Spatial Distribution and Driving Mechanisms of Rural Settlements in the Shiyang River Basin, Western China

Abstract

In the context of the rural revitalization strategy, an accurate grasp of the spatial differentiation characteristics and influencing factors of rural settlements in underdeveloped arid inland river basins is urgently required. Taking the Shiyang River Basin as an example, rural settlements from 2000 to 2019 were examined via visual interpretation using satellite remote sensing data and official statistical data. Following the logic of “state characteristics—evolutionary patterns—influence factors—layout optimization”, the average nearest index, the gravity-center migration model, spatial statistical analysis, and other methods were used in combination with GIS. The spatiotemporal pattern evolution characteristics of rural settlements in the past 20 years were analyzed. The results revealed the following: (1) The distribution pattern of rural settlements in the study area is sheet-like and strip-shaped. The projects in the southeast are mostly distributed in a patchy pattern with high density, while the characteristics in the west and north are exactly opposite. The objects in the south are distributed in an alluvial area of rivers, while settlements in the north are located in an oasis area. (2) From 2000 to 2019, the scale of rural settlements in the Shiyang River Basin, where there is a simultaneous occurrence of newly-built and disappearing phenomena, shows an expansion trend that first increased quickly and then slowed down. Spatially, rural settlements in the basin show a clustering trend toward the southwest. (3) The distribution characteristics of rural settlements are close to water and roads, and they are greatly influenced by urban–rural integration and ecological migration. The results will provide a scientific basis for accelerating the modernization of rural areas and the construction of new rural areas according to local conditions.