revitalize their riverfronts by conserving water-based and urban historic assets and amenities from further erosion due to downpours and floods as well as socio-economic and cultural transformations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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25 pages, 7061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Transformation of Rural Areas Located in China’s Agricultural Heritage Systems under the Evolution of Urban–Rural Relationships

by Shiqi Liu, Yi Guan, Wangda Chen and Zhenwei Peng

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16408; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316408 - 29 Nov 2023

Viewed by 820

Abstract

The sustainable logic between the Agricultural Heritage System (AHS) and environmental synergy has been significantly changing with China’s urban–rural relationship shift from binary opposition to a stronger network exchange. During the process of transformation, China’s AHS rural areas encounter two major development trends and social realities, i.e., whether to continue conventional characteristic agricultural development or detach from conventional characteristic agricultural resources to achieve industrial transformation. Our aim is to analyze the structure, identity and functional transformation characteristics of AHS rural areas from the urban and rural scale, as well as to build an explanatory framework for transformation mechanisms. A total of 109 counties and five cases of important AHS areas in China are taken as research objects, combining quantitative and qualitative analyses to analyze the transformation of AHS rural areas from two aspects. On the one hand, for changes in single development elements, there are three development elements and corresponding transformation dimensions: (1) Land structure: there is a synergistic change between the increase in urbanization rate and the loss of rural land, with associated changes in space and production structure. (2) Population identity: the rural population loss in high-urbanization-level areas is severe, where farmers are combined or separated from traditional agriculture. (3) Industry function: the trend of non-agricultural development of the industrial economy is obvious, and the traditional functions of agriculture are facing a continuation or a deep transformation. On the other hand, for relations among development elements, combined with a regression analysis and field investigation, we try to explain how the development elements and characteristic elements influence each other while working together on the transformation of AHS rural areas. The transformation depends on the path of the original industrial structure, while the urban–rural income ratio, regional distribution and land urbanization rate all positively stimulate the transformation from agricultural industries to non-agricultural ones. Moreover, the transformation of AHS rural areas is also affected by the characteristic elements of their special agricultural heritage, specifically, whether the heritage is scalable, scarce or socialized, etc., and these special attributes can determine the different development forms of heritage elements in the modern agricultural industrial system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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36 pages, 23389 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Village Spatial Patterns for Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Diqing Prefecture

by Xinqu Liu, Yiwei Zhang, Yaowu Li, Anding Zhang and Chaoran Li

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16362; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316362 - 28 Nov 2023

Viewed by 755

Abstract

Alexander’s A Pattern Language is an important text and focuses on the theory of diverse environmental spatial sustainability. With the contemporary digital development of villages, it is urgent that village spatial patterns are analyzed in a scientific and quantitative way in order to determine heritage village diversity. The village settlements in the Diqing region are typical representatives, having a changeable terrain, being large in number, and being multi-ethnic in China; in recent years, they have also faced slow development and limited conditions. However, few studies have focused on the multiple quantitative analysis of the diverse spatial patterns of village settlements in an ethnic minority region. Therefore, this study selects 2486 village settlements in Diqing and, using KED, NNI SSIA, etc., proposes a spatial pattern analysis framework (SPAF) based on pattern language theory. According to the spatial influencing factors, spatial analysis criteria are constructed to analyze the village spatial pattern types and subtypes. The results show that the region’s topographic conditions are the dominant factors that form the diversified village spatial patterns existent in the Diqing Prefecture. Among them, the dominant pattern of building villages along slopes with a small-population scale and large-dispersed settlements achieves a healthy and sustainable living environment that is oriented well, cost-saving, and conforms to nature. Meanwhile, the dominant pattern is also the reason for the inhibition of development due to inconvenient transportation and difficult management. Therefore, sustainable strategies should strike a balance between the two opposites. Based on the SPAF, spatial patterns can be effectively extracted for diverse village spaces, providing digital and visual references for the regeneration of contemporary rural areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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25 pages, 1953 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Local Identity Based on Villagers’ Vision of Life and Village Dynamics—Evidence from 40 Villages in Yunnan Province, China

by Yun Li, Zijia Fang, Jiaxin Li and Li Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15755; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215755 - 08 Nov 2023

Viewed by 610

Abstract

Improving local identity is the key to rural sustainable development. Facing the issue of rural hollowing and aging, rural human settlement requires targeted enhancement in conjunction with the living willingness and local identity of villagers. Firstly, this study summarizes the dynamic evolution characteristics of rural human settlement development and population contraction in Yunnan Province from 2001 to 2021, based on the “Production-Living-Ecological” theory. Secondly, the paper selects detailed survey data from 40 administrative villages in Yunnan Province in 2015, analyzes the characteristics of villagers’ living visions in typical villages through questionnaire data, and constructs a comprehensive local identity index model based on multilevel living-visions to quantify the degree of villagers’ identification with rural human settlement construction. Thirdly, the paper analyzes the correlation between the local identity index and the comprehensive human settlement evaluation and analyzes the factors of rural human settlement development that affect the local identity in depth. The results reveal that: (1) rural construction in Yunnan Province cannot adapt to the changing needs of villagers, and the development of rural human settlement is accompanied by a trend of relative shrinkage of the rural population. (2) The local identity index of villagers is weakly correlated with the development of rural human settlements. (3) The rural human settlement factors that influence rural local identity include a dual cohesion–centrifugal trend. The findings suggest that rural development depends on the primary and secondary relationship between cohesion and centrifugal trends, providing a reference for the coupling of rural construction and local identity and promoting the return of rural population to achieve sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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16 pages, 6223 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantitative Evaluation of Difficulty in Visiting Hospitals for Elderly Patients in Depopulated Area in Japan: Using National Health Insurance Data

by Yuma Morisaki, Makoto Fujiu, Junichi Takayama, Masahiko Sagae and Kohei Hirako

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15272; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115272 - 25 Oct 2023

Viewed by 745

Abstract

Depopulation is occurring in rural areas of Japan due to the outflow of the population to urban areas, the declining birthrate, and the aging population. Within depopulated areas, there is a problem of declining accessibility to medical facilities due to the decline of the medical system and transportation infrastructure. Therefore, measuring accessibility to medical facilities in underpopulated areas is an important issue. In this study, we calculated an accessibility index (APMI) to medical facilities in underpopulated areas in Japan using geographical information such as elevation, distance to medical facilities, and distance to bus stops. Furthermore, we estimated the number of patients who are considered to have difficulty visiting hospitals by using the National Health Insurance data (KDB) owned by all local governments in Japan. Through the analysis in this study, it became clear that accessibility was extremely low in the mountainous area of Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture, and the number of patients living there could be determined. In addition, priority areas for improving the environment for visiting the hospital were identified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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19 pages, 4578 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Overview of Social Policies for Town and Village Development in Response to Rural Shrinkage in East Asia: The Cases of Japan, South Korea and China

by Wenqi Li, Li Zhang, Inhee Lee and Menelaos Gkartzios

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10781; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410781 - 10 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1592

Abstract

Globally speaking, Asian countries, especially East Asian countries, are facing acute national depopulation situation and severe rural shrinkage development. Based on the continuous surveys of town and village development in Japan, South Korea, and China, this study aims to provide an overview of social policies that have been implemented in the past or more recently in these three countries in response to rural shrinkage, and to outline the core philosophy of these practices to cope with the repercussions. In this paper, we analyze the overall process of rural depopulation and the present features of town and village development in three countries. We subsequently present the social policies over the last few decades and summarize them into four major groups. Furthermore, we highlight that the focus of social policies is not to seek possible ways to reestablish growth but to provide positive support and effective reform to adjust and satisfy the changing needs of towns and villages under the circumstances of shrinking development, including the optimization of public resource allocation, exploring institutional innovation to valorize abandoned assets, and developing endogenous potentials for future sustainable development. Qualitative methods from a combination of literature review, policy review, and field surveys have mainly been adopted in this research. The study of East Asian practices may be instructive for other Asia-Pacific countries, as well as European countries that have been experiencing or will eventually face the challenges of rural shrinkage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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19 pages, 22046 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intensive-Use-Oriented Performance Evaluation and Optimization of Rural Industrial Land: A Case Study of Wujiang District, China

by Xiaojun Ye, Lingyun Fan and Cheng Lei

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8523; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118523 - 24 May 2023

Viewed by 1267

Abstract

Rural industrialization is one of the core drivers of urban and rural spatial evolution and economic transformation in China. Given the background of stock and reduction planning, the development of rural industrial land, which has long relied on land inputs to increase production and inefficient expansion, is facing severe constraints and challenges. How to improve the spatial performance of rural industrial land and promote industrial upgrading and intensive land use have become vital issues for the healthy development of rural areas. This paper draws upon smart shrinkage theory to provide an analytical framework for the intensive-use-oriented performance evaluation of rural industrial land, unlike the evaluation method of efficiency orientation for industrial land, which emphasizes the core goal of the input and output of production factors per unit area. Based on the analysis framework, this study explored the parcel-microscale performance evaluation methods for rural industrial land, and the evaluation index system construction covers the four dimensions of economic performance, social performance, ecological performance, and land use structure performance. Wujiang District of Suzhou City was used as a case study to carry out a comprehensive performance evaluation and analyze the differences in RILP in space and industry. Based on the evaluation results, the key problems of rural industrial land were identified, and corresponding optimization strategies for rural industrial land are proposed from the aspects of land use control, spatial agglomeration, and industrial upgrading. This study intended to address the current major national strategic needs and solve the real dilemmas faced in the process of rural industrial land development. It is hoped that the study will provide a theoretical reference for the transformation of rural industrial land and policy-making for rural revitalization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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20 pages, 5698 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Spatial Vitality Evaluation of Traditional Settlements Based on SUF: Taking Anren Ancient Town’s Urban Design as an Example

by Jinliu Chen, Haoqi Wang, Zhuo Yang, Pengcheng Li, Geng Ma and Xiaoxin Zhao

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8178; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108178 - 17 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1644

Abstract

Sustainable urban forms (SUF) guide spatial creation, significantly revitalise the development of traditional settlements, and are an essential theoretical support for urban design. At the same time, the emergence of quantitative spatial analysis technology further promotes the visualised evaluation of the performance of spatial vitality in urban design. However, current research rarely studies the spatial vitality of traditional settlements with quantitative spatial analysis from the SUF perspective. Therefore, this research takes Anren Ancient Town in Chengdu, Western China, as an example to propose a design based on sustainable urban form theory to raise local spatial vitality. Then, it introduces the vitality evaluation system based on the urban form index (UFI) with three measurement methods: Space Syntax, Spacemate, and MXI, and conducts a comparative spatial vitality evaluation of Anren Ancient Town’s status quo to explain the process of how the design scheme came about. The results found that urban design proposals based on the principles of compactness, mixed land use and diversity in SUF design guidelines can effectively improve the vitality of traditional settlements. The high vitality of an urban settlement could be achieved by combining SUF-based design guidelines and UFI-based evaluation systems. The spatial vitality evaluation system based on the SUF could assist and optimise decision-making in design and act as a paradigm for urban design or urban regeneration in traditional towns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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13 pages, 2503 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reconstructing Rural Settlements Based on Structural Equation Modeling—Taking Hongshanyao Town of Jinchang City as an Example

by Xiaoling Xie and Lin Ye

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1338; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021338 - 10 Jan 2023

Viewed by 957

Abstract

Rapid urbanization has driven great changes in China’s rural areas. In order to adapt to the changes in the internal elements and external regulation of the countryside, rural reconfiguration, i.e., to make rural development more adaptable to the spatial pattern of social development through optimal allocation and effective management, can achieve structural optimization and functional improvement within the rural territorial system. This study selects Hongshanyao Town of Jinchang City as the study area, constructs a structural equation model and an adaptability evaluation system to investigate the suitability of rural settlement layout, and constructs a differentiated and suitable rural settlement reconstruction model for different villages based on meeting farmers’ wishes, to intending to serve the current major national strategic needs and solve the real dilemmas faced by rural areas in the process of urban-rural transformation and development. The corresponding strategies are proposed, which provide a theoretical basis for future village development and spatial reconfiguration practices in rural areas, and are of great significance for realizing rural revitalization as well as village planning and construction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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27 pages, 2331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cittàslow as An Alternative Path of Town Development and Revitalisation in Peripheral Areas: The Example of The Lublin Province

by Sebastian Bernat and Małgorzata Flaga

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14160; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114160 - 30 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1463

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the possibilities of developing the Cittàslow network in the Lublin Province, a peripheral region in Poland, and to determine the status of revitalisation activities in the region. In the study, a socio-economic typology of towns was prepared based on Ward’s agglomerative clustering method. Next, a survey was carried out using a questionnaire addressed to the authorities of the investigated towns. Finally, we conducted a case study of the towns which declared interest in joining the Cittàslow network in the survey. An analysis of revitalisation programmes proposed in those towns was carried out. The present survey shows that the idea of Cittàslow is supported by few towns in the Lublin Province. There is definitely more interest in revitalisation activities. This is mainly due to the fact that revitalisation projects for areas in crisis can be financed by external funds. The conclusions reached in this paper can be of use in planning development and revitalisation measures for small towns, especially in peripheral regions. The Cittàslow network may offer an alternative development path for the towns of the Lublin region. In addition, it may contribute to increasing opportunities for revitalisation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Sustainable Development of Villages and Small Towns under the Situation of Population Contraction)

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