Urban-rural Relations Research Articles

Has Rural Public Services Weakened Population Migration in the Sichuan–Chongqing Region? Spatiotemporal Association Patterns and Their Influencing Factors

The association between rural public services (RPSs) and population migration (PM) has become a key aspect of rapid urbanization in developing countries and an important breakthrough for improving rural–urban relations. An in-depth analysis of the heterogeneity of the weakening effect of RPSs on PM at different transformation phases and the internal mechanism of the evolution of association patterns driven by RPSs and PM helps to ensure better co-ordinated urban and rural development. This paper establishes an interactive analysis framework for measuring the spatiotemporal association and regional differences between RPSs and PM in the Sichuan–Chongqing region (SCR), and reveals the influence mechanism by employing multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR). The results indicate that the association rapidly increased with clear spatial heterogeneity across topographic units and the weakening effect of RPSs on PM begin to diverge during the urban–rural transition. The natural, economic, social, and urban–rural disparity factors in terms of the association exhibit significant spatial variability. In mountainous areas, where topography dominates, RPSs fail to effectively weaken rural migration. However, in the plain areas, urbanization is the main driver of urban–rural transition, and the adaptive upgrading and transformation of RPSs has made their weakening effect stronger, thus alleviating rural exodus and increasing population concentration. All these findings show that differentiated optimization strategies adhering to the association trends should be proposed for a deeper integration of rural revitalization and new urbanization in the SCR.

Coupling and Coordination between Digital Economy and Urban–Rural Integration in China

The positive interaction between digital economy development and urban–rural relationship adjustment can both expand the contribution of technological factors and enhance the balance of urban–rural development. This paper aims to explore the trends and barriers to the coupled and coordinated development of the digital economy and urban–rural integration. This paper measures the degree of coupled coordination between the digital economy and urban–rural integration based on provincial panel data from 2013 to 2020 in China. Based on this, this paper investigates the characteristics and driving forces of the coupled coordination relationship through the chronological evolution method and geographically weighted regression. The results show that (1) the coupling relationship between the digital economy and urban–rural integration has improved substantially in Chinese provinces; (2) heterogeneity still exists at the provincial level; (3) this relationship is expected to be optimized over time; and (4) information construction, rational distribution, balanced growth, equalization of public services and digital-industry development does have a positive effect on the improvement of the coupled coordination relationship, and the popularity of the internet has a negative effect. Accordingly, this paper mainly draws the following conclusions. The coupling relationship between the digital economy and urban–rural integration in the Chinese provinces shows a tendency to be more coordinated. It is necessary to promote the development of the five positive drivers and to guide and regulate the negative drivers.

The Playground for Radical Concepts: Learning from the Tussengebied

The rise in the issue of the metropolitan dimension in the last decades has sparked new needs to conceptualize vast urbanized territories and develop a structured reflection on the various forms of urban–rural relationships. Urban planning in general and metropolitan planning in particular have shown difficulties in properly conceiving and interpreting these needs, which have often led urban discourse toward the use of spatial concepts. The aim of this article is thus to explore the use of spatial concepts as design instruments in the definition of urban–rural relationships in metropolitan areas. Starting from the case study of the Tussengebied (literally area-in-between) in The Netherlands and its reinterpretation developed by three eminent urbanists, the article intends to investigate, through the application of a methodology based on learning-from-expert-knowledge, how spatial concepts can support urban planning governing the urban–rural relationship by proposing a precise form of territory as well as presupposing the rules, modes of operation, and instruments of transformation.

A new way to understand urban-rural relations: Habitus studies of rural places

“Taken for-granted divisions of geographic space (such as centre and periphery) must be viewed according to Bourdieu, as the effect of distance in social space, i.e. the unequal distribution of the different kinds of capital in geographical space” – as Reed-Danahay, D. (2020, 17) puts it in their book about the spatial aspect of Pierre Bourdieu’s action theory. Field, social space, capital, disposition, and habitus are all essential components of Bourdieu’s theory, but what about places? This paper focuses on the importance of geographical space, place and scales in a habitus analysis and tries to show the possibilities the concept of habitus can offer in spatial studies. While research on the relationship between Bourdieu’s concept of habitus and spatiality is becoming increasingly popular (Berger, V. 2018; Németh, K. 2020; Reed-Danahay, D. 2020), still few scholars (e.g. Máté, É. et al. 2022) undertake place-based habitus analyses. The present paper aims to provide an overview of the international academic discourse on place-based (in this case mainly rural) habitus analysis. Considering a dozen empirical studies from different perspectives and in different geographical areas, I focus on the specificities of habitus analysis in rural places. After briefly introducing the concept of habitus and its critiques, I will describe the characteristics of habitus studies in rural places by presenting various views. Then, I will show how the relationship between rural and urban habitus studies suggests that habitus does indeed contribute to the persistence of urban-rural structures.

Allotment Garden Products as Contribution to Sustainable and Resilient Cities: An Analysis in Leipzig, Germany

The food supply and the consumption of resources are already central challenges for the growing world population and increasing demands. Urban areas in particular face problems of resilience and sustainability. The development of alternative food systems by, e.g., urban gardening, can contribute to meet targets of sustainable consumption, inclusive economy, and resilient food systems of cities. Our research presents insights into the available harvest of products from allotments. In addition, the interest and motivation of gardeners to distribute products from their allotments was investigated. The analysis was based on a structured and standardized questionnaire with more than 90 allotment gardeners in Leipzig. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics. Our results showed that especially zucchinis, tomatoes, berries, and apples could be distributed to consumers; however, the greatest obstacle involves the legal framework to economically distribute products from these allotments. On the other hand, some respondents showed that income generation from allotment products is less important than the enjoyment of the garden and the charitable goal of action. They suggested an organized distribution system of surplus from allotments to particularly disadvantaged people. This paper encourages re-examination of the conventional urban–rural relations, the production–consumption relationships, and the norms of economic activity.

Rescaling the Belt and Road Initiative in urban China: the local complexities of a global project

ABSTRACT This study of the infrastructure-led developments and urban–rural relations in Liangjiang New Area (Chongqing municipality), Lanzhou New Area (Gansu province) and Zhengbian New District (Henan province) reveals the complex and multifaceted interactions of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with specific contexts and pre-existing trends. Far from depicting a homogenizing dynamic deriving from participation in a project often conceived in monolithic geopolitical and geoeconomic terms, the focus on spatial transformations emphasizes the need of nuanced and textured readings to embrace the diversity of urbanizations emerging along the BRI. Based on these situated and detailed descriptions, it is possible to place BRI developments in a critical comparative register, to develop alternative narratives and eventually to create a new shared language.

New Rural Housing Construction

Based on the background of the change in the urban–rural relationship in Guangdong Province, this paper constructs an analysis framework of urban and rural coordination development. Using the data of 19 administrative units above prefecture level in Guangdong Province, this paper studies the space–time evolution of urban and rural coordination development during 2000–2015 through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and explores the influencing factors and driving forces behind it. It is found that there is club convergence in the urban and rural coordination development in Guangdong Province. This kind of convergence is reflected in the findings that the east bank of the Pearl River estuary is the best area for the urban and rural coordination development where Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen is the core and the level of urban and rural coordination development in the east, west and north of Guangdong Province is relatively low, which also reflects a geographical polarization feature. Based on the analysis of the factors that promote the urban and rural coordination development in the main years of 2000–2015, it can be concluded that location, economic development and urbanization level are the most important driving forces, followed by industrial structure. This research can be used as a decision-making reference for urban and rural coordination development and new countryside construction in China in the New Era.

New Rural Housing Construction

Based on the background of the change in the urban–rural relationship in Guangdong Province, this paper constructs an analysis framework of urban and rural coordination development. Using the data of 19 administrative units above prefecture level in Guangdong Province, this paper studies the space–time evolution of urban and rural coordination development during 2000–2015 through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and explores the influencing factors and driving forces behind it. It is found that there is club convergence in the urban and rural coordination development in Guangdong Province. This kind of convergence is reflected in the findings that the east bank of the Pearl River estuary is the best area for the urban and rural coordination development where Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen is the core and the level of urban and rural coordination development in the east, west and north of Guangdong Province is relatively low, which also reflects a geographical polarization feature. Based on the analysis of the factors that promote the urban and rural coordination development in the main years of 2000–2015, it can be concluded that location, economic development and urbanization level are the most important driving forces, followed by industrial structure. This research can be used as a decision-making reference for urban and rural coordination development and new countryside construction in China in the New Era.

The Role of Urban–Rural Connections in Building Food System Resilience

This paper investigates food system resilience—conceptualized through the four dimensions of agency, buffering, connectivity, and diversification—from the perspective of rural–urban relations. We consider three cases that capture distinct actor and policy foci in the wider literature on urban–rural interactions. These are secondary cities and their development potential as central nodes in urban–rural food systems, the role of digital infrastructure in shaping food systems resilience, and finally, street food vendors as a particularly vulnerable yet crucial group of actors linking rural food supply with urban demand. We review existing literature within these themes, with a particular focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food systems in middle- and low-income countries. This allows us to examine the relationship between rural–urban connectivity and food system resilience and to identify possible trade-offs. We formulate recommendations for research and policy around the notions of new localities (i.e., considering the interconnectedness of rural and urban food systems across administrative boundaries), smart development (i.e., context-specific approaches building on local strengths), and network governance (i.e., inclusive decision making engaging with diverse stakeholders across multiple scales).

Emergent rural–urban relations in Covid‐19 disturbances: Multi‐locality affecting sustainability of rural change

AbstractThe recent Covid‐19 pandemic highlighted rural–urban interactions, in particular the fact that cities are dependent on the accessibility of non‐metropolitan and rural spaces and vice versa. This article seeks to understand how these interactions contributed to emergent relational spaces of rurality during the Covid‐19 crisis. The article analyses politicised mobilities between localities and rural–urban linkages that are tied to the sustainability of rural change. The study focuses on two countries: Estonia and Finland, exploring thematic narratives on second‐home practices and related politics during the outbreak of the Covid‐19 crisis. The explored regions were the South Savo region in Finland and the island of Saaremaa and northern coastal villages in Estonia. The analysis indicates ways in which the mobility restrictions and disturbances triggered by the Covid‐19 pandemic attributed certain demands and hopes to rural areas and led the shift in rural–urban interactions. The article contributes to the understanding of co‐existences between im/mobilities and multi‐local living and sustainability in rural change.

Impact of Chinese-Style Fiscal Decentralization on Urban–Rural Integration: Based on Factor Allocation

The urban–rural relationship has been a critical issue in studies on urban and rural geography. Urban–rural integration development (URI), as an integral part of the urban–rural relationship, needs to be understood under an integrated theoretical framework. Based on the conceptual analysis from productivism to post-productivism, this study constructs a multidimensional framework to understand urban–rural integration, restructuring from five layers that integrate population, space, economic, social, and environmental concerns, and the revised dynamic coordination coupling degree (CCD) model is used to measure the level of URI. Many studies have focused on the connection between URI and factor allocation. However, it is yet to be determined how both fiscal decentralization and factor allocation are linked with URI. This study focuses on this unexplored topic, and the impact mechanism among URI, factor allocation, and Chinese-style fiscal decentralization is investigated by adopting spatial econometric models, for achieving the high-quality development of China’s urban–rural relations. Empirical analysis of China’s three major urban agglomerations reveals that there are promising signs in China’s urban–rural integration development, with an orderly and coordinated structure shaping over the period 2003–2017. The rationality of factor allocation depends heavily on the power comparison between the helping hand and the grabbing hand of local governments under Chinese-style fiscal decentralization. Moderate fiscal decentralization, with a perfect market and social security system, leads to the free flow of factors and promotes urban–rural integration. By contrast, excessive fiscal decentralization causes resource misallocation and hinders urban–rural integration development. In light of our empirical evidence, the coordinated development of small- and medium-sized cities and subcities in urban agglomerations is suggested, it is highly necessary to establish a perfect social and employment security system. In addition, a reasonable space planning system for land use needs to be constructed by China’s governments at all levels. Chinese local governments should pay more attention to rural development in their jurisdiction by stimulating their information advantages under Chinese-style fiscal decentralization.

Reconstruction Design of Taicang Traditional Dwellings Based on Cultural Inheritance

Under the social background of urban-rural relationship reconstruction, the hollowing out of traditional villages is developing rapidly, which makes the traditional residential buildings in China uninhabited and unrepaired due to the influence of economic and cultural factors. The rural revitalization strategy provides inspiration for the architectural design of traditional residential buildings, that is, focusing on cultural heritage and making traditional residential buildings modern. Effective protection of the traditional features of traditional houses is the most basic criterion for the protection planning of famous historical and cultural villages. If only the space protection planning is carried out, and the development of villages based on houses cannot be fully considered, it will undoubtedly cause great damage to traditional villages. This paper discusses and studies how to do the activation and reuse project of Taicang traditional dwellings sustainably from the commercial point of view, so that the transformed object can regain its vitality and vitality, and can further carry out a virtuous circle as a commercial project stably and healthily in the later period, providing new social and commercial values to the surrounding environment, community and local residents.

Milk and Laboratories in Urban-Rural and State-Society Relations: The Case of Hungary from the Beginning of Wartime Shortages until the Great Depression

The paper analyses the roles of milk production and milk supply in the changes of the state-society relations and knowledge production in 20th early century Hungary. It places laboratories and the perception of milk as material in the centre of analysis prompting a narrative that takes account of the hybrid nature of milk. Building on arguments that Bruno Latour and Timothy Mitchell formulated, this study reveals key aspects of government, economy and modernity by using the notion that there are no clear boundaries between culture and nature. Hybridity also refers to the impossibility of controlling for all aspects of “nature.” The first part of the paper takes laboratories as junctures of legislation and urban-rural relations. The second part highlights the urban conditions as well as the local political contexts of milk consumption and milk shortage in the World War I and post-World War I period. Overall, the paper is a case for why food history is one of the ways to take research beyond methodological nationalism without having to ignore the realm of politics.

Researching Chinese rural-urban relationship within Belgium’s everyday academic life: a reflection on power and intertextuality

In this article, by mobilizing the concept of “in-betweenness” and intertextuality, I show how the reflections on my lived experiences of acclimatization and involvement in Belgium has aided in shaping my theoretical understanding of Chongming villagers’ struggles in the eco-island project. Chongming is a rural island in the Yangtse River delta currently integrated in Shanghai’s urban development. My analysis unfolds on two levels. In the first place, my non-Shanghai and non-rural background creates a unique tension with my research topic: the rural reaction to the eco-island urbanization. My position as a migrant in Belgium, navigating the West-East hierarchy, has analogous elements to Chongming elder generation’s relationship to Shanghai, situated in the urban-rural hierarchy. This macro-level resonance has deepened my understanding of local middle-aged and elderly villagers’ general attitude to Shanghai and related self-identity, which significantly influenced their reactions to eco-island projects. On the everyday level, my close ties with village cadres inadvertently limited my access to the ordinary villagers, posing challenges in uncovering the real politics pursued by the villagers. But, like an “ordinary villager” in Chongming I was a part of a marginalized group in the Belgian academic institute. Taking into account the similar collective settings, the struggles I had in Belgium not only informed me, but also increased my sympathy with the unseen side of the village collective. I argue that both Chongming and Belgium served as my field sites that in turn moulded my own subjectivity.

METHODOLOGICAL STRATEGIES OF THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION PROJECT TRAINING BETWEEN 2019 AND 2021: FROM PRESENTIAL ACTIONS TO REMOTE ACTIVITIES DURING THE SARS-COV-2 PANDEMIC AT UEMG – FRUTAL

The Capacitation Project understands strategic communication (in the concept of KUNSCH, 2003), as a motivating factor for regional development. It focuses, in this extensionist activity, the role of the transversal, extensive and directed content with potential for the generation of employment, income, professional training and access to tenders, covering urban-rural relations. Chronologically, the project developed in two stages, between 2019 and 2020-2021. Methodologically, at the beginning, the Project was carried out on an itinerant basis, outlining methodological strategies for the development of activities planned during the period of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The actions took place at UEMG – Frutal, and in municipal schools, using technological platforms such as Google meet in a combined way. Through Facebook and Instagram, courses, competitions, job selections and videos on human rights were disseminated. Among the results achieved, it is worth mentioning the fact that the actions encouraged self-esteem and the development of individual confidence.

ESTRATÉGIAS METODOLÓGICAS DO PROJETO DE EXTENSÃO UNIVERSITÁRIA CAPACITAÇÃO ENTRE OS ANOS DE 2019 E 2021: DAS AÇÕES PRESENCIAIS ÀS ATIVIDADES REMOTAS DURANTE A PANDEMIA SARS-COV-2 NA UEMG – FRUTAL

The Capacitation Project understands strategic communication (in the concept of KUNSCH, 2003), as a motivating factor for regional development. It focuses, in this extensionist activity, the role of the transversal, extensive and directed content with potential for the generation of employment, income, professional training and access to tenders, covering urban-rural relations. Chronologically, the project developed in two stages, between 2019 and 2020-2021. Methodologically, at the beginning, the Project was carried out on an itinerant basis, outlining methodological strategies for the development of activities planned during the period of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The actions took place at UEMG – Frutal, and in municipal schools, using technological platforms such as Google meet in a combined way. Through Facebook and Instagram, courses, competitions, job selections and videos on human rights were disseminated. Among the results achieved, it is worth mentioning the fact that the actions encouraged self-esteem and the development of individual confidence.

Understanding the socio-cultural resilience of rural areas through the intergenerational relationship in transitional China: Case studies from Guangdong

While rural resilience is considered valuable in global sustainable development and is gaining increasing attention, socio-cultural resilience in rural contexts has attracted limited scholarly attention. Intergenerational relationship as a crucial indicator of socio-cultural resilience and transformation in rural areas, is under-studied. Drawing on a qualitatively based and multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in two villages in Guangdong, China, this article interrogates how rural residents understand and practice intergenerational relationship, further observing rural resilience from the socio-cultural perspective. The findings revealed the following: 1) changes in intergenerational relations in rural China are neither simple nor linear, but rather highly diversified and contextualized; 2) the status of intergenerational relationships in the villages is highly related to a series of external factors, including demographical features, economic condition and geographical location, etc.; 3) intergenerational relationships and the way rural families operate, interact, and are defined are closely related. Changes in intergenerational relationships not only reveal important shifts in the social and cultural makeup of rural communities, but they also serve as a significant indicator of the resiliency of both rural communities and families. This article, through those results, echoes the rising diversity of contemporary rural family life in China, arguing that intergenerational relationship provides a nuanced, humane perspective to probe social and cultural changes and rural-urban relations in rapidly urbanizing societies. We call for collaborative action to cultivate the positive intergenerational relationships, enhance the rural resilience from socio-cultural perspective, further contribute to the revive of countryside.

Exploring the Spatial and Temporal Changes of Carbon Storage in Different Development Scenarios in Foshan, China

Carbon storage (CS) is strongly associated with climate change and ecosystem services. Herein, taking Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China as the study object, analysis was performed upon the potential impacts of the urban–rural relationship of CS by combining the Integrated Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) and the Patch Generation Land-use Simulation (PLUS) models. Based on three different development plans under regional policies, land-use/ land-cover (LULC) changes in Foshan City in 2035 were simulated. The results show that (i) Foshan City experienced rapid urban expansion from 2010 to 2020 spreading from the central area to the outer circle in a cascading manner. Urban land use mainly encroached on ecological land during these 10 years. (ii) The CS in Foshan City from 2010 to 2020 showed an increase followed by a decrease, and the simulations estimated a continuous loss of the CS in Foshan City by 2035. (iii) There was spatial heterogeneity in the CS changes in Foshan. From 2010 to 2020, the northern part of Sanshui District and the eastern part of Chancheng District experienced the greatest economic loss of CS. The carbon loss will further increase in future development scenarios. This research can provide vital references for government administrators to formulate valid development patterns and ecological conservation strategies.

Low-cost Chinese goods in Tanzania: the rise of transnational trade routes’ peripheral branches

This article illustrates how rural margins and urban-rural relations in southwest Tanzania join up with transnational trade routes for Chinese goods. It examines the trade of low-cost imported goods from China (plastic sandals, cheap jewellery, various fashion accessories, cheap clothing, etc.) that are widely spread in Tanzania, up into the peripheral countryside. By examining the concept of trade routes, the article contributes to the literature on urban-rural relations in African Studies and ‘inconspicuous globalisation’ by proposing a contrary perspective, where rural areas viewed as areas of consumption of imported products. It then rescales the globalization analysis by situating urban-rural relations at the heart of local and global interconnections. The article demonstrates that geographically peripheral places and actors have a capacity to influence the direction of the global trade route as they combine complementarities between the urban-rural continuum and topological continuity of networks from local to global. The global trade geography is profoundly influenced by what goes on in its inconspicuous tentacles in upcountry regions, such as the Uporoto Mountains, where the global trade route relies on the dynamism of local agriculture, which is increasingly merging with other livelihoods. This is exemplified by the complementarities between trade and agriculture in terms of livelihood, circulation of capital, urban-rural mobility, and links to global scales, which highlight the de-agrarianization process and the development of a mass consumption society.

In Memoriam and Editorials

In Memoriam: Bas van der Horst (1951–2022) On Discourses Inside the United Nations, Urban–Rural Relationships, and the Impacts on Inequality of Ageism and Digitalization The Current State of Socioenvironmental and Ecological Challenges in 2022 from an Academic Perspective