Abstract:

Optimization of rural residential layout is one of the important issues of land use in China. Understanding the process of rural residential land evolution and its driving mechanism is crucial for rural residential optimization and can alleviate the conflict between regional land supply and demand. Previous studies have primarily been conducted in a single area from an overall point of view, thus regional differences of rural residential land evolution driving mechanism might be concealed. Few studies have investigated the spatial difference of the effects of the driving factors in rural residential evolution on small scale of township. Taking towns of Ludu and Liuhe in economically developed regions of China as the study areas, the present paper analyzed the driving mechanism and its regional heterogeneity of rural residential land evolution on the scale of township, so as to provide some basis for decision making on reasonable adjustment of rural residential layout and different rural residential management policies. Under the support of GIS and SPSS statistical analysis software, Logistic Regression Analysis and Comparative Analysis were employed in the paper. Results showed that in the decrease process of rural residential land in Ludu and Liuhe from 1996 to 2008, farmers net income per capita and residential area per capita had a positive influence, distance to town area had a negative effect, but the influential effects of the three factors were not identical in different towns. Rural industrial development and distance to road also had different directional influences on the decrease of rural residential land in different towns. Those five driving factors were common in Ludu and Liuhe, while the yield of grain was the special driving factor, and it was negatively correlated to the decrease of rural residential land in Ludu. It also showed that in the increase process of rural residential lands, farmers net income per capita and agricultural production value per area had a positive influence, while distance to road and basic farmland protection had a negative effect. They were the common driving factors, which had same influence direction and degree on increase of rural residential land in the two towns. However, population density, industrial output per area, arable land per capita, residential area per capita, the yield of grain and distance to water system were the special ones. It was concluded that the impact and influential directions of driving forces of rural residential land evolution are regionally different. In order to optimize the rural settlements, the dominant factors and special factors should be grasped, and some differential policies from aspects of basic farmland protection, development of modern agriculture, increase of farmers income, rational concentration of industry, construction of exit and compensation mechanism of rural settlement, and reasonable planning of rural village road network should be made