Roads And Local Social Changes

Taking Shanyang Town in Dali as an example,this article explores the relationship between road changes and local social changes.Starting from the speed of roads,the author divides Shanyang Town into three historical periods: the slow road period,the medium-speed road period,and the fast road period.The author focuses on the local livelihoods of Shanyang Town,and sorts out the different characteristics of local society in different periods,showing the transformation process of Shanyang Town that emerges from roads,including its rise,change,and decline.During the slow road period,the Bonan Ancient Road,initially developed by the folk and then organized by the government,was the main outbound channel of Shanyang Town.The slow road speed made Shanyang Town an indispensable supply station on the Bonan Ancient Road.Stimulated by the caravan,the town developed the caravan service industry and became a trading point for caravan goods.The commodity economy was extremely prosperous,attracting a large number of immigrants to engage in commercial activities in Shanyang Town,leading to the rise of the town due to roads.During the medium-speed road period,a number of roads such as the Yongshang Road and the Changshang Road,led by the Yongping County government,were gradually built.The improvement of road speed and the enrichment of the transportation network made Shanyang Town lose its supply station status.The external dependence of local livelihoods was further strengthened,and the transportation industry of Shanyang Town was developed.Based on road and transportation industry,the town opened up a commodity economy with Baoshan City and timber trade with Yongping County,and formed periodic labor exports with Nujiang Prefecture and other places,leading to the change of the town due to roads.During the fast road period,the Dabao Expressway,which bypassed the town,and the Darui Railway,which passed the town,were national strategic projects promoted by the central government.Although these transportation facilities improved the outbound transportation speed of Shanyang Town,they also made the town a passage between big towns.The emerging small vehicle passenger service industry in Shanyang Town gradually declined,and the commodity economy declined under the impact of the outside world.The large-scale outflow of people caused by migrant wokers,while the local tourism development had just started,making the road lead to the decline of Shanyang Town.Overall,although the speed of roads in Shanyang Town has increased from "slow" to "fast," its transportation status has been constantly declining,and the local livelihoods have also undergone profound changes.Firstly,people in Shanyang experienced a transition from "providing services at home" to "transporting goods outside," and the transportation industry played an increasingly important role in their livelihoods.In terms of the commodity economy,the market of Shanyang Town gradually transformed from a "center" of a small area to the "edge" of a large area,and the commodity economy gradually declined.In the absence of a pillar industry,the improvement of road speed further intensified the flow of labor force to developed areas.The population of Shanyang Town also experienced a transition from inflow to outflow.In this study,the author attempts to build an analysis framework covering roads,power,and local society.Power plays a decisive role in the road construction process,and the road builders with power dominate the design,selection,and use of roads in the multi-party construction process,ultimately affecting the speed change of roads.As an extension of power,roads carry the important task of realizing the regional development concept and planning of power,and control the development of local society by controlling the transportation status of local society through speed control.However,local society is not entirely passive in this process and responds to the shaping of roads on local society through resistance,participation,or adjustment.