Analysis of Rural Landscape Evolution based on Actor-Network Theory:A Case Study based on Xizhou Village in Dali city
LÜ Guangyao
JIANG Hongyuan
LI Xueping
TANG Xueqiong
Abstract：Elucidation of the evolutionary process of rural landscapes is a prerequisite for sustainable development in human settlements in rural areas.Rural landscapes reflect the layered imprints of the harmonious integration between natural habitats and societal needs in specific regions over thousands of years.Accelerated urbanization and tourism hotspots in rural areas has altered the industrial and social structure,thereby affecting the rural function and morphology,and changing the rural landscape.The rural landscape is the subject of style reconstruction,cultural and tourism development and industrial transformation in rural development.However,inherent contradictions in landscape development are attributed to the motivations of diverse stakeholders.In this context,identifying the evolutionary mechanism of rural landscape and its material and social framework to interpret the increasingly complex interaction between buildings can be used to resolve the contradictions and challenges between rural landscape protection and utilization.The actor-network theory(ANT)effectively establishes the connection between complex networks and spatial relationships,emphasizing the plurality of network agents and interpreting spatial relationship and changes.It provides a theoretical perspective for analyzing the evolution of rural landscapes.Xizhou Village is the origin of business culture in northwest Yunnan.The frequent cross-regional trade in the Xizhou business community contributed to the transformation of the village from a traditional agricultural settlement to a commercial and economic entity.Xizhou Village exhibits a unique rural landscape due to the interaction between border areas and the mainland as well as the blending of various ethnic cultures.The rural landscape evolution in Xizhou Village has always been accompanied by the transformation and transition of the rural socio-economic structure.It often evolved into the next stage during great historical events,characterized by distinct periodicity and complexity.It is a typical village for the study of evolution of rural landscape.The rural landscape evolution mechanism in Xizhou Village is discussed under different stages of economic development based on ANT.Results show that the actor connections and benefit translations exhibited unique features during rural landscape evolution in Xizhou Village.The dominant driving force of rural landscape evolution in Xizhou Village shifted from local capital forces centered on"Four Great Families"to administrative and institutional forces represented by the government at different levels and investors.The rural landscape evolutionary path changed gradually from"bottom-up"autonomous construction to"top-down"regulatory intervention and"top-down collaborative"win-win outcome involving multiple parties.Rural landscape services changed from villager level to visitor level,supplemented by villagers.The evolutionary driving force shifted from development of rural economy to realization of rural transformation,traditional cultural protection,and perfection of human settlement.In the era of business economy,rural landscapes evolved multiple landforms under the traditional and modern networks.In the era of tourism economy,the strong connections between governments at different levels and investors and other actors determined the actor-network structure.They promoted the evolution of traditional production-oriented landscape in Xizhou Village to composite functional rural landscapes in the traditional-modern landscape coexistence,business service and ecological protection.During the transformation of the actor-network by human and non-human actors,"grassroots"actors and institutional actors in Xizhou Village,the core actors and their acting transformation determined the transformation of the goals of the actor-network,and affected the evolution of rural landscape,representing the general mechanism of rural landscape evolution.The institutions involved in macroscopic rural development cooperate with multiple actors during the interaction between regional,natural and cultural environments.As a result,diverse evolutionary stages of rural landscape in Xizhou Village were formed.This is the regional mechanism of rural landscape evolution.This study provides a new perspective for the analysis of rural landscape evolution and facilitates the construction of specific rural environment.
Keywords：rural landscapeactor-network theorylandscape evolutionXizhou Village
Publication Date：2023-12-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：10( 58-67 )