Land consolidation: An indispensable way of spatial restructuring in rural China

LONG Hualou
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China

Abstract: The implementation of new type industrialization and urbanization and agricultural modernization strategies lacks of a major hand grip and spatial supporting platform, due to long-term existed ※dual-track§ structure of rural-urban development in China as well as unstable rural development institution and mechanism. It is necessary to restructure rural production, living and ecological space by carrying out land consolidation, so as to establish a new platform for building new countryside and realizing urban-rural integration development in China. This paper develops the concept and connotation of rural spatial restructuring. Basing on the effects analysis of industrialization and urbanization on rural production, living and ecological space, the mechanism of pushing forward rural spatial restructuring by carrying out land consolidation is probed. A conceptualization of the models of rural production, living and ecological spatial restructuring is analyzed combining with agricultural land consolidation, hollowed villages consolidation and industrial and mining land consolidation. Finally, the author argues that a ※bottom-up§ restructuring strategy accompanied by a few ※top-down§ elements is helpful for smoothly pushing forward rural spatial restructuring in China. In addition, the optimization and restructuring of rural production, living and ecological space will rely on the innovations of regional engineering technology, policy and mechanism, and mode of rural land consolidation, and more attentions should be paid to rural space, the foundation base and platform for realizing urban-rural integration development.

Keywords: land consolidation; rural spatial restructuring; rural transformation development; land use transition; production, living and ecological space; urban-rural integration development; rural geography

LONG Hualou. Land consolidation: An indispensable way of spatial restructuring in rural China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2014, 24(2): 211-225.