Estimating Housing Vacancy Rates in Rural China Using Power Consumption Data

Abstract

Village hollowing is a growing policy problem globally, but accurately estimating housing vacancy rates is difficult and costly. In this study, we piloted the use of power consumption data to estimate the vacancy rate of rural housing. To illustrate the method used, we took power consumption data in 2014 and 2017 in an area of rural China to analyze the change in housing vacancies. Results indicated that the rural vacancy rates were 5.27% and 8.69%, respectively, while underutilization rates were around 10% in 2014 and 2017. Second, there was significant spatial clustering of vacant rural housing, and the hotspots were mainly distributed in western mountainous areas, whereas villages near urban areas had lower vacancy rates. Third, rural vacancies increased from 2014 to 2017. Compared with other methods, our method proved to be accurate, very cost-effective and scalable, and it can offer timely spatial and temporal information that can be used by policymakers to identify areas with significant village hollowing issues. However, there are challenges in setting the right thresholds that take into consideration regional differences. Therefore, there is also a need for more studies in different regions in order to scale up this method to the national level.

Land Consolidation in Rural China: Life Satisfaction among Resettlers and Its Determinants

“…Based on the results of the life satisfaction questionnaire after land consolidation, we found that improvement in housing quality and better neighborhood environment and facilities increase the life satisfaction of villagers. China is still at an early stage of accelerated urbanization and how the government decides to utilize rural land and labor resources, and how they can find a more balanced approach to development that reduces the disparities between rural and urban inhabitants both have serious implications in sustaining the economic prosperity of the country [40][41][42].…”

Back to the Countryside: Rural Development and the Spatial Patterns of Population Migration in Zhejiang, China

“…After the reform in 1978, the relaxation of mobility control and new economic opportunities in coastal regions resulted in a massive flow of rural surplus labor to the cities, estimated to be around 290 million people [1,2]. This massive flow of migration is an important driver of urbanization and industrialization but also creates problems of rural depopulation and decline, especially in the poorer inland regions [3][4][5][6]. Second, a trend of return-migration has been emerging, with rural migrants moving back to the countryside and small towns.…”

“…Third, urban studies tend to focus on the impact of rural-to-urban migration on urban development and its challenges, such as housing, social exclusion, and integration [36][37][38][39]. Fourth, a number of studies exist from the perspective of rural studies, with a strong focus on examining the impact of the outflow of rural residents, such as rural hollowing, rural poverty, and social issues such as inequality, neglected children and elderly people [4,[40][41][42][43]. Of particular relevance to this study, research on the factors influencing population migration in China can be classified into two major groups.…”

Rural Housing Vacancy in Metropolitan Suburbs and Its Influencing Factors: A Case Study of Nanjing, China

“…At the macro scale, some studies have observed a non-coupling relationship between the rural population decline and increased rural housing areas [14,15]. In addition, empirical studies have put forward many methodologies in describing the phenomenon of RHV [16,17].…”