Factor analysis of comprehensive evaluation on rural built environment changes in China under multi-index panel data

Abstract

China’s rural areas have developed rapidly in the past 10 years, with remarkable changes in built environment. Nonetheless, the built environment in China’s rural areas has not been investigated. This study preliminarily explores an index system of China’s rural built environment, analyzes developing trends of rural built environment from a macro-perspective, and uses factor analysis to evaluate comprehensive level of rural built environment under multi-index panel data. A total of 24 samples were selected, including the entire China and the provinces (municipalities), by collecting and sorting a series of rural data from statistical yearbooks. Results show that rural built environment in China presents dynamic fluctuations, and the distribution of public factors presents irregular changes. Moreover, the overall ranking of built environmental scores in different provinces does not match the level of economic development, whereas the rural energy and ecological environment are relatively steady. These findings coincide with the current stage and policies of rural urbanization and new rural construction in China. China’s rural areas are rapidly developing, but the level and rate of development of each province is different. This study suggests that the government should first ensure the continuous promotion of projects that satisfy the needs of people’s livelihood in the next step of rural construction.