The Hollowing Process of Rural Communities in China: Considering the Regional Characteristic

Ying Liu,Liqiong Shu,Li Peng

doi:10.3390/land10090911

Abstract

This study examined the hollowing process of rural communities, which is caused by migration, and explored its influence factors based on Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) analysis in an attempt to explore effect of regional characteristic. To capture the essence of rural hollowing, a logical framework was constructed. The rural hollowing was then evaluated based on an index system. Based on the assessment, HLM analysis was conducted to explore the influence factors at the household and community levels. The results demonstrated significant differences of rural hollowing among villages. In addition, the hollowing was not only affected by household-level variables but also by community-level variables. Further, for rural hollowing, the household-level variable was endogenous drive, while the community-level variables were exogenous drive. Among all the endogenous influence factors, population quality was the most important, and thus the loss of highly educated talents will aggravate the trend of rural hollowing and hinder the sustainable development of the countryside. Furthermore, in addition to promoting economic development and its diversification to alleviate rural hollowing, improving the quality of the population is more important to the sustainable development of the countryside in China.

Highlights

Population hollowing in rural settlements is one of the most significant social issues for many countries
The geographical perspective focuses on the change of spatial form, which emphasizes the spatial form of extensive rural land use and the expansion of inner space caused by population migration [3,4,5]
The objective of this study was to establish a comprehensive framework, which fully considers the rural structure and functional changes caused by population migration, in order to evaluate the rural population hollowing in China, and to explore the influence factors from both macro- and microperspectives, in an attempt to investigate the relationship between rural hollowing and rural sustainability

Summary

Introduction

Population hollowing in rural settlements is one of the most significant social issues for many countries. From the sociological perspective, hollowing refers to the phenomenon of low social and economic development: changes in the organizational structure of rural society and social and cultural life due to the decrease of population, especially young and middle-aged inhabitants; the lack of popularity and vitality in rural society; and the low level of social and economic development [2]. This viewpoint emphasizes the fundamental changes in the structure of rural society caused by population migration. The geographical perspective focuses on the change of spatial form, which emphasizes the spatial form of extensive rural land use and the expansion of inner space caused by population migration [3,4,5]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion