Spatial Differentiation and Driving Factors of Traditional Villages in Jiangsu Province

Abstract

Jiangsu Province, situated in the Yangtze River basin, has rich traditional village resources and a prominent position in economic development and cultural integration. This study focuses on the analysis of the variation distribution pattern of traditional villages in Jiangsu Province using six batches of traditional village directories with data until 2023 as research samples. By employing ANN, Voronoi graph analysis, and Moran’s I index, the researchers determined the spatial distribution characteristics of rural settlements. Additionally, kernel density and spatial autocorrelation techniques were used to further examine the spatial distribution patterns, and geographic detector detection was introduced. The results showed the following: (1) The spatial distribution of traditional village settlements in Jiangsu Province showed a significant clustering distribution that is mainly concentrated in central Jiangsu Province. (2) The driving factors reflected a strong symbiotic relationship of “air–water–soil–man”. The spatial distribution of traditional villages was mainly driven by the annual mean temperature and soil type. The interaction between factors was dominated by the enhancement relationship between the two factors. (3) According to the detection results of risk areas in the region, the average annual temperature was 17~17.6 °C, the annual precipitation was 133.0~145.7 billion m3, the average annual wind speed was 0.549~0.565 m/s, the GDP was 85,100~204,000 CNY/km−2, and the population density was 2.32~3.91 thousand/km−2. Arable land was the main type of area and was conducive to the gathering of traditional villages. The preservation of rural settlements should take into account the complex and diverse factors that affect their distribution. Additionally, it is crucial to tailor protection strategies to specific local conditions and conduct flexible research.