Policy Strategies to Revive Rural Land in Peri-Metropolitan Towns: Resource Identification, Capitalization, and Financialization

Previous planning for rural revival in towns has emphasized construction and government-led policies. However, we argue that the dilemmas of peri-metropolitan rural areas, such as Desakota in China, are far more complex faced with rural super village and hollowed village transformations. Rural revival planning needs to coordinate with the development of urbanized and rural areas towards multifunctional goals and plans as a whole. Therefore, we selected the town master plan of Lijia, a typical peri-metropolitan village in China, as a case study. Through a historical–interpretative approach involving analysis of planning policies, questionnaires, and in-depth interviews with the key stakeholders involved, we structured the process and mechanism of rural revival in Lijia into three phases: resource identification, capitalization, and financialization. In different phases, different stakeholders adopt different roles. The government takes a leading role in resource identification and capitalization, while firms take a leading role in the process of financialization. “Market-dominant and government-guided” planning stimulates villagers to participate in rural revival. We highlight the importance of multifunctional land-use in terms of rural revival in the master planning of peri-metropolitan villages and provide a practical reference for uniting multiple stakeholders, including governments, firms, and villagers.

A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems

This paper presents a conceptual framework that looks at photovoltaic systems in synergy with ecosystem services. The focus is to connect business success with social and ecological progress based on the operative concept of multifunctional land use. Such an approach attempts to harmonise the needs of the industrial processes of photovoltaic systems and the ecological and social needs of the landscape context. Different from the usual design of ground photovoltaic systems in farmlands or brownfields, a new framework is proposed, combining photovoltaic panels and vegetation. A case study is considered, applying the framework to existing photovoltaic systems in the Apulia region (southern Italy). The analysis shows how the framework has, among others, the major functions of increasing solar energy production, recycling wastewater, creating raw material for biofuel, as well as providing animal habitat and mitigating air temperature. The latter is preliminarily evaluated by means of modelling simulations performed with a computational fluid dynamics and microclimate model, ENVI-met. This approach opens up a new vision of the infrastructure design of photovoltaic systems which can produce new social and economic income.

Homestead gardening for miscellaneous purposes in Tribal area of Khandesh region of Maharashtra, India

The homestead gardens are multifunctional, land- use production system for man’s sustenance on supplementary basis. They are indicative of ability of mankind to discriminate the bioresourses to his advantage. The present authors inventoried homestead gardens in tribal region of Khandesh in Maharashtra state (India). Khandesh is studded with tribal communities such as Pawara, Bhil, Kokani, Mavachi etc. These inhabit in the hilly extended offshoots of Western Ghats (Sahyadris) and Satpura Mountain. They maintain gardens surrounding their abodes. Enquiries were made during botanisation w. r. t. plant and part used, local name, classic as well as indigenous utilities in every season. For the present account, ten species commonly adapted for miscellaneous purposes are analyzed from economic, domestication and conservation point of view.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Obstacles of the Multi-Functionality of Land Use in Xiangxi, China

The multi-functionality of land as the basis of land use and utilization is under increasing investigation. This study assesses the spatiotemporal dynamic multi-functionality of land use and analyzes the obstacle indicators in Xiangxi using two methods, i.e., the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the hierarchical weighting method (HWM). First, we found that the total function level of land use in Xiangxi was constantly optimized. Spatial heterogeneity was clearer. Land use had a trend toward diversification, with a focus on production or living function. The coordination of multifunctional land use has undergone certain changes. It was more apparent in the south than in central and northern regions. Second, we discovered that production function of land use in Xiangxi grew slowly and spatial differentiation was enhanced. The living function fluctuated with the trend of spatial equilibrium. Changes in ecological function and any spatial differentiation were not clear. Third, land use can be divided into living-ecological, production-living, and production obstacle types. Lastly, we state that, to narrow the gap between urban-rural areas and reduce the non-point pollution from agriculture in living-ecological barrier areas, we need to develop production and social public utilities in production-living barrier areas, and develop production and eliminate poverty in production barrier areas.