Transformation Of Settlements Research Articles

The historical evolution and social transformation of settlements in the mountainous regions of western Guangdong: a case study of Xinyi County, China

The formation of China’s territory has a long historical process. Prior research has highlighted the diverse historical development patterns across different regions. To delve deeper into the distinctiveness among regions and their nuanced disparities, the research centers on the settlements within Xinyi County, situated in the mountainous terrain of western Guangdong Province, China. The current study employs the research method of “Backward Observation” by conducting a literature review and utilizing ArcGIS for spatial analysis to investigate the spatial distribution and evolution process of regional settlements in western Guangdong. The results suggest a predominant involvement of the state in propelling the advancement of the indigenous community within Xinyi County, a progression primarily fulfilled by the conclusion of the late Qing and initial Republican eras, guided by the persistent localization and gentrification of migrating populations. Xinyi’s advancement pattern and speed exhibited notable distinctions from neighboring areas within Guangdong Province. This investigation additionally delves into G. William Skinner’s inquiries regarding the exceptional attributes and evolutionary patterns of localities, aligning with the South China School’s viewpoint on the varied nature of regional advancement procedures and cadences. This research on Xinyi’s historical evolution is importance in coordinating the preservation and advancement of historical towns, addressing urban-rural development disparities, and formulating future development strategies.

Impacts of social housing on urban transformations of informal settlements in Bogotá, Colombia

Impacts of social housing on urban transformations of informal settlements in Bogotá, Colombia

A Review of Village Tourism in Nepal: Concept and Practice

Nepal is a country of 753 local governments. Of the total, 736 local government (276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities) excluding six metros and 11 sub metros are the full of village attributes-arts, culture, civilization, history and outstanding natural beauty. The transformation of village settlements into potential tourist destinations will be the village tourism initiatives in Nepal. The transformation is generally based on Tourism planning and the planning is based on its concepts and practices. Thus, the study has been conducted to identify the basic concepts and contemporary practices of village tourism in Nepal. From the methodological perspective it is a general qualitative review of recently published journal articles. The study found that village tourism helped to maintain community wellbeing and reduce poverty in homestay tourism destinations. Contrary to that community people particularly residing in other villages are still economically poor and vulnerable. Thereby, their economic poverty can be eradicated through the implementation of appropriate village tourism concepts such as smart village tourism, spatial village tourism and community based ecotourism. In doing so, 736 local government of Nepal must develop at least 5,400 community homestay (six to nine in each local level) tourism destinations. The priority must be given to Nepali tourists as well as Chinese and Indian tourists through different packages in all season and regions. Top-level political leaders and bureaucrats must be able to make diplomatic relation with China and India for promoting village tourism throughout the country.

Socio-economic transformation of rural settlements in the suburban municipal district of the city of Cheboksary over the past 30 years

Socio-economic transformation of rural settlements in the suburban municipal district of the city of Cheboksary over the past 30 years

In the Footsteps of the Silk Road: Czech-Kyrgyz Geo-environmental Project

Kyrgyzstan can be represented, geomorphologically-speaking, by a transect between the Fergana lowlands and the Tien Shan highlands and is an outstanding area for the study of paleoclimatic conditions relating to climatic changes. These changes have been crucial for the behaviour of past cultures in this area, especially due to the presence of the Silk Road. A Czech environmental team, covering geology, geomorphology, pedology, paleoecology, archaeobotany, malacology, osteology and many other disciplines, has been following up previous survey fieldwork undertaken in this area. Since 2021, the expeditions in the south-eastern Kyrgyzstan (Osh Region) have been aiming at the structure and settlement pattern development in the contact zone between the fertile Fergana basin and the steppe environment at the foothills of the Pamir-Alai and Tian-Shan Mountains, from prehistory until the present, including the material testimony of life on the ancient and medieval Silk Road. This work is a part of an agreement between the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, the Osh State University and the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology named after B. Dzamgyrchinov of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic. One of the major challenges of the ongoing geoarchaeological and palaeoecological research is to link climate changes and changes forced by human action with the transformation of settlement and landscape patterns.

The spatio-temporal evolution and transformation mode of human settlement quality from the perspective of “production-living-ecological" spaces--a case study of Jilin Province

Amidst rapid industrialization and urbanization, urban and rural human settlements have witnessed marked transformations, each exhibiting distinct developmental trajectories and challenges. Utilizing the “Production-Living-Ecological" spatial theory within territorial planning, this study devises a comprehensive evaluation system for human settlement quality. It delineates the evolution of human settlement quality across 47 counties (districts) in Jilin Province from 1999 to 2020, elucidates the interplay among the three aforementioned dimensions, and identifies the prevailing modes of human settlement transformation. Key findings include: (1) Jilin Province has seen significant enhancements in human settlement quality. Notable shifts in this quality occurred in 2006 and 2015. The synergy and reciprocal influences among the production, living, and ecological dimensions have intensified, with coordination continually advancing. (2) Human settlement quality varies with higher levels in the east and south and lower levels in the west and north in Jilin Province, indicating a spatial clustering pattern. Living and ecological conditions are generally better in the east compared to the west, with noticeable economic-environmental mutual constraints in the west. (3) Given a certain socio-economic development threshold, the trajectory of human settlement quality sketches an overarching “S"-shaped growth pattern. This can be categorized into the first phase of fluctuation, followed by the second phase of significant growth and the third phase of slowing growth. This research furnishes foundational insights for fostering green, low-carbon human settlements and promotes the exploration of harmonious interactions between humans and nature, particularly within the ambit of carbon peak and neutrality objectives.

On the issue of contour transformation of international settlements in the context of increasing geopolitical risks and fragmentation of the global financial and economic area

Subject. Given the increasing geopolitical risks, new approaches are needed to organize the contour of the international payment system, which ensures safety and reliability of international settlements Objectives. The article aims to assess the approaches of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems to creating models of international payment systems, propose a model for organization of international settlements for the Russian Federation, identify the specifics of the existing models of national payment systems of the Russian Federation and PRC for organization of interaction within the framework of the international payment system, evaluate prospects for joining the international payment system of other BRICS countries. Methods. The study employs general scientific methods. Results. Based on the specifics of restrictions on international operations of residents of the Russian Federation, the optimal solution to the problem is to create a closed international payment system on the basis of the payment system of the Bank of Russia, and gradually connect payment service providers from friendly jurisdictions to it, the most promising of which is the Chinese payment system CIPS. Creating a separate international payment system based on Peer-to-Peer type payment infrastructures, using digital currencies of central banks of BRICS countries is a promising model of the organization of international settlements. Conclusions. Building a closed international payment system on the basis of the Bank of Russia's payment system will enable to significantly overcome the existing problems, provide Russian companies and banks with a reliable and safe settlement mechanism for foreign trade and financial transactions.

Исследование изменения сети расселения в аридной зоне Узбекистана

The paper examines the issues of integrating geodata from different sources for geoinformation mapping of the transformation of rural settlement. The object of the study is the change in the population settlement network in the Khorezm oasis and the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan. The study is based on the use of materials from official state statistics on the population in the context of individual settlements, cartographic materials and satellite imagery, and the results of field surveys for geoinformation mapping. An algorithm for geoinformation research of changes in the area and population of settlements over 1959-2023 is proposed. OpenStreet Map geodata are used as a base map, the detail and geometric accuracy of which are sufficient to calculate the quantitative characteristics of the transformation. Multi-temporal topographic maps at a scale of 1:200,000 for 1959, 1979 and 1989 are used to create geodata in vector format. Geocoding of source materials was carried out to form a database consisting of blocks for several dates. The results of the automatically calculated areas of each settlement were used to calculate their growth. Remote sensing materials, in particular, space materials obtained from the Landsat satellite for 1994, Landsat / Copernicus Data SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GE- BCO April 10, 2013–December 14, 2015, October 4–December 14, 2023, and posted on Google Earth Pro, are used to update data geometry. ArcGIS Online services are used for interactive mapping. Data on the population of each locality on the indicated dates were used to calculate growth for the periods 1959–1979, 1979–1989, 1989–2023. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that at certain stages of development the transformation process is characterized by qualitative and quantitative changes in the settlement network. Methods of geospatial analysis were used to identify changes in the types and forms of settlement that characterize the features of the transformation.

Population Dynamics and Settlement Transformation of Russians in the Russian Federation in 1990–2010

This article compares national census data of 1989, 2002, and 2010 to offer a quantitative description of the distribution dynamics of the Russian people in 1989–2010 based on a classification of Russian regions by the share of Russians in their population and using the Eckel index. Research has found that in regions of the Russian Federation where Russians constitute the absolute or the relative majority, despite the ongoing process of depopulation of Russians, censuses indicate no decline in the share of Russians in the population. The article analyzes the reasons behind this fact. Having contrasted the magnitude of changes in the size of the population of Russians and other peoples of the region in the period concerned, the author concludes specific demographic factors, such as natural Russian population growth/decline as well as migration or assimilation processes, to prevail in the respective region. The author identifies the key regions that were the origin or the destination of migration of Russians in the period under consideration and examines the reasons for such migration. It is found that Russians migrated to such regions as Belgorod Oblast, Moscow, Kaliningrad Oblast, Krasnodarsky Krai, Tyumen Oblast. Among regions that saw a considerable migration outflow of Russians are several republics of the North Caucasus, the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Tuva, Koryak Okrug, as well as some regions of the Russian Arctic. A special focus is given to a trend that has been present in recent censuses, namely, the growing number of people who “did not specify their ethnicity”. If that trend persists, it will evidently lead to a distortion of the overall picture of the ethnic composition of Russia and its regions.

A Preliminary Study on the Transformation Strategy of Old Districts from the Perspective of Stock Planning ———Taking Xining City,Qinghai Province Tieluweimin District as an Example

In the process of rapid urbanization in China, urban diseases have gradually emerged, among which the dilapidation of old settlements, as one of the major urban diseases, has received widespread attention from society. From the experience of existing settlements’ transformation, the transformation mode of large-scale demolition and construction not only destroys the neighborhood’s landscape texture and the spirit of place, but also leads to the waste of resources and high development costs. The proposal of stock planning provides a new way of thinking for further rationalization of the way and method of transformation of old cities, which improves the efficiency of construction land and makes urban land more intensive. Based on the background of the transformation of old settlements and the exploration of the academic community, the study selects the Tieluweimin district of Xining City, Qinghai Province, which is adjacent to the railway station and related to the image of the gateway to the city, as a case study. From the perspective of stock planning, drawing on its relevant theories and practical experience, the study examins the existing problems of the district on the basis of a thorough research of the district, and at the same time, combined with its own features and characteristics, it examins the overall environment from the outdoor area, At the same time, combined with its own characteristics and features, it puts forward a “micro” transformation strategy for the district in four aspects: overall outdoor environment, infrastructure renovation, revitalization of cultural industries, and enhancement of management services, with a view to providing a realistic basis and strategic reference for the current transformation of old districts.

TRANSFORMATION OF MORDOVIAN VILLAGES IN BASHKIRIA: GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

At the beginning of the 20th century the Mordovian villages in the Fedorovsky district of the Bashkortostan Republic were characterized by the maximum growth rates and population density among settlements with another ethnic structure of the population. During the 20th century, the average population of Mordovian villages in the district decreased by 79%, and many of the settlements disappeared. High rates of depopulation of Mordovian villages within zone with favorable agro-climatic conditions have no analogues among villages with another ethnic structure of the population. The article provides a geographical analysis of a rapid growth of the Mordvins ethnic area in the 18-19th centuries and its reduction in the 20th century. Specific features of the development of Mordovian villages influenced by natural conditions (attraction to water sources and forest areas), the “periphery of settlement”, the peculiarities of the economic structure (gardening) and dominant psychological universals (closeness, individualism, etc.) are discussed. The evolution of factors driving the transformation of Mordovian villages at different stages of its development is described. The main factors of the “Mordovian village crisis” in the 20th-21st centuries - migration, institutional, economic and ethno-cultural, are identified. To demonstrate the scope of settlement transformation, a modern schematic map of the Alyoshkino (typical Mordovian) village has been compiled showing inhabited and inoccupied homesteads, abandoned and developed territories. Based on the results of in-depth interviews and characteristics of the population, the main groups of residents of the modern Mordovian village are identified: “old people”, “young families”, “new kulaks (farmers)” and “urban cottagers”.

Exploring the Contemporary Challenges of Urbanization and the Role of Sustainable Urban Development: A Study of Lagos City, Nigeria

As urbanization accelerates, sustainable approaches are necessary to counter the adverse environmental impacts. The study investigates the multifaceted challenges of Lagos City due to urbanization and evaluates the effectiveness of sustainable urban development in tackling these problems. It employed a mixed-methods approach to provide informed decisions for liveable urban environments. Census data, satellite imagery, interviews, surveys, and focus group discussions provided a comprehensive understanding of Lagos’s urbanization and its effects. Findings reveal pressing problems such as housing shortages, infrastructure strain, traffic congestion, waste management difficulties, and socio-economic disparities in Lagos City. Local authorities and NGOs have implemented sustainable urban development initiatives, including transport upgrades, green space promotion, waste management, and housing solutions. Such case studies have revealed various interventions, such as informal settlement transformation, renewable energy integration, and urban regeneration. However, persistent issues still exist due to the city’s urbanization. Therefore, Integrated urban planning, inclusivity in policy-making, and technological advances are essential for tackling these challenges. The findings contribute to the academic discourse by providing insights into Lagos City’s urbanization and practical implications for sustainable urban development. It also highlights the need for comprehensive strategies to build a prosperous, equitable, and eco-friendly city.

A Validated Framework for Characterising Informal Settlements: Two Cases from Greater Cairo, Egypt

There have been significant research studies on informal settlements within various disciplines including sociology, economy, politics, governance, and urbanism. However, little is known about the complexity and dynamism of informal settlements. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for understanding the multiplicity of factors influencing the formation and transformation of informal settlements. It examines and validates various intricacies characterising informal settlements in three ways. First, informal settlement characteristics and their relationships are explored. Second, growth and transformation variables are examined. Third, qualities of the informal urban form and those that relate to sustainability are juxtaposed. Utilising two case studies from Greater Cairo, a qualitative approach is adopted including a critical analysis of the literature, interviews with experts and academics, and field observations. Through a comprehensive investigation of informal settlements, two deductions were made: First, the critical physical, social, and economic characteristics that influence their growth were identified. Second, the unique correlations between these characteristics were established and verified by the two case studies. The correlations assist in establishing the logic and dynamics of the informal settlements that can then be applied to develop intervention strategies. In addition, the inferred informal urban form can be considered as a sustainable urban form tailored for further analyses of informal settlements of cities of the global south.

The Value, Protection, and Tourism Transformation of Li Ethnic Group's Traditional Settlements under the Background of "Double Heritage"

The Value, Protection, and Tourism Transformation of Li Ethnic Group's Traditional Settlements under the Background of "Double Heritage"

Urban regeneration of public housing settlements, in Rome: the case study of San Basilio district

The issue of urban regeneration has taken a strong centrality in recent European and national debates, particularly applied in the transformation of suburban settlements. Urban regeneration practices represent a potential tool to steer transformations toward criteria of environmental sustainability and resilience, resulting in reduced land consumption from decreased demand for new urbanization, and increased urban quality and collective well-being. The redevelopment of public housing requires a comprehensive rethinking of its use pattern and integrated and social cohesion tools to act with targeted measures in situations of marginality and physical, social and economic degradation. Working on these pieces of the city becomes fertile ground and a catalyst for opportunities in terms of regeneration of the urban fabric, with benefits and positive impacts, from the local level to a broader scale, driving ambitious measures to combat climate change. The research, articulated on closely related layers − public space and private space, outdoor space and indoor space − from the urban to the architectural scale aims to formulate meta-project guidelines applied to the case study of San Basilio, a suburban settlement of public housing within the city of Rome.

Patterns of Urban Compactness: Indicators of Balance between Built-Up Area and Voids

An effective response to the current international and EU guidelines of limiting land take and desirable reversal of the phenomenon, is possible for Italy only if it succeeds in setting up centralized regional direction structures for settlement transformations and working on operational planning tools. Precisely at this level, a different control of classic urban planning parameters will have to be expressed, centering attention on the relationship between built-up areas and property areas (coverage ratio) and orienting it to support urban design from a soil-saving perspective. This should apply in all homogeneous zones covered in Italian planning, with a decisive revision of current models. The paper examines the possibilities of technical action in this direction by simulating land-saving solutions corresponding to the progressive reduction of areas committed to construction and formulating proposals to strategically better regulate urbanization arrangements. The method used is based on the implementation of a set of indicators from different institutional databases. These relate the size of the average land area used to locate the individual buildings to the residential loads of the buildings, showing in both aspects an extraordinarily low average density that causes extensive land take phenomena.

Urbana morfologija na periferiji juga Afrike

Urban form in African cities is dynamic, unpredictable and in constant flux. Urban morphology remains mostly undocumented in Southern Africa as an emerging region. Current processes of informal land occupation, changing suburbia and incremental settlement transformation patterns present fragile, yet interesting morphological characteristics that are worthy of interpretation. How are we understanding, representing, and anticipating changing southern urban form and what is the value-add of understanding urban morphology in Southern Africa? In the absence of any formalised network of ISUF in Southern Africa, there is the potential to make a meaningful contribution to urban morphology and its associated processes and agents. Three case study perspectives from practice, research and teaching are explained to understand urban form in South Africa, as follows: 1). community-led data collection on urban form and social practice based on evidence from experiences in Cape Town townships; 2). area-based partnerships based on examples from informal settlement upgrading in Khayelitsha; and 3). deliberate and engaged teaching and learning currently taking place in the urban design programme at the University of Cape Town. Urban morphological approaches in the global south must be multi-scalar, relevant, valuable, and most importantly, affordable. This requires stripping out of irrelevant principles and techniques and focusing on low-cost, low maintenance and sustainable AI and labour-intensive of understanding the changing city. The future development of African cities needs to take a significant stand on the role of socio-economic realities, political action, local agency, and their relationships with urban form.

Calculation and Optimization of the Carbon Sink Benefits of Green Space Plants in Residential Areas: A Case Study of Suojin Village in Nanjing

Objectives: In the “dual evaluation” of land space, the evaluation of the importance of ecosystem service functions and residential areas is important, playing a significant role in plants acting as carbon sinks and thereby achieving the transformation of low-carbon settlements. Methods: The paper compares and analyzes five models for quantifying carbon sink benefits and focuses on the national tree benefit calculator (NTBC) model, which is suitable for the carbon sequestration benefits of plants in residential areas, to (i) estimate and compare the economic benefits brought by trees and shrubs in residential areas, (ii) analyze the reasons for the differences between the current data and data for the next 20 years, and (iii) comprehensively evaluate the technical points related to the plant landscape in residential areas to assess whether they comply with the “Green Settlement Standard.” The index system was scored according to the standard. Result: The current data collected for existing trees and shrubs include the following: When the trees are in good condition, the order of the trees according to their economic benefits in the current year is Zelkova serrata > Cedrus deodara > Sapindus saponaria > Sophora japonica > Cinnamomum camphora > Prunus cerasifera > Magnolia grandiflora > Ulmus pumila > Acer L. > Lagerstroemia indica L. > Sapium sebiferum > Sabina > Punica granatum L. > Acer palmatum > Sapium sebiferum > Celtis sinensis Pers > Bambusa multiplex > Cycas > Melia azedarach L. > Pinus parviflora, and that of the trees in the next 20 years is Zelkova serrata > Cinnamomum camphora > Sophora japonica > Sapindus saponaria > Ulmus pumila > Cedrus deodara > Prunus cerasifera > Magnolia grandiflora > Acer L. > Sapium sebiferum > Cycas > Punica granatum L. > Lagerstroemia indica L. > Acer palmatum Thunb > Sabina > Bambusa multiplex > Broussonetia papyrifera > Celtis sinensis Pers > Melia azedarach L. > Pinus parviflora. The order of shrubs according to their economic gain in the current year is Photinia beauverdiana > Pittosporum tobira > Ligustrum lucidum > Viburnum odoratissimum > Buxus cephalantha, and that of the shrubs in the next 20 years is Ligustrum lucidum > Photinia beauverdiana > Pittosporum tobira > Buxus cephalantha > Viburnum odoratissimum. Conclusion: Using plants, the construction ideas, community structure and landscape maintenance of the carbon sink estimation system of residential areas should be updated according to three aspects to promote the quantification of the carbon sink benefits of green areas in urban settlements and the development of low-carbon settlements in China.

Transformation of Urban Settlement and Urbanization in the Perm Krai in the XX–XXI Centuries

This article studies the issues of the deployment of urbanization processes in the modern territory of the Perm Krai from the beginning of the 20th century until the 2020s based on the historical and geographical approach. The purpose of the work is to identify the historical and geographical differences between these processes and outline their comprehensive characteristics. The sources of information were the works of representatives of the Perm school of human geography, various statistical collections, electronic publications and reference books containing data on the administrative and territorial structure of the Perm region, as well as changes in urbanization indicators in the region during the 20th–21st centuries. The authors determine four stages in the development of urbanization in the region based on a comparison of indicators of the dynamics of growth in the number of urban settlements and the growth rate of the urban population taking into account historical, spatial and socio-economic properties and events. It is assumed that the results of each stage were the transformations in the urban settlement system of the region, which was reflected in the expansion (until the 1970s–1980s) or contraction (since the 1990s) of the region’s urban space, changes in the ratio of categories of urban settlements by population, which to date have led to an overconcentration of urban residents in the regional center and its hypertrophied role in the territorial organization of society in the Perm region. The results of the study may be of practical interest to specialists in the field of strategic and territorial planning, who develop documents for the prospective development of the region or determine models for such development. The activities of the regional policy of the Perm Krai at the present stage should take into account the negative experience of the past and outline ways out of the current situation through the creation of a more balanced regional system of settlement and management.

The Importance of the Holistic View in Urbanism: The Role of Physical Geography in the Sustainable City of the 21st Century

The need for an interdisciplinary approach to urban planning is an undeniable fact in the 21st century vision of sustainable cities. Although in geography studies urban planning has always been regarded as a field of human geography, resilience to climate change and the importance of ecosystems in increasingly populated territories offer new perspectives to physical supports, in particular in urban design and in its relevance in environmental aspects of sustainable urban planning. This study takes an integrated approach to physical geography in order to understand urban environments through urban landscapes from a socio-natural standpoint. In the last decade, both at global level, through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and at European level, through directives and environmental programmes, such as the Urban Agenda for the EU and the European Climate Law, the adaptations of urban climate, air quality, and sustainable land-use contingent to nature-based solutions brought about new challenges and perspectives to the 21st century city. In this framework, the energy efficiency and decarbonisation issues were brought into the equation, being key elements in sustainable urban development. Adapting the sub-areas of physical geography to the different mosaics in urban spaces in a holistic manner by analysing endogenous factors – “morphological system” – and exogenous factors – climate –, as well as all those interconnected thereto downstream – hydrology, natural hazards, or the different environmental management and land-use and occupation instruments provides physical geographers with opportunities for the urbanisation of nature, in a temporal matrix, showing the trajectories of transformation of urban settlements.