Realizing a Rural Sustainable Development through a Digital Village Construction: Experiences from China

Abstract

The rapid application of digital technology in rural areas has been carried out worldwide, but academic research on the theme of digital villages is still in its infancy. The academia is still unclear about the construction content, theoretical framework and realization path of the digital village construction. Against this background, this paper studies how villages can transform into digital villages and achieve a sustainable development. Firstly, this paper builds a digital village technology architecture system from four levels: infrastructure system, village brain, application support system and application service system. The system points out the specific construction content from the technical point of view, and provides scientific guidance for construction activities. Secondly, with the help of digital empowerment theory, the theoretical framework of the digital village construction to promote a sustainable rural development, is constructed from five fields: industry, ecology, culture, service and governance. Finally, the theoretical framework is verified through five Chinese cases, and two characteristics of a digital village construction are summarized to provide reference and guidance for digital village practice activities. The digital village construction should use data, digital technology and digital platform as the base, attract multiple subjects to participate and form symbiotic relationships, and achieve a rural sustainable development.

Comprehensive evaluation of digital village development in the context of rural revitalization: A case study from Jiangxi Province of China

“…India focuses on digital technology infrastructure construction and improvement. European nations primarily improve the environment for rural development by applying new technologies and strengthening public services [ 20 ]. The construction of China’s digital villages is more difficult due to environmental differences between China and other nations, as well as the striking differences between regions within China.…”

Digital village construction, human capital and the development of the rural older adult care service industry

“…The availability of a regional network infrastructure is crucial for actualizing rural smart older adult care services. Digital villages can facilitate the widespread adoption of rural information network infrastructure, stimulate the transformation of traditional infrastructure, and broaden the application of digital technologies within the infrastructure for smart aging in rural areas (29). As the penetration rate of smartphones in rural areas increases, alongside greater broadband access and digital infrastructure coverage, the infrastructure constraints hampering rural smart aging start to diminish.…”

“…(27). We could also employ the young generation as conduits for technology transfer, leveraging the aid of their offspring, kin, or community members to facilitate the older adults in understanding and utilizing these technologies (29). While promoting high-tech agriculture aids infrastructure development and Estimation results when HUM3 is a double threshold variable.…”

Regional Differences in the Quality of Rural Development in Guangdong Province and Influencing Factors

“…The development level of rural areas in the Pearl River Delta is good in all dimensions, mainly due to the economic accumulation of regional urbanization, which has enabled the rural areas to effectively take over the industrial transfer from the cities and improve the rural industrial structure, as well as the growth of villagers' income and collective economy. The accumulation of large amounts of capital has also contributed to improving infrastructure construction and scientific and educational facilities, which has enhanced villagers' happiness [44]. Early urbanization did not consider regional ecological safety guarantees, resulting in a relatively low development level of the environmental livability dimension in economically developed areas, while mountainous areas in Northern Guangdong scored higher in the environmental livability dimension due to natural resource advantages and regional policy support [45].…”