Tourism-driven rural spatial restructuring in the metropolitan fringe: An empirical observation

Abstract

Rural spatial restructuring is regarded as an important method of achieving rural revitalization in China in recent years. With the spillover of leisure consumption demand in metropolitan areas, the rural spatial structure has undergone significant changes. To analyze the causal logic of rural spatial restructuring, this study constructs a tourism-driven rural spatial restructuring framework. Furthermore, GIS and participatory fieldwork are used to reveal the changing process of rural spatial restructuring. A case study of Qinggangshu Village shows that tourism-driven rural spatial restructuring is the result of internal and external forces, while land consolidation is highlighted as a direct way to trigger rural spatial restructuring, and rural tourism can accelerate land consolidation, and realize rural revitalization. However, for those villages without any resource endowment, simple land consolidation cannot improve the rural economy in a short period. Moreover, once rural spatial restructuring is completed, the rural economy and social culture will also be restructured. The framework demonstration results will provide a “road map” to rural spatial restructuring in metropolitan fringe areas and serve as a practical information resource for policy-makers. The driving factors of rural spatial restructuring are diverse at different stages. Therefore, the government should adopt a gradual management model, and systematically mobilize all forces to participate in rural construction to realize the sustainable development of rural areas.