Comprehensive land consolidation as a development policy for rural vitalisation: Rural In Situ Urbanisation through semi socio-economic restructuring in Huai Town

Abstract

This paper reviewed the history of the coupling relationship between land consolidation and urban-rural development in China since 1949. It found that, although land consolidation projects in non-integrated urban-rural development phases improved the quality and quantity of cultivated land, it did not improve the rural decline effectively before 2013 because it focused more on land issues and did not complement and stimulate urban and rural development. Comprehensive land consolidations in China are expected to operate as both a tool and a platform for the operation of a developmental policy that aims to promote rural vitalisation through the integration of urban-rural development. The case of Huai Town was analysed using a framework of Rural In Situ Urbanisation (RISU) through a semi socio-economic restructuring. This was done to present an innovative style of RISU in which villagers live in towns and their livelihoods, living spaces, and public services are urbanised while they still retain both their rural land rights and rural household registrations, which allowed for the integration of urban and rural resources, the protection of villagers' interests, and a smooth social transition. The key factors for these comprehensive land consolidations to help combat rural decline include a bottom-up, community-supported structure; a coordinated approach incorporating livelihood transformation, population urbanisation, and land urbanisation, with livelihood transformation serving as the foundation; and the protection of villagers’ rights and interests.