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This study focuses on the streets and spatial networks of the historic urban area in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, China, by mainly investigating the evolution of their geometric and topological characteristics. It draws on the theories and methods of urban morphology and space syntax, combines the digital historical maps at different times, and uses methods such as historical map spatial interpretation, geographic information system (GIS), sDNA tools, and urban morphological parameter analysis to explore and sort out the evolutionary process of the street and alley network in Changsha from the early modern period to the present. The paper constructs a parameter system for analyzing the street and alley network of historic urban areas from a geometric and topological perspective. It introduces the indicators of road density, road orientation, intersection density, and approaches such as closeness, betweenness, and intelligibility in space syntax into the parameter analysis framework of street and alley network morphology and spatial characteristics evolution. By comparing the changes in various parameters at different spatial scales, the process of the spatial order evolution of the street and alley network in the historic urban area is analyzed, and the evolutionary rules of the various periods' morphological characteristics are extracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of rural residential land (RRL) areas has led to the encroachment of cultivated land, which has seriously reduced cultivated land use efficiency (CLUE). This paper takes 42 cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (MRYR) as an example, using the kernel density estimation method, the Super-SBM model, and mediating effect test methods to explore the impact of RRL change on CLUE during 2000–2020. Specifically, based on the analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of RRL and CLUE, this paper attempts to further explore the influence path of RRL change on CLUE and test whether there is a mediating effect. The results show that (1) the overall RRL area increased by 30,386.34 hm2, except for the decrease in RRL area in a few regions of Hunan Province, and the RRL area in other regions increased. (2) The hot-spot and sub-hot-spot regions of CLUE in the MRYR were mainly concentrated in northwestern Hubei Province and eastern Hunan Province, and the hot-spot and sub-hot-spot regions in Hunan Province are the highest among the three provinces. (3) Under the control of socioeconomic variables, the change in RRL has a significant negative impact on CLUE. (4) The area of cultivated land occupied by rural residential land (CLRRL) has a mediating role during 2000–2020, while the per capita cultivated land area (PCLA) and the rural permanent population (RPP) only have a mediating role during 2000–2010. In the future, the government should strictly prohibit the occupation of cultivated land by RRL and to improve the CLUE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planners need to fully understand the quantity of land supply and its matching relationship with population demand, as these are prerequisites for urban greenspace planning. Most papers have focused on single cities and parks, with little attention paid to comparative analysis between multiple cities on a macro scale, ignoring the influence of spatial effects and leading to a lack of basis for regional green infrastructure planning. This paper selected 102 cities in Hunan province as case studies to comprehensively conduct empirical research using the spatial mismatch model and the geographically weighted regression method. The urban parkland in Hunan province are characterized by significant spatial heterogeneity and correlation, and the mismatch between land supply and population demand should not be ignored, with oversupply and undersupply co-existing. The urban parkland and its mismatch with population are influenced by a number of factors, and each factor has a stronger influence on the latter than the former. Different factors vary widely in the nature and intensity of their effects, and the dynamics are more complex. Economic development, financial capacity, and air quality are key factors, with the former having a negative impact and the latter having opposite (positive) effects. We suggest that when the government allocates land resources and targets for urban parks, it should formulate a differentiated allocation plan based on the supply and demand conditions of each city; besides, it should also place emphasis on regional integration and coordination and support mutual cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the implementation of China's rural revitalization strategy, the societies and economies of villages have been comprehensively developed, but the carbon emissions in rural areas have also been increasing year by year. Therefore, low-carbon control of the rural spatial form has become an important element of rural revitalization. This paper takes 18 suburban integrated villages in the plain terrain within Hunan Province, China, as the research object, quantifies the spatial morphology indicators of the overall rural community and the neighborhood building groups, and investigates the relationship between rural spatial form and carbon emissions in plain terrain, aiming to clarify the content of low-carbon control in rural spatial planning. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) The correlation between spatial form and carbon emissions at different levels of suburban integrated villages is "total volume form > neighborhood building groups combination form > overall layout form > neighborhood connection form". When the scale of the villages is fixed, the spatial layout of the neighborhood building groups has a more direct influence on the carbon emissions of the residents. (2) The building density in the overall spatial form of the village has the greatest influence on the carbon emissions of the suburban integrated villages, and it is positively correlated. (3) There is a negative correlation between the form of neighborhood building groups and carbon emissions within a certain range. When the distance between the front and back of a building is 8–12 m, the carbon emissions of the building decrease with the increase in the degree of aggregation on the building, but when the distance between the front and back of a building reaches 12 m or more, the influence of the group layout form on the carbon emissions of the building is weakened. (4) Finally, based on the principle of "macro-control quantity and meso-control shape", this paper proposes new control content and indicators for Hunan's rural territorial space planning, which can provide a reference for low-carbon control in rural space form planning with suburban integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal-contaminated cultivated land treatment (HMCLT) plays an essential role in the realization of sustainable utilization of cultivated land resources and sustainable agricultural development. Evaluating this policy's impact on agricultural development resilience (ADR) has great practical significance. This paper reveals the impact HMCLT has on ADR from the perspectives of time and space, utilizing data from Hunan province between 2007 and 2019. The synthetic control method (SCM) and spatial Durbin model (SDM) are employed for investigating the temporal and spatial effects HMCLT has on ADR. The results demonstrate that the HMCLT policy has effectively improved the pilot cities' ADR and can enhance ADR in adjacent areas from a spatial perspective. In addition to HMCLT policy, financial support for agriculture, farmers' per capita disposable income, and rural population density are key factors affecting ADR. However, they all have a crowding-out effect on the ADR in neighboring areas. Due to these circumstances, while the governments make efforts in promoting the policy design and improvement of HMCLT, increasing the disposable income of farmers, narrowing regional differences in government financial support and human capital, and promoting regional interactions are essential to enhance ADR. This study formulates valuable insights for policymakers and researchers in the field of sustainable agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on the governance of rural living environments in China from the perspective of "System-Life". The objective of improving rural living environments is to construct a beautiful countryside, which is an important part of China's rural revitalization strategy. Through a literature review, a field study, and quantitative analysis, this paper explores the tensions and interactions between local governments and social demand by investigating four elements of the village improvement program: the village's appearance, sewage treatment, domestic garbage disposal, and the sanitation of toilets. We also examine the interactions between the main participants involved in the governance of rural living environments, including the primary-level governments, village committees, and the villagers themselves. It was found that there is a path toward constructing a benign interaction between "system" and "life". In terms of "system", the primary-level governments play a decisive role in the implementation of policies, offering a creative interpretation and flexible implementation of a policy. From the perspective of "life", the village committee is the bridge between the primary-level governments and villagers. The villagers have their own understanding of policy and the logic of life. This probe leads us to suggest that primary-level governments need to respect the perceptions and priorities of villagers in order to improve the performance of this well-intentioned program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting and improving the quality of cultivated land is important to agricultural modernization. Based on data from a survey of 706 rice-growing households in Hunan, Jiangxi and Jiangsu, this paper uses the Probit model, CMP method and Biprobit model to systematically analyze the impact of agricultural socialized services on farmers' cultivated land quality protection behaviors. This study finds that agricultural socialized services have a significantly positive impact on the adoption of soil testing formulas and straw returning technology among farmers, which can improve both the probability and the degree of cultivated land quality protection. The heterogeneity test results suggest that agricultural socialized services provide a higher incentive for the older generation of farmers to adopt arable land quality protection. In addition, we found that agricultural socialized services are more conducive to the protection of contracted land than transferred land. Therefore, we recommend that policies on agricultural socialized services be further implemented, the supply of agricultural socialized services be optimized, and the role of service organizations in publicizing and promoting cultivated land protection techniques be brought into play. We also posit that the simultaneous encouragement of farmers in using agricultural socialized services would protect the quality of cultivated land. During this process, additional attention should be paid to the response differentiation of peasants with different characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building new industrial towns has become a popular strategy for the Chinese government, as part of its aim to disperse the population and create new concentrations of activity. However, relevant studies have shown that these development strategies often struggle to provide appropriate infrastructure and public services to residents. In this paper, we explore the case of Chenglingji new port area, which is an industrial new town in Yueyang City, Hunan Province. To understand the provision of public services in the area, we analyzed the construction of public service facilities using GIS software, while 939 questionnaires were distributed and collected from local residents and workers. The survey results confirm the low level of satisfaction with the livability of the area, and the lack and unevenness of public services to meet the needs of local residents and foreign workers. It further emphasizes that the provision of public services should be considered in the future planning of the Chenglingji new port area. We also provide some suggestions on the construction of industrial new towns of the same type as Chenglingji and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the transfer of rural land is an important way for many developing countries to improve the efficiency of rural land use and develop the rural economy. A reasonable income distribution scheme (IDS) is the key to enhancing farmer willingness to participate in the transfer of rural construction land use rights. However, little attention has been paid to farmers' preference for the IDS of the transfer of rural collective construction land use rights. This research aims to detect the farmers' preference for IDS in the process of rural collective land rights transfer. Based on the survey data of 489 farmers in Liuyang City, Hunan Province and Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, China, a random parameter Logit model is used to explore their preference for the IDS of the transfer of rural collective construction land use rights. The results show that, in general, the farmers focus on the income distribution ratio and pension in the IDS, which will significantly improve their utility. There are obvious regional differences in their preference for IDSs. For example, farmers in Liuyang prefer payment in shares, while those in Deqing prefer cash. Thus, the IDS for the transfer of rural collective construction land use rights should be based on the basic principle of ensuring fair land value-added income for the farmers, increased payment forms with social security functions, and reasonable IDSs in accord with the preferences of farmers in different regions, so as to enhance farmer willingness to participate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, the rural human settlement system (RHSS) reflects the relationship between rural people and land but is affected by land use and land cover change (LUCC). Maintaining a harmonious development between RHSS resilience (RHSSR) and LUCC is an important rural development issue. However, the spatial association between LUCC and RHSSR remains unclear, constraining effective land use and rural policymaking. The association between RHSSR and LUCC was assessed from a spatial perspective. Using county-level spatial panel data for Hunan Province, China (2000–2020), an evaluation indicator system was established to measure RHSS and analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of RHSSR using a geospatial analysis and geodetector model. The average RHSSR level increased from 0.158 to 1.406. The RHSSR generally presented a three-level stepped spatial distribution feature of high in the east and low in the west, with a belt-like distribution. Additionally, the RHSSR was consistent with land use intensity (LUI), but there was significant spatial heterogeneity in the spatial relationship between LUI and RHSSR. The evolution of RHSSR occurred through industrial development, medical service improvement, increased income, and environmental protection. This has important implications for future rural development strategies, the sustainable development of rural land, and the integration of RHSS into regional planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing interest in Chinese gardens, there is a lack of research on Changsha Gardens. Through document retrieval, review, and map analysis, we reconstructed the Changsha Gardens during the Ming Dynasty. Our findings reveal that gardening flourished in Changsha during this period. The royal gardens, dominated by literati aesthetics, set the trend for development, while the landscaping techniques were influenced by Jiangnan Gardens. Private gardens placed more emphasis on artistic mood and cultural implications. Landscape architects incorporated towers, terraces, and suburban mountain gardening to borrow scenery. The use of spring water to create landscapes and the rectangular shapes of the water bodies reflected Neo-Confucianism and practical functions. Planting design focused on meaning over form, with landscapes used to commemorate sages and promote the farming and reading culture and other Confucian values. However, it relied too much on borrowing natural scenery and the pragmatism of the Hunan culture, which might have affected the progress of landscaping techniques and the development of Changsha Gardens. Changsha Gardens were not as skilled as Jiangnan Gardens, and the style was not as prominent as other regional schools of gardens. This might be the reason why Changsha Gardens have not become one of the regional schools of gardens in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]