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The large-scale rural land acquisition projects for non-agricultural purposes has cast a long shadow on rural households' livelihoods in China. In this paper, by applying Sustainable Livelihood Framework and vulnerability approach, and based on our longitudinal study (2008–2017) on a land acquisition case in S village, Jining city, Shandong province, we discuss the dynamism of households' livelihood changes before land acquisition and in decade after land acquisition. It is found that households' different vulnerabilities and livelihood restorations in decade after land acquisition, are the results of their different capabilities of building various livelihood capitals. Another evident finding is that land acquisition as it is increasingly practiced with China's rapid urbanisation process has triggered risks to most rural households' livelihoods. The implications of the research indicate the necessity of local governments to guarantee for sustaining rural households' livelihoods after land acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Chinese governments began exploring centralized residence of rural households, with a view to protecting farming land through the incorporation and reduction of rural construction land, building new countryside, and solving the problem of insufficient construction land quotas for urban development. In the centralized residence process, it is important to study the willingness of rural households and factors influencing their willingness. This empirical study used Panshan County and Jiangshan City as representatives of pure and nonpure farming areas, respectively. Three logistic regression models were applied, to explore differences between pure and nonpure farming areas and the factors influencing rural households' willingness to accept centralized residence according to five aspects: households individual characteristics, family economy, policy perception, housing conditions, and social environment. The results showed that, for nonpure farming areas, such as Jiangshan City, when there is more trust in the village collective, less arable area, increased satisfaction with infrastructure and higher non-agricultural income, the more willing rural households are to accept centralized residence. In pure farming areas, such as Panshan County, when there are greater expectations of policy, the safer environments and higher non-agricultural income, the more willing rural households are to accept centralized residence. By comparison, rural households in nonpure farming areas are more concerned with fairness future quality of life, while those in pure farming areas are more concerned with implementation and guaranteed compensation. China's centralized residence policy should focus on the objective conditions of each region, and appropriately differentiate based on different areas and categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural housing reconstruction is critical in realizing sustainable recovery. Concentrated rural settlement (CRS) was widely promoted under the context of new countryside construction after the 5.12 Sichuan Earthquake in 2008. Farmers' risk perception of CRS and their corresponding actions affect realizing sustainable recovery. However, few studies have attempted to comprehend farmers' risk perception of such practices, and the impact factors of risk perception remain unknown. Therefore, this study investigates farmers' risk perception of CRS development using four cases in the hardest earthquake-hit area. ANOVA is employed to explore the factors that influence risk perception of CRS development, and in-depth discussions are conducted to explore the reasons behind such perceptions. Potential measures are proposed to reduce relevant risk factors. This study's findings can help local governments in understanding the concerns of farmers toward CRS and in identifying suitable approaches to mitigate risks in order to realize the sustainability of CRS development. This study also provides references for local government to address the specialized concerns when developing CRS within both disaster and non-disaster context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural housings' development in reservoir areas of (mass) tourism is a complex process since the areas are under increasing construction sprawls with ecological consequences. This paper presents a new planning approach to develop a reliable model identifying suitable to unsuitable sites for rural housing planning in Alange reservoir areas, Badajoz, Spain. The hybrid model presented herein is the combined application of the geographic information systems (GIS) and the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) with the fuzzy DEMATEL method in order to make rural housings' suitability map. The sixteen criteria were clustered into four groups, namely physical, natural, environmental and socio-economic group. The FDEMATEL participatory method was applied for groups/criteria weight coefficients calculation regarding with their influence and sensitivity on rural housings' development in reservoir areas under (mass) tourism. Total 146 respondents participated in the weighting process. With the aid of the weighted linear combination (WLC), the final rural housings' suitability map is evaluated for the study area reported on grading scale of 0–1, from least suitable areas to most suitable area. Here, it shows that 17.30% of Alange municipality has a most suitable area for rural housings' development after considering groups with stable sensitive analysis. The proposed methodology and the results, therefore, can be used for sustainable and resilient planning policy at all government levels in the decision-making process due to its flexible character. Thus, this approach could support to verify suitable housings’ sites in areas with similar geographical situations and conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural migrants have difficulty obtaining decent housing in destinations, which has a profound impact on their quality of life and settlement intentions. Previous studies on rural migrants' settlement intention roughly care more about individuals and family, hometown connection, and economic status, paying less attention to the analysis of urban housing. The city attraction is also not fully considered in impact model. This paper discusses a hierarchical impact model of rural migrants' settlement intentions based on probability choice theory, focusing on the impact of housing conditions, including housing type, housing burden, live-in family members, and housing pressure, and urban house prices on rural migrants' intention to settle in cities. The finding is that reliable and high-quality housing, housing expenditure ratio, number of live-in family members, and a sense of housing pressure are positively correlated with the settlement intentions of rural migrants. The odds ratio of the settlement intention of them who own houses, rent public houses, and borrow houses is 3.70x, 1.93x, and 1.82x, respectively, when using rental housing as the reference. The odds ratio of those living in shared rental house and housing provided by employers is lower. If the housing expenditure ratio increases by 1 unit from the average value, then the probability of settlement intention in the city is 1.737 times the probability that rural migrants will not settle. If the number of live-in family members increases by 1 person, then the probability of settlement intention in the city increases by 19.6%. The odds ratio of the settlement intentions under housing pressure is 1.04 times that of the opposite scenario. The impact of house price on the settlement intentions turns out to be nonlinear, showing an inverted "U" shape, that is, when a house price beyond a specific range has a negative effect. In addition, the urban economic level and administrative level have an important positive effect, and province-level municipality has a significantly positive effect. The results will help formulate targeted population and housing policies to serve new urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rural-to-urban migration under China's rapid urbanization, the Bohai Rim of China experienced dramatic rural housing land transition (RHLT) in the last decade, especially in terms of per capita rural housing land (PRHL). The objectives of this study are to (i) analyze the spatio-temporal patterns of RHLT, and (ii) detect the underlying driving forces and mechanism of RHLT in Bohai Rim during 2000–2010. To achieve these goals, we collected and rasterized high resolution Landsat TM data, socio-economic and physical environmental data for the Bohai Rim. Spatial econometric regression models at both grid scale and county scale were developed to examine the driving forces of RHLT in Bohai Rim. The results indicated that the distribution of rural housing land was characterized by vertical zonality, i.e., the proportion of rural housing land decreased gradually with the increase of elevation, and was more sensitive to slope than to elevation. The results of hot spots analysis showed that the spatial mismatch of rural housing land change and rural population migration made the regional differences of RHLT more remarkable, based on which four rural housing land consolidation regional types were differentiated. The authors argue that towns are effective hubs for linking the urban system and rural system, and it is better to get the farmers to migrate to towns instead of big cities in the process of pushing forward China's new-type urbanization in the future. For this, it is necessary to further improve related system and institution. Only by this way can the relationship between out-migrated farmers and rural housing land be orderly and completely removed, so as to smoothly pushing forward rural housing land consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Diversity, complexity and change have become the hallmarks of contemporary Chinese rural settlements. However, the literature so far has paid insufficient attention to this phenomenon from the standpoint of functional transition and related land-use change. To fill in this gap, this paper explores the functional transition of rural settlement through analyzing land-use differentiation in a transect of Beijing. Land-use changes are presented along the differentiation of land-use structure and use change of rural housing. The results indicate that there is an obvious differentiation of land-use structure from near-urban countryside to the rural hinterland. Besides that, the use change of rural housing also has regional characteristics. They are different responses to the urban sprawl, respectively from the collective economic organization and single rural resident. The regional differentiation implies a functional transition in some rural settlements, including increases of non-agricultural function and urban servicing function. Quantitative evaluation of the functional intensity and its rules on spatial–temporal evolution still need to be approached in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Multifunctional rural development provides a powerful entrée into understanding sustainable rural transformation development against the context of rapid socio-economic growth with cascading effects on human-land relations. This paper attempts to summarize the stage characteristics of the multifunctional rural development and categorize China's rural areas by using both multi-factor comprehensive evaluation method and spatial analysis. Rural areas in China were encapsulated as four functional types-agricultural production function, economic development function, social security function, and ecological conservation function, and it was divided into 4 categories and 16 subcategories. The results indicated that the rural multifunctionality index presents obvious spatial heterogeneity during 2000–2015. Both the agricultural production function and social security function have shown an obvious increase, while the economic development function has much room for improvement. Recognizing the interaction between multiple functions is of great significance for implementation of strong multifunctionality pathways. The evolution of multifunctional rural is driven by both policy-oriented and market-induced forces. The results provide evidence for the cognition that multifunctionality is spatially complex, and contribute to the geography of multifunctionality. • Multifunctional rural development (MRD) is of paramount significance for rural sustainability. • Conceptual framework and assessment basis of MRD are established. • Spatio-temporal differentiation and regional types of MRD in China are probed. • Policy-oriented and market-induced mechanisms driving MRD are analyzed. • It has potential to enrich the geography of multifunctionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A range of factors has affected the design and construction of Indigenous housing in remote areas of Australia in recent times, including: socio-demographic issues; culture and design; consultation processes; the costs of remoteness; and procurement and delivery processes. Their implications for appropriate design and construction of remote Indigenous housing are analysed in this paper. Most significantly, these factors cannot be separated from cost because the need to spread available funds broadly to build the largest number of houses at the best price affects design and construction quality, and these are often neglected in the short-term budgeting within this process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

"Population decline and land expansion (PDLE)", as the general phenomenon in rural residential areas, which is viewed as an unfavorable issue in human-land interaction system. This paper identified and categorized human-land interaction within rural residential areas from 2010 to 2020 by applying an integrated framework into the process of assessing its effects on intensive land using pattern and human living environment quality. The conclusions illustrate that the study area—Shandong Province presents the phenomenon of "PDLE". Meanwhile, there are also some other changing types of human-land interaction at the county level, such as "Population Decline and Land Degradation (PDLD)", "Population Increase and Land Degradation (PILD)", "Population Increase and Land Expansion (PILE)". We found the types of incremental land, including housing land, industrial land, and public management and service land, are conductive to protecting people's livelihoods and promoting development through research on the structural changes in rural residential areas. Conversely, the governments' institutional constraints and location conditions are the dominant force for the formation and spatial differentiation of reducing land. Furthermore, rural residential areas with the "PDLD", the "PILD" and the "PILE" could improve the intensive land use pattern. Meanwhile, "PILE" and "PDLE" in rural residential areas have a great role in improving the living environment of those areas. Actually, human-land interactions such as "PDLD" and "PILD" have led to a decrease in the quality of production and living in rural residential areas, and "PDLE" will threaten the intensive land use pattern and eco-friendly environment. According to these results, this paper also provided critical research on the Chinese rural development policies and land use management. To some extent, the human-land elements allocation should be taken into consideration in the aspect of land use scale in rural residential areas. At the same time, the decreasing plan approaches to some residential areas which fulfilled land degradation, as well as the increasing supply mechanism of other residential areas which fulfilled land expansion should also be feasible strategies for Chinese policy-makers and planners to realize rural sustainable developments. • Subjective demands and policy planning have jointly promoted the human-land interaction. • "Population decline and land expansion (PDLE)" shows dual effects on rural development. • The change of rural residential land should pay attention to both the results and the process. • Newly increased land use structure in rural residential areas satisfies rural residents' needs. • Promoting stock resources and incremental planning are feasible strategies for rural land use high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban-rural integration (URI), as a tendency of urban-rural development worldwide, is an inevitable way to create a coordinated and sustainable human society. China has been haunted by a variety of issues related to uncoordinated urban-rural interaction in recent decades and is in the midst of a critical stage faced with great challenges and opportunities as well in realizing urban-rural integration. Therefore, only by fully understanding the URI characteristics in different regions over vast China can we better formulate and implement targeted strategies and regionally adapted policies to boost URIs in the new era. This paper develops a conceptual framework based on the basis, driver and goal (i.e., BDG framework) of the URI system, which could potentially reflect the interaction mechanism between urban and rural areas. Then, the URI index (URII) was constructed based on 39 indices to measure the regional differentiation and explore the spatiotemporal evolution of the URI level from 2000 to 2018. The results showed that: (1) during the study period, the overall URI in China remained at a low level, and the evolution of the URII demonstrated a U-shaped curve, with 2006 as the inflection point, after which the URI level continuously increased. (2) The URII was characterized by significant spatial agglomeration as "high in the east and low in the western and central regions". Hot spots of the URI level included Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian in China's eastern part, while the cold spots were concentrated in the transition zones between the eastern and western parts of China, mainly composed of Sichuan, Hubei, Shaanxi and Gansu. (3) Three types of URIs were identified using the latent profile analysis (LPA) method, corresponding to the early, middle and later stages of URI development in China, and their spatial distribution presented a gradient descending pattern from the southeast coast to the northwest. In the future, it will be necessary to focus on the characteristics of the basis-driver-goal indices and the nine related second-level indices of each URI type to strengthen the strengths and compensate for the weaknesses to further realize national URI development. This study will provide a scientific reference for the effective implementation of rural revitalization and regional coordinated development strategies. • Urban-rural integration (URI) is the first way to realize China's rural revitalization strategy. • A conceptual framework was constructed based on the basis, driver and goal of the URI, i.e., the BDG framework. • The urban-rural integration index (URII) demonstrated as a U-shaped curve. • URII showed spatial agglomeration as "high in the east and low in the west". • URI had three types in China, presenting a gradational change from the southeast coast to the northwest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural space development and value distribution are the material basis for sustainable rural development. Rural development problems in China's farming areas relate to limited space, unclear ownership, inefficient organization. Rural spatial governance takes material space and the spatial relationship as governance objects, combining the fair distribution of space with the participation of multi-stakeholders in rural development. This paper examines "matter–organization–ownership" governance path for rural areas, analyzing the efficiency of spatial governance, and investigating the "population, land, industry, and urban–rural relationship" transformation mechanism needed for rural development. We selected Xiangbu Village, a typical farming village, for empirical research to verify the internal relationship between spatial governance and rural development. Xiangbu Village has significantly improved its rural collective organization, public service ability, space asset value, and other aspects through multi-scale and multi-means governance paths. In Xiangbu Village, collective power and spatial governance reconstructed the multi-stakeholder structure of the village, transforming the spatial connection from weak to strong and improving the spatial and overall benefit structure. The process of rural spatial governance involving multi-stakeholders has promoted individuals' land rights claims, the participation of multi-stakeholders, and the will to return to start businesses in Xiangbu Village. The space rights reorganization process of public spatial governance in Xiangbu Village provided the economic, organizational, and material space foundation for industrial development. While spatial governance brings opportunities for village development, it also brings risks. The collective power supervision and restraint mechanisms are imperfect, and problems with the participation and coordination of the ternary forces of government, market, and society still need an urgent solution. • A conceptual model of rural spatial governance based on "matter–organization–ownership" path is constructed. • Investigating mechanism of "population, land, industry, urban–rural relationship" transformation drive rural development. • Coordinating the internal relationship between spatial governance and rural development in China's farming areas. • Combining "bottom-up" and "top-down" of rural spatial governance is the current alternative path for rural development. • China's rural development needs to carry out spatial governance based on its own conditions and foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of urbanization, industrialization and decentralized fiscal reform in China, large areas of farmlands are being converted from rural land to urban construction (residential, commercial and industrial) land. Taking Wuhan City in Hubei Province, China as a case study, we analyze land value creation by value creators including farmers (collectives), the government and developers at the level of the individual parcel, community, township and district in the process of rural-urban land conversion from farmland to residential, commercial and industrial use. The results show that (1) at the individual analysis level, land prices increase significantly during the process of land acquisition, land leasing and real estate development and sales. Land prices and incremental values differ greatly across the three land types, with higher prices for residential and commercial land, and lower prices for industrial land. In addition, farmers (collectives) receive the lowest share of the land value revenue, while the highest share is obtained by developers, followed by the government. (2) At the community, township and district levels of analysis, the spatial distribution of land values shows similar characteristics at different scales. Moreover, scale effects are found in land value creation and benefit distribution. Average land prices and incremental values decrease from the scale of the community, to the township, to the district. Furthermore, the difference in land values decreases gradually when moving from the community scale to the district scale. This study contributes to a better understanding of land value increments and benefit distribution at multiple levels of analysis, for multiple stakeholders, and for multiple land use types. • Land prices increase significantly during the process of land acquisition, leasing and real estate development and sales. • Scale effects are found in land value creation and benefit distribution. • Urban land developers share the highest benefit, follow by the government and farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The household registration (hukou) system in China allows hukou to be transferred in the process of rural-urban migration, and such transfers exert a significant influence on the pace of urbanization and regional development in contemporary China. Rural-urban migrants who transfer their hukou to urban areas can use the collectively-owned rural homesteads in their hometowns that they had occupied until the housing properties on these lands disappear. Understanding the role of rural homesteads in rural-urban migrants' hukou transfer intentions is of significance for efforts to promote urbanization and to formulate appropriate policies regarding hukou transfer and agricultural land management. Nevertheless, the influence of access to rural homesteads on hukou transfer intentions has gone largely underexplored. In the present study, the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey data provide a basis for exploring these issues at the national level. The findings reveal that rural-urban migrants with access to a rural homestead show a 12% decrease in their propensities for transferring hukou than those without such access. Results derived from models with interaction terms suggest that two mechanisms are responsible for this outcome, an opportunity cost effect (OCE) and a revenue effect (RE). The OCE strengthens the inhibition effect of age on hukou transfer intentions but weakens the positive impact of labor contract coverage. The RE includes the absolute revenue effect (ARE) and the relative revenue effect (RRE). The former is evident in the weakened positive influence of non-village hometowns (townships, counties, or cities) on hukou transfer intentions and the latter in the strengthened positive influence of city size. The results further indicate that rural homesteads mediate hukou transfer intentions rather than affect them directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has a considerable demand for the improvement of the rural residential environment. However, limited knowledge of the rural situation and insufficient consideration of residents' demands impede development. To improve the current living environment, it is essential to understand the current conditions of rural housings and the decision-making process of residents on new residential construction. This study established an improved Consumer Decision Model (CDM) that describes the decision-making process of rural residents on residential construction. Based on the CDM model, a questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the rural residential situation and the expectations of residents on new construction. An in-depth analysis was carried out by logistic regression to develop the impact paths of crucial factors that affect residential construction cost and duration. A three-tier demand hierarchy was then established to depict the relationship between residents' demands and preferred decision. Policy suggestions for the improvement of the living environment in rural areas were also proposed at the end of the study. The result extends the CDM theory to the application of credence goods (e.g., rural residences) and also provides an impact path model to understand the influencing mechanism in determining rural residential decisions on new construction. • A consumer decision model for rural residential construction was established. • Current situation of rural China and expectations of residents were surveyed. • Effects of the crucial factors on decisions were explained in an impact path model. • Residents' demands on new construction were classified into a three-tier hierarchy. • Policy suggestions were provided for the improvement of the living environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livability, especially the livability of cities, attracts more and more attention in contemporary China. However, our knowledge towards understanding, evaluating, and improving rural livability is still weak. This paper attempts to sort out the concept and connotation of rural livability, put forward an indicator system for evaluating rural livability at village level in Changshu city of Jiangsu province, and thus provide theoretical and methodological support for better implementing national rural vitalization strategy. Rural livability defined as a rural place equipped with the capacity to achieve the aspired or desired quality of life for the residents reflects the combination of environment and life quality concerns. A livable village in Chinese context is conceptualized with substance of survival and revival to livability. The index system established in the article therefore contains five dimensions, namely infrastructure conditions, public services, sanitation situations, employment opportunities, and social engagement. The empirical case study found obvious disparities in the scores of the comprehensive index and each dimension. Specifically, the scores of infrastructure conditions and sanitation situations dimensions are higher than that of the other three. And the total scores of the 222 villages shows an obvious circle structure centered on the county-town. In the process of rural vitalization, we could adopt more precise measures according to the spatial differences of scores of livability, so as to improve the livability of rural areas more effectively. The authors argue that more attention should be paid to strengthen the construction of comprehensive monitoring system for rural livability evaluation and establish threshold value for each evaluation index, and identify and coordinate the livability needs of different groups, such as the elderly, women, children, and migrants. • Rural livability and livable rural were conceptualized. • Indicator system and quantitative methods for rural livability evaluation were put forward. • The livability index of 222 villages in Changshu city was calculated and then analyzed. • Rural livability evaluation can provide valuable information for rural vitalization. • New comprehensive monitoring system for rural livability was put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of rural settlements is contingent on whether the rural functioning and land use suitability are considered in anticipated trajectories. However, rural multifunctionality has often been neglected in existing studies of rural spatial restructuring, especially within a heterogeneous rural landscape. This study proposed an integrated approach that links village functionality and land suitability at different scales to design targeted strategies for rural settlement restructuring. An empirical investigation was conducted in Shengzhou City, a rural region with diverse geomorphic features. The transformation process and spatial pattern of rural housing lands in the study area varied markedly across time and space. Our results showed that multiple physical, socio-economic and institutional determinants jointly contribute to these diversified trends. Further, clustering methods and ecological niche models were adopted to illustrate current and potential niches of rural settlements at multiple levels. By considering the significant driving forces of rural development, combined with management orientation factors, we revealed five types of villages with different functions. Then, distinct rural spatial restructuring scenarios with policy guidelines were concluded. These findings also illustrate the potential utility of the proposed methodologies for rural spatial restructuring. We proposed that the application of ecological niche theory to rural spatial restructuring can enhance our knowledge of the changing social-ecological system and serve as a nexus between interdisciplinary perspectives. • Multi-dimensional determinants triggered diverse transformation process of rural settlements. • An integrated approach that linking rural functionality land suitability were proposed. • Distinct restructuring patterns were concluded using clustering algorithms and ecological niche modeling. • Apply ecological niche theory into rural restructuring could extend the scope and paradigm of rural studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past forty years, rural China has undergone dramatic spatial restructuring, and its production functions have gradually become diversified. However, although several studies have examined factors affecting the distribution of rural settlements in recent years, few have focused on rural production functions. To fill this gap, this paper proposes an analytical framework to understand the impact of rural production functions on the spatial distribution of rural settlements and quantitatively analyzes the rural areas of Taizhou municipality by using the bivariate Moran's I method at the township level. In general, the results show that the spatial distribution of rural settlements has different correlations with each type of rural production functions. The distribution has the strongest correlation with agricultural production functions, followed by the industrial manufacturing and service supply functions, while the weakest correlation is with the ecological leisure function. Further, in the high-value areas of the agricultural production function and the ecological leisure function, the distribution of rural settlements is discrete, with low density, a large scale, and a long distance. In contrast, in the high-value areas of the industrial manufacturing function and the service supply function, the distribution of settlements is clustered, with high density, a small scale, and a short distance. Based on the correlations, this paper sketches four types of ideal town-villages construction pattern to guide the optimization of rural settlements layout, including the productivist-oriented evenness pattern, the transit-oriented axis pattern, the idyll-oriented corridor pattern, and the urbanization-oriented integration pattern. This research provides scientific guidance for developing countries in the spatial planning of rural territories and the optimization of rural settlements. • Spatial heterogeneity of rural production functions is explored in the township level. • There are certain correlations between different rural production functions and spatial distribution of rural settlements. • The four ideal town-village construction patterns are presented, applied to the different dominant production function. • The implication for rural spatial planning is conducive to promoting rural vitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kandovan, a rural village in northwestern Iran, is a significant settlement because of its unique cone-shaped architecture and distinctive social consistency, having been continually inhabited for the past nine centuries. This uniqueness was officially acknowledged when it was enshrined in Iran's National Heritage List in (give date here). Over the past two decades, however, this unique settlement has experienced profound changes driven by the 21st-century lifestyles of its current residents. This research paper aims to identify the underlying factors responsible for these on-going changes. Data on the architecture, society, and culture of its inhabitants was collected using the qualitative methodology of an embedded single-case study, drawing on direct observation, interviews, document analysis, archival records, and physical artefacts, the content of this data then being evaluated using thematic analysis. The results from this analysis have indicated that both the rural community and unique architecture of Kandovan are fast disappearing, mostly due to mass-tourism and urbanisation which is resulting in a rapid change of the socio-cultural backgrounds of the local residents. This research confirms the importance of providing additional support for the preservation and management of the architectural context and living traditions of Kandovan as the last surviving rock cone-shaped rural habitation, and other, similarly endangered heritage sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing differences between urban and rural residents' housing rights not only affect the implementation of rural revitalization strategies but also affect the quality of urbanization. Based on relative deprivation theory and Pareto optimality, this study investigated this problem and, combined with a practical summary of the reform of the homestead system, explored ways to solve the disparities between urban and rural residents' housing rights, aiming to provide a basis for policy adjustments. Theoretical analysis and case study were used for this research. There are significant disparities in the housing rights of urban and rural residents. Urban and rural residents have a strong sense of relative deprivation, which is not conducive to the stable development of urban and rural society. On the basis of 15 pilot cases of rural homestead reform, we found that a large gap exists between the housing rights of rural and urban residents and that the gap differs among different pilot areas. An integrated urban–rural housing system could significantly improve the housing rights of rural residents, facilitate Pareto optimization, and reduce the sense of relative deprivation between urban and rural residents. Creating a new rural housing system and promoting the construction of an integrated urban–rural housing system would help promote equality in the housing rights of urban and rural residents. Such a system could also help improve the housing utility of urban and rural residents and integrate urban and rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]