Perception Analysis of the Transformation from a Fishery-Led to Industry-Led Island with its Human Settlement Changes: A Case Study of Liuheng Island, Zhoushan City, China

Abstract

Based on the theories of industrial structure and settlement environment, this paper conducts a quantitative and qualitative study to investigate how the evolution in the industrial structure of the island affects the settlement environment with relevant statistical data, local chronicles, and questionnaire survey data. The study found that the industrial structure of Liuheng Island has transformed from a fishery-led to industry-led island, which has led to the rapid increase of urbanization on Liuheng Island, and the public service facilities have been increasingly densely distributed urban-type communities with high modernization levels, such as Longshan Community, Xuanzhuotou Community, and Taimen Community. The local residents of Liuheng Island are also satisfied with the public service facilities in terms of facility availability, transportation convenience, environmental comfort, and environmental health. For a period, the island residents were particularly concerned about the regional differences in environmental health, and the main reasons were the industrial structure upgrade towards industrialization, which would cause certain industrial waste emissions, and the pressure of commuting within the island, which would affect residents’ sense of security. This indicates that the evolution of industrial structure will directly affect the speed and quality of urban and rural settlement hardware construction and also, to a certain extent, the subjective perceptions of residents around the dense industrial areas on the state of the settlement, especially in terms of environmental health and community living safety.