Multi-dimensionality and the totality of rural spatial restructuring from the perspective of the rural space system: A case study of traditional villages in the ancient Huizhou region, China

Abstract

Rural restructuring is emerging as a popular topic in rural geography. Rural spatial restructuring, as an integral part of the rural restructuring, needs to be understood by an integrated theoretical framework. Based on the conceptual analysis of rural space and rural spatial restructuring, this paper constructs a multi-dimensional framework to understand rural spatial restructuring from three layers of the rural space system including material space, social space and cultural space. Rural spatial restructuring is a qualitative transformation in which the rural space system responds actively or passively to the changes in the internal and external environment. As social-cultural space often exists beyond the physical geographical boundary, there are certain limitations in the study of rural spatial restructuring only from the perspective of material space. This paper further selects the traditional villages in ancient Huizhou as the case and analyzes their spatial restructuring process. Finally, given the interaction of social, political and capital forces, this paper preliminarily analyzes the mechanism of the traditional villages’ spatial restructuring. The results show that it is necessary to grasp the multi-dimensionality and totality of rural space and its restructuring from the perspective of the rural space system.