Research On The Reshaping Urban-Rural Social Space In Administrative Division Adjustments

The urban-rural dual structure has led China to an extremely unbalanced social development between urban and rural space and hindered further modernization.For this reason,goals and requirements of the coordinated urban and rural development has been required in the era of new-type urbanization.As an important means to promote the optimization of urban and rural spatial layout and regional integration,administrative division adjustment has been applied to promote urbanization on a large scale.At the same time,however,there are several unsuccessful administrative division adjustments that did not transform the dual structure and its negative effects.Based on the analysis of the case of WD district of Shandong Province,this thesis proposes that administrative division adjustments promote the integration of the urban-rural dual structure through the adjustment of the spatial layout.In other words,WD is shifting from rural social space to urban social space.The social space transformation is reflected in the changes to four spatial elements embodying the production logic of space:unified planning of urban and rural interest space,converging urban-rural living space,changing daily routine of rural social space and spatial notions.Administrative division adjustments broke down the barriers between the urban and rural social space and promoted the integration and convergence of dual social space structure.However,problems including the incompatible spatial resources allocation,disharmonious urban-rural spatial order and lagged changes of spatial notions still exist.These problems require us to adhere to the path of urban-rural integration,pay attention to the actual needs of both urban and rural residents and change the traditional spatial notions.The thesis mainly relies on the qualitative methods to collect data,including documentary materials,participant observation and in-depth interviews.The innovation lies in the appliance of social space theory and the analysis of reshaping process through the urban-rural space interactions.This thesis is divided into four chapters in addition to introduction,research framework and conclusion;all four chapters that form the main body discuss the core problem about the formation of new urban-rural social space from examining the following three questions.What are the changes in the urban-rural social space with administrative division adjustments?How does the WD urban-rural social space change?Any problems in the formation process?The third chapter,titled with the new urban-rural social space reshaped by several administrative division adjustments,answers the first question.The whole process of administrative division adjustments is roughly divided into two phases,which is aimed at illustrating the relationships between the adjustments and the transformation of WD urban-rural social space structure and the changes.The next two chapters together illustrate how urban and rural social space has been reshaped through the examination of four spatial elements.The fourth chapter is about the traditional social space pattern characterized by clear interest space boundaries,separate urban and rural living space,opposite daily routine and hierarchized spatial notions.The fifth chapter describes the reshaping urban-rural social space by comparing the four spatial elements and finds that the convergence of WD urban and rural social space is an ongoing trend.The sixth chapter focuses on the problems emerging from the production of new social space.Based on the analysis of problems,suggestions to improving the social space structure are put forward on the final part.