The Transformation and Development Strategy of Waterside Villages through Transport System Reconstruction: A Case Study of Anxin County, Hebei Province, China

Abstract

The main method of transportation of waterside villages has changed from water to land transportation because of water conservation policies, dried-up rivers, or other reasons around the Baiyangdian Lake area. To guide waterside villages around Baiyangdian Lake to adapt to modern transport systems and deal with the urbanization waves in China, this study first measured temporal accessibility and potential change under land transportation by spatial centrality indices at three different points in time (1964, 1996, and 2008) from the historical road system we reconstructed. Then, based on these indices, we proposed a village structure for decision-making support. The results show that (1) the connectivity between the road network and water in Anxin County was weakened from 1964–2008. (2) Villages with high accessibility have changed from relying on water to clustering, homogeneity, and following main highways. (3) Villages with high potential have changed from meeting the previous conditions of being close to water or main highways to having both main roads and a cluster of other villages in the vicinity. (4) Anxin County′s waterside villages can be divided into core villages, sub-core villages, connectivity villages, and sub-villages. The spatial structure formed by these four types is not only adapted to the modern transport system but also can serve the purpose of land consolidation or residential mobility focused by local government.

Keywords

• waterside villages
• transport infrastructure
• rural development
• remote sensing
• network analysis
• sustainable development