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Green Development: Rural Communities, Resilience and Sustainability—Second Edition

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (13 November 2024) | Viewed by 3329

Special Issue Editor

College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Interests: land use policy; ecological restoration and protection; sustainable development of rural settlements
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As complex whole systems, rural communities all have their own natural ecology, economic production, and social life. Rural communities are defined as areas with close interaction between humans and nature. Here, humans change the natural environment through their actions, and the environment responds to the impacts of the humans occupying it. However, climate change is posing enormous challenges for the world’s rural development. Disasters, famines, and diseases are all closely connected to climate change. The above scenarios force us to reflect on the development paradigm established after the Industrial Revolution and necessitate the development of a more efficient methodology for building resilient villages. Rural areas around the world are rapidly being transformed by industrialization, which is a process accompanied by climate change, environmental pollution, and reduced comfort. Rural communities are part of a complete and complex ecosystem consisting of humans, animals, crops, resources, the environment, the climate, and other elements, which form an energy cycle. For example, farming and planting are mutually supportive activities: animal manure can be used as fertilizer for planting, and plants can be used as animal feed. However, the industrialization model manages these elements separately, resulting in the energy cycle breaking, resulting in a series of ecological and environmental problems. A new development paradigm to improve resilience and achieve sustainability for rural communities is thus urgently needed. Green development is a mode of economic growth and social development that aims to achieve efficiency, harmony, and sustainability and provide a foundation for the harmonious coexistence of human and nature in rural communities. Therefore, for this Special Issue, we invite the submission of papers addressing green development, rural communities, and resilient villages.

Dr. Xin Deng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • green development
  • rural community
  • resilient countryside
  • rural vulnerability
  • rural development risk
  • ecological restoration
  • sustainable land use
  • digital village
  • climate change and response
  • ecological agriculture

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 18355 KiB  
Article
Landscape Design of Zones with Large-Scale Warehouse and Industrial Development Located in Peri-Urban Areas Using Sectoral Analysis of Landscape Interior (SALI)—A Case Study of Wroclaw, Poland
by Irena Niedźwiecka-Filipiak, Janusz Gubański, Anna Podolska, Liliana Serafin and Justyna Rubaszek
Sustainability 2025, 17(1), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010078 - 26 Dec 2024
Viewed by 938
Abstract
Suburban areas are often used for large-scale developments such as hypermarkets, warehouses, and logistics zones, which lead to the fragmentation of natural areas and the visual degradation of the landscape. This study aimed to evaluate ways to reduce the negative impact of these [...] Read more.
Suburban areas are often used for large-scale developments such as hypermarkets, warehouses, and logistics zones, which lead to the fragmentation of natural areas and the visual degradation of the landscape. This study aimed to evaluate ways to reduce the negative impact of these developments by introducing green infrastructure (GI) elements. The analysis focused on warehouses in the inner ring of the planned green infrastructure system in the Wrocław Functional Area (GI WFA). This study involved three stages: (1) selecting a landscape-functional unit (LaFU) vulnerable to landscape degradation; (2) analyzing changes from the development of large-scale warehouses between 2004 and 2021; and (3) assessing the effect of new GI elements using the Sectoral Landscape Interior Analysis (SALI) method. Three models of GI implementation were proposed and evaluated both from a plan view and from a moving observer’s perspective. The results showed that large-scale developments reduce biologically active areas and disrupt landscape harmony. Model III, which includes green roofs, trees, and semi-permeable surfaces, significantly increased greenery and reduced visual degradation. It is recommended to apply the model and its variations in other similar developments for the benefit of the natural environment and landscape. Full article
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29 pages, 5125 KiB  
Article
Aging in Place in a Depopulated, Mountainous Area: The Role of Hometown-Visiting Family Members in Shimogo, Japan
by Wanqing Wang and Yukihiko Saito
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10547; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310547 - 1 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1591
Abstract
In this study, we examined the factors that contribute to successful aging in place in the town of Shimogo, a depopulated mountainous area in Japan, focusing on the interplay between household support types, the performance of daily activities, and the involvement of geographically [...] Read more.
In this study, we examined the factors that contribute to successful aging in place in the town of Shimogo, a depopulated mountainous area in Japan, focusing on the interplay between household support types, the performance of daily activities, and the involvement of geographically dispersed family members. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining survey data with multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis. The resident household findings reveal significant differences in community engagement and reliance on community support across three household support types: self-help, mutual aid, and combined support. The self-help households demonstrated high self-sufficiency and community participation, while the mutual-aid and combined-support households exhibited greater reliance on family and community resources. An analysis of the activities of out-migrated relatives uncovered diverse engagement profiles, motivated by both providing practical support and strengthening family bonds. The visit frequencies and activity types of the relatives were significantly influenced by both their own characteristics and the levels of self-reliance and community support needs of the resident households. Four distinct relative engagement clusters emerged, reflecting varying levels of support, community involvement, and visit frequency. Our findings underscore the crucial role of both informal (family) and formal (community) support networks in facilitating successful aging in place in rural depopulated areas. Policy implications include strategies supporting both self-reliance and the diverse mechanisms of family- and community-based support to ensure the sustainability of life in these challenging environments. Full article
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