Association between Rural Land Use Transition and Urban–Rural Integration Development: From 2009 to 2018 Based on County-Level Data in Shandong Province, China

Integrated development in urban and rural areas has led to a new form of urban–rural interdependence, which promotes rural territorial functional evolution and land use changes. Rural land use transition, showing the synchronous development between cities and villages, is an important window through which to observe integrated development in urban and rural areas. We focus on uncovering the association between rural land use transition and urban–rural integration development (URID), put forward a dynamic relationship assumption between rural land use transformation and URID stages based on the transmission mechanism of urban–rural linkages, and undertake empirical analysis using the panel regression model with the data of county-level administrative units in Shandong Province, China. The results show that rural land use transition has maintained a close association with URID, and that the changes in cultivated land, forest land, and surface-water area are highly related to URID. There are different leading urban–rural linkages in rural areas around big-sized cities, mid-sized cities, and small-sized cities, which determine whether rural areas are in different URID stages of high, medium, or low levels. Further, rural areas can take different actions to promote URID at different stages through strengthening or introducing urban–rural linkages driven by economies of scale and deepening urbanization. This provides a reference for developing countries to formulate rural land use policies on achieving the goal of URID.

Energy transition, rural transformation and local land-use planning: Insights from Ontario, Canada

A transition toward decentralized and land-intensive renewable energy production systems is one among many factors re-shaping rural areas, leading to reimaginations and contestations. Especially in the Global North, the rural narrative now includes not just rural ‘production’ but also the ‘consumption’ of rural amenity and experience. Previous research into public attitudes toward renewable energy correlates the former with positive attitudes to renewable energy, and the latter with negative attitudes toward renewable energy. Territorial structures, such as official land-use plans, reflect dominant discourses and narratives that shape ongoing rural transformation. The purpose of this work is to understand the extent to which, if at all, those correlations at the individual level between landscape conceptualizations and sentiment toward renewable energy are manifest in territorial structures. In what ways are energy transitions present in rural land-use plans and planning systems? Is there a relationship between how rural landscapes are conceptualized and how energy transitions are framed and addressed, in land-use planning systems? These questions are answered through a structured content and discourse analysis of 10 land-use plans of rural municipalities in southern Ontario; an agriculturally intensive region that hosts much of Ontario’s large-scale renewable energy systems. Correlations observed between landscape conceptualizations and sentiment toward renewable energy observed are not strongly reflected in land-use plans. Land-use plans in this region are not positioned to manage the place-based opportunities and impacts associated with renewable energy development. The research reveals an opportunity for rural land-use planning systems to more explicitly incorporate energy transitions in their evolving discourses, identities and development trajectories.

GEOSITES AND GEOSYSTEMS IN QUATERNARY AND DYNAMIC LANDSCAPES – CASE STUDIES FROM A CRATONIC SETTING AND THEIR WIDER SIGNIFICANCE

The rapidly expanding literature on the related subjects of geodiversity, geosites and their place in understanding and conserving our geoheritage has produced several proposed protocols for defining and valuing key sites and landscapes. Distinctions between geosites as well-defined features of our geological heritage and geodiversity sites as landscapes or geomorphosites have been proposed, while many subdivisions of the criteria for geosite recognition are also recognised. This paper uses two areas in central Africa to illustrate the realities of many landscapes, termed geosystems in this study. Largely Quaternary and present-day dynamic geosystems are considered as essential components of geodiversity and equally aspects of our geoheritage. To understand these geosystems requires detailed fieldwork including their relationships to ecology, rural land use and sensitivity to environmental change.

Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Change in Gummidipoondi Using Remote Sensing and GIS Tools

The aim of the study was to evaluate the changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in Gummidipoondi and the surrounding areas in Thiruvallur district, Tamilnadu India.Spatio-temporal variation in the land use and land cover were analysed on a decadal basis for the period from 1990 to 2019 using remote sensing and GIS based tools. The Landsat 5 (TM) and Resource-Sat 2 (LISS-III) data was used for the LULC classificationin the study area. During the study period from 1990 to 2019, built-up area including industrial, urban and rural land use increased by about 147%. Predominant change was also noticed in the mudflat category where more than 95% of it was lost to various other land uses such as agriculture and marsh area. This observation calls for planning and conservation of sensitive ecosystems in the study area that may be lost due to anthropogenic pressures via pollution and undesirable conversion of LULC. The study revealed no significant changes in the extent of other LULC classes such as agriculture, forests, plantations, land with or without scrub, rivers and waterbodies in the study area

Spatial and resource potential of agricultural land use

The article discusses the spatial development of rural land use, the regional models of changing the boundaries of productive agricultural land to meet consumer demand, taking into account the factors of joint influence on the expansion, compression or stabilization of arable land and sown areas of agricultural crops.

Rural Tourism Network Evaluation Based on Resource Control Ability Analysis: A Case Study of Ning’an, China

Organization of rural tourism resources is important for optimizing rural land use based on rational resource classification. Quantitative analysis was performed to evaluate the resource control ability of rural tourism networks. This was achieved by determining the resource control relationship and assessing the structure of the rural tourism network. The ability of resource control was analyzed via resource abstraction, which included the extraction of resource nodes and corridors, control scope analysis, and network structure level evaluation. The proposed approach was applied to the Ning’an in Heilongjiang Province, China, and proved to be effective for exploring the network degree and development trends in rural tourism resources. By examining the resource control ability, the spatial characteristics and development trend in rural tourism networks were quantitatively analyzed, especially the connection mode of key tourism resources, network structure analysis, and resource linking ability. The core resources showed a lack of outward ability in the network, and the secondary resource expansion ability was limited. Via resource control ability analysis, this study focused on areas with rich tourism but an unbalanced spatial structure, combining the directional characteristics of the network to provide suggestions for the optimization rural tourism resources network in other regions of the world.