Evaluation of rural vitality and development types in mountainous areas of southwestern China: A case study of Wuxi County, Chongqing
Yun Luo,
Chunxia Liu,
Yuechen Li,
Xianfeng Jin,
Zhiming He,
Qi Chen
Affiliations
Yun Luo
Chongqing Key Laboratory of GIS Application Research, School of Geography and Tourism, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 401331, China
Chunxia Liu
Chongqing Key Laboratory of GIS Application Research, School of Geography and Tourism, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 401331, China; Corresponding author.
Yuechen Li
Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, Chongqing Jinfo Mountain National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Karst Ecosystem, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Key Laboratory of Monitoring, Evaluation and Early Warning of Territorial Spatial Planning Implementation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Chongqing, 401147, China
Xianfeng Jin
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chongqing Geomatics and Remote Sensing Center, Chongqing, 401147, China; Key Laboratory of Monitoring, Evaluation and Early Warning of Territorial Spatial Planning Implementation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Chongqing, 401147, China
Zhiming He
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chongqing Geomatics and Remote Sensing Center, Chongqing, 401147, China; Key Laboratory of Monitoring, Evaluation and Early Warning of Territorial Spatial Planning Implementation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Chongqing, 401147, China
Qi Chen
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chongqing Geomatics and Remote Sensing Center, Chongqing, 401147, China; Key Laboratory of Monitoring, Evaluation and Early Warning of Territorial Spatial Planning Implementation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Chongqing, 401147, China
Protecting and stimulating rural vitality is a critical step towards driving rural revitalization and development; This study outlined the application of a measurement system that indexes rural vitality levels at the township scale and evaluates rural vitality in terms of potential regeneration, survivability, and development. This study combined the CRITIC weighting method, the TOPSIS pros and cons solution–distance method, and a vertical–horizontal comparison method to evaluate the rural vitality of 30 townships in Wuxi County, Chongqing. Using these results, this study divided the townships according to their type of rural development. A natural breakpoint method was used to visualize the spatial pattern of rural development levels.The research showed that: (1) The average value of the composite score of rural vitality in Wuxi County is 0.342, and more than half of the townships' composite vitality values are lower than the average value of the overall vitality, which leads to the conclusion that the overall level of rural vitality is low; (2) the comprehensive level of rural vitality in Wuxi County decreased from southwest to northeast, and showed local variations; (3) the degree of development within the study area was categorized as either dominant, comprehensive, or polarized, developmental deficiency type. This research argued that promoting the development of rural vitality in different villages requires careful scientific planning, detailed knowledge of individual geographic characteristics, and a clear rural development path that spans a range of spatial scales. Specific and specialized rural development strategies are thus required for each type of development.
