Withdrawal and Transformation of Rural Homesteads in Traditional Agricultural Areas of China Based on Supply-Demand Balance Analysis

Abstract

Idle and abandoned rural homesteads not only waste land resources, they also affect the quality of life of farmers and occupy land that could be used for agricultural production and ecological space. Analysis of the supply–demand relationship of rural homesteads is an important prerequisite for the implementation of rural homestead withdrawal and transformation, which is important for improving rural residential quality and land-use efficiency, promoting sustainable development and the classified revitalization of rural areas. Based on high-resolution remote sensing images of typical villages in traditional agricultural areas, a participatory evaluation method was used to analyze the supply–demand balance of rural homesteads and to propose countermeasures for their withdrawal and transformation. The results showed that: 1) rural homesteads have gradually realized the separation of living space and production space, the living function has gradually been enhanced, the production function has gradually weakened, and the ecological aesthetic function has emerged. 2) Farmers’ demand for rural homesteads is driven by various factors, including social and economic development level, lifestyle and livelihood. 3) There are a large number of idle or abandoned rural homesteads in traditional agricultural areas, with great withdrawal potential. The difference between the supply and demand of rural homesteads in use is obvious. The supply of living space of adobe house and mud-brick houses is less than the demand for them, and there is mixed use of space. The supply of production space for brick houses is less than the demand; in general, the supply of buildings is greater than the demand. 4) For rural homesteads still in use, exit and transformation strategies should be formulated according to the relationship between supply and demand, construction quality, spatial independence, and the wishes of farmers. The withdrawal and transformation of rural homesteads based on the balance between supply and demand is in line with the reality of rural development and the Chinese government’s strategy of national rural revitalization.

Bilateral matching decision-making for rural homesteads withdrawal patterns and types of peasant households’ welfare needs: Evidence from China in the context of land spatial planning regulation

“…This research result can effectively compensate for the lack of consistency between the homesteads withdrawal optimization strategy designed in existing research and the peasant households' welfare needs. Furthermore, existing research indicates the correlation between homestead withdrawal patterns and regional socioeconomic development, government financial capacity, and farmers' preferences [ 49 , 50 ]. However, there hasn't been a comprehensive summary of commonly used homestead withdrawal patterns in China.…”

The production function socialization trend of rural housing land and its response to rural land planning in metropolitan suburbs from the perspective of rural space commodification

“…Function change of rural housing land refers to the change of property rights, land use methods, and output capacity of rural housing land, which belongs to the change of recessive morphology of land use. This is an important reflection of land use morphological change, and is an important source of rural development and land use transformation (Dong et al, 2022).…”

Leaving the Homestead: Examining the Role of Relative Deprivation, Social Trust, and Urban Integration among Rural Farmers in China

“…This causes farmers to assign higher value expectations to these functions, and withdrawal from the homestead means the loss of these functional rights and interests. Longitudinal comparison before and after the withdrawal causes farmers to have a strong sense of relative deprivation [14] which, in turn, generates negative perceptions and discourages farmers from withdrawing from their homesteads.…”

“…The decision to voluntarily withdraw from residential bases is based on a rational analysis of the trade-off between pros and cons; however, as there is no uniform standard for the judgment of pros and cons, this judgment may be highly subjective [13]. The decision of farmers to voluntarily withdraw from their residential land is based on rational analysis, instinctive psychological factors (e.g., internal emotions, desires, and perceptions), and their external social environment [14]. Therefore, in this study, we analyze the interactions between and influence of emotional, psychological, and social environment factors on the willingness of farmers in cities to withdraw from their homestead bases.…”