Rural settlement land dynamic modes and policy implications in Beijing metropolitan region, China

• This paper analyzes the dynamics of spatio-temporal patterns of rural settlements in Beijing.
• Three dynamic modes were distinguished and used to study rural development.
• Edge-expansion dominated during the rapid expansion of rural development.
• This paper studies drivers of the distance to cropland, water bodies, roads and urban centers.

Rapid urbanization has transformed the landscape and function of rural areas in the periphery of the metropolitan regions of China. As a consequence of urbanization, more than 900,000 Chinese villages have disappeared during the past decade. However, the landscape patterns and factors driving rural-urban conversion have long been neglected. Using medium-resolution Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper) data for 1978, 1988, 2000, 2005, and 2008, and socio-economic data, the spatio-temporal dynamic patterns of rural settlements in the Beijing metropolitan region were analyzed. During the past 30 years, Beijing has experienced a 33.6% increase in rural settlement land and a 34.8% decline in its rural population. The amount of rural settlement land per capita has increased dramatically. Following urban expansion, the major source of rural settlement land was cropland. Three modes of edge-expansion, dispersion, and urban encroachment were distinguished to study the dynamic pattern of rural settlements. Edge-expansion was the most common development type, and the proportion of land areas experiencing this dynamic mode was highest during the rapid expansion of rural settlement land. Rural settlement land initially developed around urban land, and then expanded to peripheral regions and remote villages. The expansion of rural settlement land and urban encroachment tended to be concentrated within 3 km of the urban center, and extended around the new urban development zone (NUDZ). This study investigated the dynamic modes of rural settlements and the drivers of a digital elevation model (DEM), such as distance to cropland, water bodies, roads and the urban center in the Beijing metropolitan region. The distance to water bodies had more impact on rural settlement land expansion than the distance to cropland. Urban expansion was influenced more by the distance to a road than the expansion of rural settlement land. To assist in the integration of urban citizens and farmers, the central government has implemented the “harmonious society”, “building a new countryside”, “scientific development” and “neo-urbanization” policies. In the Beijing metropolitan region, a scientific process of rural development planning is fundamental to reconsolidate the rural settlement land.

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