Study On The Spatial Evolution Of Rural Settlements In Yangling District In The Process Of Urbanization

After the reform and opening up,along with the rapid promotion of urbanization,rural society has undergone drastic changes.As the spatial carrier of rural socio-economic development,the spatial layout,morphological scale and structural level of rural settlements have also undergone significant changes.Yangling District,the birthplace of China’s farming civilization,is the only county-level administrative district under the jurisdiction of the first national high-tech agricultural demonstration zone established by the state(established in 1997).In the process of rapid urbanization,the spatial evolution of rural settlements in Yangling District has both general and special characteristics that distinguish the spatial evolution of rural settlements in traditional plain farming areas.Therefore,the study on the spatial evolution of rural settlements in Yangling District will help to reveal the evolution of rural settlements in traditional plain farming areas under the background of rapid urbanization,and also help to reveal the influence of agricultural modernization on the spatial evolution of rural settlements,and then provide suggestions for the optimization of rural settlement space in Yangling District and for the construction of national high-tech agricultural demonstration zones and national pilot zones for urbanrural integration development.Firstly,the study uses remote sensing image data of Yangling District at different historical periods and extracts spatial information of rural settlement patches at different periods based on ENVI and Arc GIS software to provide basic data for analyzing the spatial evolution of rural settlements in Yangling District during the process of urbanization.Secondly,the distribution and changes of rural settlement patches in different periods are analyzed by using the relevant theories and methods of spatial analysis.Again,according to the evolution characteristics of Yangling rural settlement space in the process of urbanization,some influencing factors affecting the spatial evolution of Yangling rural settlement are selected,and the influencing factors affecting the spatial evolution of Yangling rural settlement in the process of urbanization are tested and the degree of influence is determined through structural equation modeling.Finally,based on the human-land relationship theory,the spatial evolution of rural settlements in Yangling District is sorted out,and the driving mechanism of the spatial evolution of rural settlements in Yangling District in the process of urbanization is summarized.The conclusions of the study are as follows.(1)Regarding the spatial distribution evolution of rural settlements: In the process of urbanization,the spatial distribution of rural settlements in Yangling District is generally characterized by agglomeration distribution;however,the regional agglomeration of rural settlement patches decreases with the advancement of urbanization,the local agglomeration of rural settlement patches increases,and the agglomeration area shifts from urban areas to town areas.(2)Regarding the spatial scale evolution of rural settlements: with the advancement of urbanization,the degree and speed of expansion of rural settlement patches in Yangling District have both decreased.In the initial stage of urbanization,the patches of low-grade scale settlements are dominant,but the degree of settlement expansion is strong.After the initial stage of urbanization,the degree of settlement expansion decreases,the scale level of rural settlements is gradually enriched,the number of low-grade scale patches decreases and the number of high-grade scale patches increases,and the distribution area is mainly in the town area.(3)Spatial structure evolution of rural settlements: From the initial stage of urbanization to the preliminary stage and then to the middle stage,the hierarchy of rural settlement centers in Yangling District is constantly improved and optimized,and the corresponding spatial structure evolution is gradually developed from the initial structureless random distribution to a simple local "core-periphery" structure or sectorshaped "core-periphery" structure,to a simple semi-ring-shaped "core-periphery" structure,and finally to a complex ring-shaped "core-periphery" structure.(4)Regarding the influencing factors and driving mechanisms of the spatial evolution of rural settlements: In the process of urbanization,the rural settlement space in Yangling District is mainly influenced by the combined effects of four factors:economic development,town construction,rural construction and farmers’ behavior.The government is the main driver of the spatial evolution of the settlement,which influences the economic development,town construction,village construction and farmers’ behavior through policy formulation and planning implementation,and then directly or indirectly influences the spatial evolution of the settlement;the driving role of farmers on the spatial evolution of the settlement in the urbanization process is influenced by the economic spillover effect,the radiation effect of town construction and the behavior of farmers.The driving role of farmers in the urbanization process is gradually reduced by the economic spillover effect,the radiation effect of town construction and the control of rural construction behavior;the driving role of enterprises in the evolution of rural settlement space in the urbanization process of Yangling District is relatively small,but it may become the main driver of the evolution of rural settlement space in the future under the impetus of the market and government encouragement.