Jointly Creating Sustainable Rural Communities through Participatory Planning: A Case Study of Fengqing County, China

Abstract

Rural communities have long been overlooked since globalization and urbanization struck traditional rural values. Building a sustainable rural community has become a contested issue in academia, especially after implementing the Rural Revival Strategy. This research attempted to establish a participatory planning approach, which considers rural planners as the external impetus and local villagers as an internal driving force, to promote the sustainability of rural communities. Carrying on the theoretical framework of public participation, the researchers carried out a pilot practice in Hongtang Village, Yunan Province, China, where planners tried to reestablish the social relationship in a village by designing and building a rural yard. We do not solely finish the design, but also advocate, communicate, and work with villagers to activate the vitality of the village. The research argues that the focus of rural planning and construction in China is to develop a participatory planning approach, which is human-oriented and place-based. Planners, acting as an external impetus, advocate public participation in the whole planning process, including mapping, designing, constructing, and managing. We try to empower villagers themselves rather than impose. During this participatory planning process, villagers improve the quality of their settlements through continuous dialogue and cooperation, and the social relationships among them become enhanced. Thus, rural communities are restructuring in both environmental and social dimensions to promote rural sustainability. Additionally, participatory planning in rural areas is constantly correcting itself to be more local, scientific, and rational and become a more powerful protector and promoter of public interests in this process.

Development Planning in Rural Communities in Bolivia: A Study in the Department of Oruro

“…It is important to highlight the research carried out by Rafi et al, (2017) who mention that the town government must encourage community participation and collaborate with existing institutions to reach agreements and achieve empowerment of the population; Without a doubt, participation finds a space and priority in the decisions in the preparation of rural community plans (Jomehpour, 2017;Sutiyo, & Maharjan, 2017;Mustanir et al, 2022), citizen participation in rural planning and development fosters sustainable rural communities (Prayudha et al, 2022;Yan et al, 2023); It is worth mentioning that the accompaniment of the participation of local and surrounding institutions contributes to good local participatory planning (Syam et al, 2022); Thus, local infrastructure along with social equity also receives special attention as elements embedded in local planning (Szetey et al, 2021).…”

Revitalising Rural Spaces: Lessons Learnt from Brownfield Regeneration in a Shrinking Region

“…In the case of the revitalisation of the case study area, such a group was naturally formed de facto at first and this cooperation was later formalised de jure. From the point of view of the development of larger brownfields, it is important to mention the continuity with participatory planning [76,77] because the site was revitalised in the course of time in parts with the participation of different groups of stakeholders. Last but not least, the actual regeneration process could have been more efficient if the actors could have used some online tools for planning of brownfields [19,78] that were developed for end users later in connection with the increase in the use of the Internet and the creation of various online applications.…”

Subject Embedding, Relationship Interaction, and Resource Integration: The Value Co-Creation Mechanism in Rural Communities

“…China has been an agriculture-based country since ancient times, and the countryside is not only the bearer of the rural economy and farmers' lives but also the soil for the inheritance and development of Chinese culture. However, under the influence of globalization, industrialization, and urbanization, the structure of rural communities has changed, with rural communities showing a trend towards hollowing out, ageing, and marginalization [2]. As a result, there are still major differences between rural and urban areas, in terms of grassroots organizational capacity and the development of community organizations, and it is not yet possible to replicate the urban model of community organization and development.…”