Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

New Rural Community Construction or Retention Development: A Comparative Analysis of Rural Settlement Transition Mechanism in Plain Agriculture Area of China Based on Actor Network Theory

  • Published:
Chinese Geographical Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

It is an important way to realize rural revitalization and sustainable development to guide rural settlement transition (RST) in an appropriate way. This paper uses actor network theory (ANT) to construct a theoretical framework for the study of RST. Taking two typical villages with different transition paths in rural areas of North China Plain as examples, this paper reveals the mechanism of RST and makes a comparative analysis. The results show that: 1) after identifying problems and obligatory passage point, key actors recruit heterogeneous actors into the actor network by entrusting them with common interests, and realize RST under the system operation. 2) Rural settlements under different transition paths have similarities in the problems to be solved, collective actions and policy factors, but there are differences in the transition process, mechanism and effect. The actor network and mechanism of RST through the path of new rural community construction are more complex and the transition effect is more thorough. In contrast, the degree of RST of retention development path is limited if there is no resource and location advantage. 3) Based on the applicable conditions of different paths, this paper designs a logical framework of ‘Situation-Structure-Behavior-Result’ to scientifically guide the identification of RST paths under the background of rural revitalization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Callon M, 1986. The sociology of an actor-network: the case of the electric vehicle. In: Callon M et al. (eds.). Mapping the Dynamics of Science and Technology. London: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-07408-2_2

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cao Yuling, You Bin, Zhang Juntao, 2022. Research on the dilemma and realization path of rural space reconstruction from the perspective of rural vitalization. Contemporary Economic Management, 44(5): 51–57. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen C, Gao J L, Chen J L, 2017. Institutional changes, land use dynamics, and the transition of rural settlements in suburban China: a case study of Huishan District in Wuxi City. Habitat International, 70: 24–33. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2017.09.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng Yeqing, Wang Ting, Huang Zheng et al., 2022. Rural transformation development mechanism and rural revitalization path from the perspective of actor network: a case study of Dabian Village in the central mountainous area of Hainan Province. Economic Geography, 42(4): 34–43. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng Mingyang, Chen Huiling, 2023. Spatio-temporal evolution of the rural regional system and its evolution mechanism in Huang-Huai-Hai area of China. Chinese Geographical Science, 33(1): 51–68. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-022-1323-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coluzzi R, Bianchini L, Egidi G et al., 2022. Density matters? Settlement expansion and land degradation in peri-urban and rural districts of Italy. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 92: 106703. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2021.106703

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Da La Fuente J L M, Infante-Amate J, Travieso E, 2024. Historical changes in Mediterranean rural settlements (southern Spain, 1787–2019). Journal of Rural Studies, 106: 103217. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drobnjaković M, Steinführer A, 2024. Re-thinking rurality: towards a new research approach and rural-urban spatial gradient establishment in Serbia. Applied Geography, 163: 103195. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2023.103195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emodi N V, Haruna E U, Abdu N et al., 2022. Urban and rural household energy transition in Sub-Saharan Africa: does spatial hetero-geneity reveal the direction of the transition? Energy Policy, 168: 113118. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gareau B J, 2012. Worlds apart: a social theoretical exploration of local networks, natural actors, and practitioners of rural development in Southern Honduras. Sustainability, 4(7): 1596–1618. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su4071596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoggart K, Paniagua A, 2001. What rural restructuring? Journal of Rural Studies, 17(1): 41–62. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-0167(00)00036-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiss E, 2000. Rural restructuring in Hungary in the period of socio-economic transition. GeoJournal, 51(3): 221–233. doi: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017507328301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latocha-Wites A, Kajdanek K, Sikorski D et al., 2024. Global forces and local responses-a ‘hot-spots’ model of rural revival in a pe-ripheral region in the Central-Eastern European context. Journal of Rural Studies, 106: 103212. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latour B, 1987. Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li C X, Wu K N, 2017. Driving forces of the villages hollowing based on geographically weighted regression model: a case study of Longde County, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. Natural Hazards, 89(3): 1059–1079. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-3008-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Huayin, 2020. Responsive participation: an analysis of the interaction between township governments and farmers in rural reform—based on the investigation and comparison of three township reform experiments. Chinese Public Administration, (9): 128–134, 159. (in Chinese)

  • Li X F, Yang H, Jia J et al., 2021. Index system of sustainable rural development based on the concept of ecological livability. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 86: 106478. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2020.106478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Zhigang, Yu Taofang, Wei Lihua et al., 2007. A study on the transition of ‘transitional community’ under the high-speed urbanization in China. Urban Development Studies, 14(5): 84–90. (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Xuan, Wang Xiaoyi, 2013. A review on the application of actor network theory to human geography. Progress in Geography, 32(7): 1139–1147. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y S, Li Y H, 2017. Revitalize the world’s countryside. Nature, 548(7667): 275–277. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/548275a

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Long H L, Tu S S, Ge D Z et al., 2016. The allocation and management of critical resources in rural China under restructuring: problems and prospects. Journal of Rural Studies, 47: 392–412. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.03.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nimmo R, 2011. Actor-network theory and methodology: social research in a more-than-human world. Methodological Innovations Online, 6(3): 108–119. doi: https://doi.org/10.4256/mio.2011.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Panzer-Krause S, 2020. The lost rural idyll? Tourists’ attitudes towards sustainability and their influence on the production of rural space at a rural tourism hotspot in Northern Ireland. Journal of Rural Studies, 80: 235–243. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.09.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu Y B, Dong X Z, Zhan L Y et al., 2021a. Scale transition and structure-function synergy differentiation of rural residential land: a dimensionality reduction transmission process from macro to micro scale. Land, 10(6): 647. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/LAND10060647

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu Y B, Dong X Z, Zhan L Y et al., 2022a. Achieving rural revitalization in China: a suitable framework to understand the coordination of material and social space quality of rural residential areas in the plain. Growth and Change, 53(3): 1052–1081. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/GROW.12536

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu Y B, Jiang G H, Li Z T et al., 2019. Understanding rural land use transition and regional consolidation implications in China. Land Use Policy, 82: 742–753. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.11.014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu Y B, Zhao W Y, Zhao L J et al., 2022b. Research on hollow village governance based on action network: mode, mechanism and countermeasures—comparison of different patterns in plain agricultural areas of China. Land, 11(6): 792. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/land11060792

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu Yanbo, Chai Yifan, Zhu Weiya et al., 2021b. Archetype analysis of rural homestead withdrawal patterns based on the framework of ‘diagnosis-design-outcome’. Resources Science, 43(7): 1293–1306. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stokowski P A, Kuentzel W F, Derrien M M et al., 2021. Social, cultural and spatial imaginaries in rural tourism transitions. Journal of Rural Studies, 87: 243–253. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.09.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terluin I J, 2003. Differences in economic development in rural regions of advanced countries: an overview and critical analysis of theories. Journal of Rural Studies, 19(3): 327–344. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-0167(02)00071-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian Y S, Qian J, Wang L, 2021. Village classification in metropolitan suburbs from the perspective of urban-rural integration and improvement strategies: a case study of Wuhan, central China. Land Use Policy, 111: 105748. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tu Shuangshuang, Zheng Yuhan, Long Hualou et al., 2020. Spatio-temporal pattern of rural development and restructuring and regional path of rural vitalization in Guangxi, China. Acta Geographica Sinica, 75(2): 365–381. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tu S S, Long H L, Zhang Y N et al., 2018. Rural restructuring at village level under rapid urbanization in metropolitan suburbs of China and its implications for innovations in land use policy. Habitat International, 77: 143–152. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2017.12.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Xiuwei, Li Xiaojun, 2022. Characteristics and influencing factors of the key villages of rural tourism in China. Acta Geographica Sinica, 77(4): 900–917. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang Ren, 2021. The actor-network perspective on the reconstruction process and internal mechanism of typical Taobao villages in the Pearl River Delta region. Acta Geographica Sinica, 76(12): 3076–3089. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang Y Y, Liu Y S, Li Y R et al., 2018. Measure of urban-rural transformation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the new millennium: population-land-industry perspective. Land Use Policy, 79: 595–608. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.08.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan Chao, Chen Pinyu, Kong Xiang et al., 2021. Research on the interaction between actor-network theory and human geography: reconstruction, debate and reflection. Geographical Research, 40(2): 583–596. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zambon I, Colantoni A, Carlucci M et al., 2017. Land quality, sustainable development and environmental degradation in agricultural districts: a computational approach based on entropy indexes. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 64: 37–46. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2017.01.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zang Y Z, Liu Y S, Yang Y Y et al., 2020. Rural decline or restructuring? Implications for sustainability transitions in rural China. Land Use Policy, 94: 104531. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104531

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zang Y Z, Yang Y Y, Liu Y S, 2021. Understanding rural system with a social-ecological framework: evaluating sustainability of rural evolution in Jiangsu province, South China. Journal of Rural Studies, 86: 171–180. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.05.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou Mingyan, Zhou Tiejun, Pan Yin, 2019. Driving force of rural construction based on actors network theory. Planners, 35(16): 62–67. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Administration and Policy, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, 250014, China

    Yanbo Qu, Xiaozhen Dong & Weiying Zhao

  2. Institute of Land Science and Policy, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, 250014, China

    Yanbo Qu, Xiaozhen Dong & Weiying Zhao

  3. College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Wenqiu Ma

Authors
  1. Yanbo Qu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiaozhen Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wenqiu Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Weiying Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

QU Yanbo: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, resources, writing-review & editing, supervision, funding acquisition; DONG Xiaozhen: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, visualization, data curation, writing-original draft, writing-review & editing, supervision; MA Wenqiu: methodology, validation, writing-review & editing, supervision, project administration; ZHAO Weiying: data curation, investigation, supervision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wenqiu Ma.

Ethics declarations

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Additional information

Foundation item: Under the auspices of the Taishan Scholars Project Special Funds, National Natural Science Fundation of China (No. 42077434, 42001199), Youth Innovation Technology Project of Higher School in Shandong Province (No. 2019RWG016)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Qu, Y., Dong, X., Ma, W. et al. New Rural Community Construction or Retention Development: A Comparative Analysis of Rural Settlement Transition Mechanism in Plain Agriculture Area of China Based on Actor Network Theory. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 34, 436–452 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-024-1430-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-024-1430-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation