Analysis on the spatial evolution characteristics and driving factors of rural settlements in northern Jiangsu Province -- taking Xiangshui County as an example

Studying the evolution of rural settlements in Xiangshui County and clarifying its evolution characteristics and driving factors are of great significance to optimize the spatial pattern of rural settlements, promote the sustainable development of rural areas, and provide references for the spatial integration and reconstruction of rural settlements in northern Jiangsu. Methods The rural settlement patch data of Xiangshui County in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 were extracted based on historical remote sensing images, combined with landscape pattern spatial analysis, ArcGIS kernel density analysis, mean nearest proximity analysis, spatial autocorrelation analysis and geographic detection tools. The spatial evolution and influencing mechanism of rural settlements in Xiangshui County were studied. Results In the past 25 years, the number and density of rural settlements decreased. The settlement area increased and the spatial scale expanded obviously. The spatial agglomeration of settlement scale is significant. The agglomeration degree increased first and then decreased. The high-density areas in the county are mainly concentrated in the southwest direction. The distribution is multinucleated, but the time continuing is not strong. The spatial distribution characteristics of settlements along roads and rivers are significant. Natural environment factors such as terrain and river shaped the basic spatial pattern of rural settlements in Xiangshui County. Policy and system factors, regional transportation, economic development, urban construction and other social and economic factors are important driving forces to promote the rapid evolution of rural settlements.Conclusion Government should accelerate the flow and reorganization of urban and rural resource elements to promote the urbanization construction with county town as an important carrier, typify settlement spatial pattern to promote rural spatial intensive development, optimize the function of rural three-life space system and activate the internal driving force of rural revitalization. The paper puts forward suggestions on optimizing the spatial pattern of rural settlements.