Exploration of Village Level Area Planning Path under the Background of National Spatial Planning
—Taking the Planning of Fengchan Village Area in Yibin City, Sichuan Province as an Example ()
1. Introduction
The development process of village planning is an evolution from natural formation to scientific planning, and from single-function to multi-element development. With the passage of time, village planning has gradually evolved from the initial simple layout into a complex system that comprehensively considers various factors such as economy, society, and environment [1]. Under the comprehensive advancement of the rural revitalization strategy, profound changes have taken place in aspects such as rural industrial forms, farmers’ income structures, and grassroots public service demands. These changes require village planning to keep pace with the times and adapt to new development requirements. Compiling a practical village planning that “integrates multiple plans into one” aims to lead the layout of national land space, productive forces, public service facilities, and infrastructure, making it more scientific and reasonable and better serving the rural revitalization strategy. Through such planning, strong support can be provided for achieving rural revitalization, promoting the prosperity of the rural economy, social harmony, and the sustainable development of the environment. Therefore, village planning is not only a technical task, but also an important strategic task related to the future development of the countryside.
2. Thinking and Analysis of Village—Level Planning
2.1. Thinking of Village—Level Planning
Village planning in the previous stage was mostly carried out independently, lacking effective connection with the overall land use planning, urban-rural planning, etc. The planning objectives focused on economic development and infrastructure construction, ignoring ecological protection and resource utilization. The content of the planning was also relatively single, mainly focusing on land use, industrial structure, and investigation and research of natural resources [2]. The technical means were relatively simple, and the data support was insufficient. At the same time, public participation was limited, and the opinions of villagers were not fully valued. The supervision mechanism in the implementation process was imperfect, and the planning was not properly implemented. The policy support was also limited, with insufficient funds and resources.
Under the background of national territorial space planning in the new era, village planning is more systematic and scientific, focusing on ecological protection and sustainable development, emphasizing public participation and implementation supervision, and the policy support is more comprehensive. The core thinking of village planning is based on humanism and actual conditions, adhering to the bottom line of ecology and cultivated land, optimizing the spatial layout, optimizing the industrial structure, improving public service facilities, upgrading the level of roads and municipal facilities, implementing ecological restoration and comprehensive land remediation, protecting cultural inheritance and creating characteristics, and promoting the balanced development of rural areas in multiple aspects such as economy, society and ecology.
2.2. Problems Faced by Village—Level Planning
Generally speaking, the current planning in rural areas generally faces the following key issues:
1) Constraints of Resources and Environment
It is required to give priority to ensuring food security and ecological security, and land use and development are restricted. This is mainly reflected in the contradiction between village development and cultivated land protection; the construction land quota is limited and it is difficult to meet the development needs of the village. Village planning needs to abide by the ecological protection red line and limit development; village development may bring environmental pollution and ecological damage, causing environmental pressure.
2) Directions of Industrial Development
Industry is the key to rural economic development and the focus of rural revitalization. At present, village industries lack vitality and motivation. This is mainly reflected in the single-industry structure, relying on traditional agriculture and lacking distinctive features; the scale of industries is small, the added value of products is low, and there is a lack of market competitiveness.
3) Imbalance between Urban and Rural Development
It is required to realize integrated urban-rural development. At present, the gap between urban and rural areas is mainly reflected in the relatively backward village road traffic, medical treatment, education, culture, drainage, environmental sanitation and disaster prevention and mitigation facilities, which are unbalanced and imperfect.
4) Great Difficulty in Planning Implementation
Due to the particularity of rural areas, it is more difficult to implement planning, and problems that the required funds and resources are difficult to guarantee may be faced during the planning implementation process.
2.3. Analysis of Village—Level Planning Methods
The following corresponding solutions are proposed for the key issues of planning:
1) Stick to the bottom line, reserve space, explore existing resources, and repair and rectify
Strictly abide by the bottom-line requirements such as ecological protection, cultivated land protection, and historical and cultural protection to ensure the sustainability and safety of village development. Consider reserving flexible space for the future development of the village to avoid over-development or disorderly expansion and ensure that the village can adapt to future changes and demands. By revitalizing existing resources and optimizing land use efficiency, reduce dependence on new construction land and realize intensive development of the village. Repair and rectify ecological and environmental problems, infrastructure shortcomings, and appearance problems existing in the village to improve the overall quality of the village.
2) People-oriented and adapted to local conditions
Based on the characteristics of endowment of local resources and asset relations, conduct solid on-site investigations, carry out comprehensive current resource assessment and village public opinion surveys, and form “five major lists” by listing the survey results. From bottom to top, fully understand the real demands of rural residents and the expectations for village development.
3) Implement equalization and standardization of urban and rural infrastructure
Urban and rural residents should enjoy the same infrastructure services, and the service coverage should be balanced. The planning standards should be consistent, taking into account current demands and future development to ensure the sustainability of infrastructure. The construction standards should be unified to ensure the same quality, safety, and technical requirements. Standardize management to ensure consistent operation and maintenance standards. Establish a unified management system to improve management efficiency and service level.
4) Ensure multi-angle support for planning funds
Further exploration can be made from four aspects: implementation objectives, implementation levels, implementation processes, and implementation supervision to strengthen the organic connection between rural planning and fund guarantee so as to improve the rationality and practicality of the planning.
3. Case Analysis of Fengchan Village Area Planning
3.1. Current Situation Overview of the Village Area
Fengchan Village Area is located in Jiang’an County, Sichuan Province, on the south bank of the Yangtze River, bordering Dadukou Town of Luzhou City to the east. National Highway 246 crosses through it, providing convenient transportation. The planned area includes two administrative villages, Fengchan Village and Gongping Community Village, with a total of 25 villager groups, covering an area of 1972.20 hectares. In 2021, the registered population was 12,648 people in 3324 households, with a permanent population of 5,905 people. The outflowing population was mainly for migrant work. The terrain in the central part is plain, with hills in the south and north, and the slope is mainly below 15° (Figure 1).
1) Village Industry
The industrial base is good, mainly focusing on primary industry, primarily planting rice, corn, red sorghum, fruits, and raising pigs; secondary and tertiary industries are supplementary, developing wineries and roadside economy. It has three major industrial advantages: large-scale breeding and planting, modern seed industry parks, and suburban agricultural culture and tourism.
2) Village Supporting Facilities
Roads reach all groups, providing convenient transportation. Basic infrastructure basically meets current needs, with full coverage of electricity, communication, gas, and water supply. However, drainage, sanitation, disaster prevention, and water conservancy facilities are insufficient. Public service facilities such as culture and sports, education and medical care, and commercial services are well-developed.
3) Village Residential Construction
Farmhouses are relatively scattered, with generally good building quality. Newly built residences have strong elements of southern Sichuan residential architecture.
Figure 1. Location map.
Table 1. Current land use table.
Types of land use |
Area (hectares) |
Proportion (%) |
arable land |
912.81 |
46.28 |
orchard land |
100.67 |
5.10 |
forest land |
269.88 |
13.68 |
grassland |
7.18 |
0.36 |
wetland |
17.95 |
0.92 |
construction land for agricultural facilities |
39.12 |
1.98 |
construction land for urban areas |
19.11 |
0.97 |
construction land for villages |
133.58 |
6.77 |
regional infrastructure |
13.10 |
0.66 |
other construction land |
2.93 |
0.16 |
inland waters |
455.87 |
23.12 |
total |
1972.20 |
100.00 |
Note: The data is sourced from the 2021 National Land Change Survey Database, and the land use classification refers to the “Guidelines for Village-level Planning Compilation in Sichuan Province (Revised Edition 2021)”.
4) Village Resources
It has 10 immovable cultural relics, including 2 at the municipal and county levels. The region is rich in natural resources such as mountains, waters, forests and farmlands, among which cultivated land accounts for 46.28% of the total area of the planned area. The Yangtze River is located in the northern part of the area, and there are reservoirs in the middle, with abundant surface water resources (Table 1).
3.2. Current Situation Assessment of Village Area Development
1) The industrial structure urgently needs optimization, and industries need further integration.
The agricultural foundation is solid, but there is a lack of processing industry, tourism industry is waiting to rise up, and the integration of industries is not close-knit. It is necessary to continuously build a strong agricultural base, promote the green, modern and characteristic development of agriculture; extend the secondary and tertiary industries, promote the development of tourism industry, accelerate the integration of agriculture, culture and tourism, and realize the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure.
2) Public service facilities are in a situation of co-existence of idleness and shortage, and infrastructure needs improvement.
Affected by the objective conditions of terrain, the villages are relatively scattered, and public service facilities either have low utilization efficiency or are lacking. The road network urgently needs improvement, and the road quality needs to be enhanced. Municipal facilities such as drainage and sanitation need quality improvement and transformation.
3) Relatively scarce construction land available for centralized use.
Constrained by the natural terrain, construction land available for centralized use is relatively scarce, and rural settlements are numerous, small-scale and scattered. There are idle homesteads and inefficient land, with a low land utilization rate.
3.3. Planning Goals of Village Area
The territorial spatial planning in the new era takes 2035 as the planning target year, and the short-term period generally spans 5 years. Based on its own resource endowment and higher-level and relevant plans, the long-term goal of Fengchan Village Area is to make decisive progress in comprehensive revitalization, basically realize agricultural modernization, and basically possess modern living conditions.
Using the comprehensive population growth method, linear regression method and exponential growth method, it is scientifically predicted that the registered population of the village area in the long-term plan will be 12,882 people, and the permanent population will be 6,072 people.
3.4. Village Area Planning Countermeasures
3.4.1. Bottom—Line Constraints
1) Cultivated Land and Permanent Basic Farmland
Implement the protection tasks of cultivated land and permanent basic farmland determined by higher-level regulations. Clarify the following control and management measures:
① It is prohibited to occupy permanent basic farmland for non-agricultural construction.
② Strictly control the change of farmland use to ensure that the quantity and quality of cultivated land do not decline.
③ Encourage agricultural modernization and improve the utilization efficiency of farmland.
2) Ecological Protection Redline
Implement the ecological protection redline determined by higher-level regulations. Clarify the following control and management measures:
① It is prohibited to carry out development and construction activities within the ecological protection redline.
② Limit behaviors such as agricultural production and mining that may damage the ecological environment.
③ Protect important ecological functional areas such as water sources, forests, and wetlands.
3) Other Protection Lines
Refine the historical and cultural protection line and focus on protecting municipal and county—level cultural relics protection units. Encourage the rational utilization of historical and cultural resources and promote the development of cultural tourism.
3.4.2. Land Use Layout
Based on the development orientation of the village and the spatial control requirements of the higher-level planning, starting from the actual situation of the village, under the premise of not destroying the ecological environment and spatial texture, optimize the land layout, rationally allocate land resources, improve the land use efficiency, and provide a strong spatial guarantee for the revitalization of the countryside [3]. At the same time, reserve a certain proportion of land with unspecified uses in the village planning for possible future public service facilities, industrial development or ecological restoration.
1) Layout of agricultural land
Adhere to the strictest cultivated land protection system to ensure that the cultivated land protection targets are not exceeded and the quality of cultivated land is not reduced. In accordance with the principles of “suitable for forestry where conditions favor it, suitable for farming where conditions are appropriate” and “concentrated and contiguous, with optimized layout”, adjust and implement the layout of orchards, forestlands, and grasslands. The total area of agricultural land in the target planning year is approximately 1,268 hectares.
2) Layout of construction land for agricultural facilities
Reasonably arrange the construction land for planting and livestock and poultry breeding facilities, improve and optimize the rural road layout. The total area of construction land for agricultural facilities in the target planning year is approximately 40 hectares.
3) Layout of construction land
On the basis and premise of avoiding ecological red lines and permanent basic farmland, and at the same time meeting the “three avoidance” principles (avoiding earthquake fault zones, geological disaster-prone areas, and flood discharge channels). Strictly implement the “one household, one residence” policy. In accordance with the requirements of “suitable for aggregation where conditions favor it, suitable for dispersion where conditions are appropriate”, adopt the “fixed space but not fixed time sequence” model, and encourage villagers to live in clusters through policy guidance and other means. At the same time, rely on the settlement points to improve rural infrastructure and public service facilities and other supporting facilities.
Optimally arrange the layout of construction land for rural industries, and implement the use of land for roads, cemeteries, and other construction land. Reserve no more than 5% of flexible indicators for construction land. The total area of construction land in the target planning year is approximately 192 hectares.
4) Layout of other lands
Protect the land used for rivers, reservoir surfaces, etc. The total area of other lands in the target planning year is approximately 472 hectares.
3.4.3. Industrial Planning
Combining the current industrial foundation of the village area and the advantages of the three major industries, focus on the core of the ten-thousand-mu seed industry modern agricultural park, further optimize the industrial structure, promote high-quality economic development, and boost rural revitalization.
1) Consolidate the foundation of primary industry and improve the level of agricultural modernization
Promote high-quality traditional crop varieties, increase yield per unit area and quality. Introduce smart agricultural technologies (such as drones and the Internet of Things) to achieve precise planting. Build high-standard farmland construction, improve irrigation, drainage and other water conservancy facilities. Develop characteristic fruits (such as strawberries, blueberries, and kiwifruits) and create high-end fruit brands. Promote facility agriculture (such as greenhouse planting) to extend the fruit supply cycle. Promote large-scale and standardized pig breeding to improve breeding efficiency. Strengthen epidemic prevention and control to ensure breeding safety. Vigorously promote the combination model of planting and breeding (such as pig-biogas-fruit circular agriculture).
2) Extend the industrial chain and develop agricultural product processing industry
Relying on sorghum planting, expand the scale of wineries and improve brewing techniques. Create local characteristic wine brands and develop high-end wines. Combine wine culture to develop winery tourism, wine culture experience and other projects. At the same time, develop deep processing of rice and corn to produce rice flour, corn starch, feed and other products. Develop fruit processing products (such as juice, dried fruit, jam) to increase added value. Build cold-chain logistics facilities to extend the freshness period of agricultural products.
3) Develop peri-urban agri-tourism and promote industrial integration
Create sightseeing bases for rice, sorghum, and fruit planting and develop pastoral scenery tourism. Design farming experience projects (such as rice transplanting and fruit picking) to attract urban tourists. Explore local brewing culture, build wine culture museums or winery experience areas. Combine traditional festivals to hold farming culture festivals, wine culture festivals and other activities. Build homestays and farm stays to provide integrated services of catering, accommodation, and entertainment. Develop characteristic tourism products such as parent-child tourism and study-tour.
4) Develop roadside economy and improve service capacity
Based on traffic and location advantages, set up agricultural product direct-selling points near G246 to sell local characteristic agricultural products. Develop e-commerce platforms and broaden sales channels through live-streaming sales and community group buying. Develop characteristic catering (such as farmhouse cuisine and winery restaurants) to attract passing tourists. Build supporting facilities such as rest areas and parking lots to improve tourists’ experience.
5) Build modern seed industry parks and promote agricultural science and technology innovation
Continuously carry out seed industry technology research and development, cultivate new varieties suitable for local climate and soil. Build agricultural science and technology demonstration bases and promote advanced planting techniques. Conduct farmer training to improve farmers’ ability to apply science and technology. Cooperate with scientific research institutions and universities to promote the transformation of seed industry scientific and technological achievements.
To ensure the operability of the village industrial planning, it is necessary to strive for government funds and policy support for infrastructure construction, technology promotion and brand building. At the same time, introduce social capital and encourage enterprises and cooperatives to participate in industrial development. Set up an industrial development fund to support key project construction. Conduct farmer skills training internally to improve agricultural technology and management capabilities. Externally attract professional talents to return to their hometowns to start businesses and inject vitality into industrial development. Promote green production methods and reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Strengthen the resource utilization of waste and develop circular agriculture.
3.4.4. Facility Construction
The goal of the planning is to construct a complete facility service system to help revitalize the countryside and ensure that rural residents can enjoy infrastructure comparable to that of urban residents.
1) Public Service Facilities
In combination with actual needs and relevant plans, improve and upgrade public service facilities, promote equalization of basic public services between urban and rural areas, and achieve co-construction and sharing. In combination with the new veteran service stations built in two villages by the village committee, upgrade public service facilities such as cultural squares and health clinics. Fair Community Village, as the central village, will build a children’s home and a day-care center.
2) Road Traffic Facilities
Implement the newly-added national highway construction projects determined in the higher-level plans, with a length of about 0.9 kilometers. Improve the rural road network layout, transform and upgrade rural roads. The newly-added rural roads, including tourist roads, have a total length of about 5.8 kilometers, and about 4.1 kilometers of rural roads will be upgraded in quality.
3) Municipal Infrastructure
On the basis of comprehensive coverage of existing infrastructure, strive for all-round quality improvement and transformation of village infrastructure, covering water supply, drainage, power supply, communication, gas and environmental sanitation facilities. The area needs systematic planning to upgrade municipal pipelines. The plan adopts an incomplete diversion system, focuses on building sewage treatment facilities, promotes decentralized treatment systems, and allows rainwater to be discharged naturally along the terrain. Promote clean energy such as solar energy and wind energy. Accelerate the construction of broadband and 5G networks and improve the level of informatization. In terms of environmental sanitation, implement garbage classification and establish a treatment system of “household classification—village collection—town transfer—county treatment” and promote resource utilization. Promote the construction of harmless sanitary toilets. At the same time, increase the green area and improve the village environment.
4) Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Facilities
In combination with the actual situation of the village, plan scientific and reasonable disaster prevention and mitigation facilities to effectively reduce the risks of natural and man-made disasters faced by the village, protect the lives and property of villagers, and promote the sustainable development of the village. In terms of flood prevention facilities, the flood prevention standard for the village area is once in twenty years. Dredge drainage ditches and build embankments in areas vulnerable to floods. In terms of earthquake-resistant facilities, reinforce village buildings to ensure the earthquake-resistance capabilities of public buildings and infrastructure. In terms of fire-fighting facilities, set up fire hydrants along G246, equip with fire extinguishers and other fire-fighting equipment, plan fire lanes, and improve emergency response capabilities. In terms of geological disaster prevention and control, reinforce and manage areas prone to landslides, and strengthen the construction of geological disaster monitoring and early warning systems. The plan takes the main roads as evacuation passages, village committees in each village as comprehensive disaster prevention command centers, health clinics as medical rescue centers, and schools as emergency shelters.
3.4.5. Construction of Rural Settlements
Based on the population forecast results and development needs of the village area, a new residential site covering an area of about 3 hectares will be planned in the Fair Community Village. This will serve as a typical residential site to provide general guidance and management and control for the residential sites in the area. The per capita area shall not exceed 70 square meters. The building style adopts the southern Sichuan architectural style, with grey and white as the main color scheme. Environmentally friendly, durable and economical building materials are selected. The building height is designed not to exceed 12 meters (three floors), green building technologies are promoted to ensure that housing is safe, comfortable and beautiful.
Maintain the terrain and landforms, continue the village context, create a landscape of mountains, waters and fields, and scientifically plan and layout functional zones such as residential areas and public service areas. Improve the internal traffic network of the settlement to ensure smooth roads. Plan water supply, drainage, power supply and other municipal systems in a coordinated manner. Build fitness squares, cultural activity centers, etc.
3.4.6. Comprehensive Land Consolidation and Ecological Restoration
1) Consolidation of Agricultural Land
Adjust the layout of farmland, stop the abandonment of cultivated land, and promote the construction of high-standard farmland. Upgrade and build new farmland water conservancy facilities such as irrigation channels, drainage ditches, and water lifting stations. In the long run, promote the application of water-saving irrigation technologies in farmland.
2) Consolidation of Village Construction Land
Revitalize rural existing construction land, orderly carry out the consolidation of abandoned homesteads and idle houses, and free up about 6 hectares of indicators. These indicators will be preferentially used for resident resettlement, rural infrastructure construction and public welfare undertakings. The remaining indicators will be mainly used for the integrated development of rural industries. Promote the rectification of village architectural styles, avoid chaotic construction, highlight local characteristics and improve the overall image of villages.
3) Ecological Restoration
Implement ecological restoration tasks, restore wetland ecosystems along the Yangtze River and protect biodiversity. Strengthen the governance of agricultural non-point source pollution, promote green production technologies, and improve the resource utilization of livestock and poultry waste and the comprehensive utilization of crop straw.
During the implementation process, strive for policy support, integrate various financial resources to ensure the smooth implementation of consolidation and restoration projects. Encourage social capital participation and explore market-oriented operation models. Introduce advanced land consolidation and ecological restoration technologies to improve the effects of consolidation and restoration. Establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism to timely identify problems and adjust measures [4]. Develop a long-term management mechanism to ensure the sustainability of consolidation and restoration achievements.
3.4.7. Implementation Measures
1) Organizational Guarantee
During the planning period, establish and improve a planning formulation and implementation guarantee mechanism with government leadership, departmental coordination, linkage between higher and lower levels, and full participation of villagers and collective organizations. The planning results can be made into an intuitive and easy-to-understand version for villagers to improve the effectiveness of rural construction and governance.
2) Step-by-step Implementation
According to the actual situation of the village, formulate a phased implementation plan, giving priority to solving urgent problems (such as environmental remediation and infrastructure improvement).
3) Policy Support
Strive for government funding and policy support to ensure the implementation of village planning.
4) Dynamic Adjustment
Timely incorporate the village planning results into the “one map” of national land space planning, and regularly evaluate and adjust the planning according to the actual development situation of the village to ensure the flexibility and adaptability of the planning.
4. Thoughts and Revelations in Village-Level Planning
Compilation
In the process of compiling this village area plan, many excellent planning cases have been referenced. However, due to the uniqueness of rural areas, many challenges have been faced and rich experiences have been accumulated. After summarizing and analyzing, the following thoughts and revelations are obtained.
1) Tailor-made Planning, Highlighting Characteristics
Village-level planning should combine local natural conditions, resource endowments, cultural traditions, etc., and avoid a “one-size-fits-all” model. Planning compilation should fully respect the uniqueness of the village, avoid blindly imitating the development model of cities or other villages, and ensure that the planning meets the actual needs of the village.
2) Industrial Support, Enhancing Endogenous Power
Industrial revitalization is the top priority of rural revitalization. Village-level planning should focus on industrial planning, combine the resource advantages of the village, cultivate characteristic industries, enhance the endogenous development power of the village, and avoid the problem of “hollowing out”.
3) Digitalization and Smart Village Construction
Village-level planning should keep up with the development of the times, make full use of digital technology, improve the management level and development potential of the village, and promote the modernization of the village.
5. Conclusion
Village-level planning compilation is a complex and systematic process that needs to consider both the current situation and future development needs of the village, as well as various factors such as ecological protection, farmland protection, and cultural heritage. Through exploration such as tailoring measures to local conditions, villager participation, ecological priority, and industrial support, village-level planning provides scientific guidance for the sustainable development of villages. At the same time, the implementation and supervision mechanism of the planning is also crucial to ensure that the planning can truly be implemented and promote the comprehensive revitalization of the village.
NOTES
*First author
#Corresponding author.