Study on Resilience Evaluation and Improvement Strategies of Traditional Villages from the Perspective of Governance Network:A Case Study Based on Wuzhong District,Suzhou

ZHOU Min; LIU Qian; WANG Yong; LÜ Siyue

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-0232.2025.03.008

Abstract：In the context of globalization and urbanization,the protection and development of traditional villages face multiple challenges,including capital influx,population loss,and ecological degradation.Hence,accurately identify risks and enhancing rural resilience is urgent.Some studies have demonstrated that the complicated social governance networks in rural areas are core influencing factors of resilience construction.However,the relationship between governance network structures and resilience processes needs further exploration.In this study,an analytical framework of"governance network-resilience process"of traditional villages was established based on the theory of network governance.The subject relationships of 15 traditional Chinese villages in Wuzhong District,Suzhou,were identified using social network analysis.These traditional villages were classified into three types through clustering analysis:the co-governance type of government,enterprises,and villages;the collective self-governance type of villages;and government-dominated governance type.A resilience evaluation system was established using the pressure-state-response model from three dimensions of"pressure,state,and response".The resilience levels of three types of traditional villages were measured by the analytic hierarchy process,entropy weight method,and comprehensive index method.Specific strategies for governance optimization and relicense improvement were proposed. Results showed that 1)the resilience level of 15 traditional Chinese villages in Wuzhong District,Suzhou,is relatively high,and the overall resilience is negatively related to pressure resilience;that is,disturbance of tourism development and urbanization.This reflects that disturbance of rapid urbanization and tourism development generally has positive effects on traditional villages'resilience level.2)The increasing social subjects and close connections of the social network enhance the resilience level of traditional villages to some extent,but some complicated and diversified scenarios are also presented.First,traditional villages with co-governance of government,enterprises,and villages show the best comprehensive resilience.The cooperative governance of multiple subjects like villagers,government,and society positive affects villages'resilience level.However,there is still a risk of excessive tourism development.Second,traditional villages with collective self-governance of the village rank second in terms of overall resilience,and they show relatively good state resilience.This is because spontaneous governance mechanisms under the domination of village collectives encourage villagers to participate in governance and gain maximum benefits.State resilience,such as economy and society,tends to be stable,whereas activation of history and culture and the governance effect of human settlement is relatively backward.Third,traditional villages with government-dominated governance show relatively good pressure resilience but the lowest overall resilience.Due to the"top-down"protection and supervision of government,traditional villages suffer small external disturbances.However,strong control is difficult to adapt to modernized development needs.Some villages are facing resilience imbalances in society,economy,culture,and environment.3)Strategies for improving the resilience of different types of traditional villages include major risks of co-governance villages from tourism development and urbanization.They should prevent excessive development risks by perfecting the multi-subject governance mechanism.Another major risk of collective self-governance villages comes from aging and hollowing.They should promote the improvement of multidimensional resilience by innovating the grassroots governance mode of villages and facilitating cultural development based on production activities.The state resilience and response resilience of government-dominated governance villages are significantly lower than those of the other two types of traditional villages.They should realize multidimensional resilience balance and coordinate development by promoting cooperative governance of multiple subjects.Existing research conclusions have theoretical and practical significance in improving the protective governance capability of traditional villages and promoting the establishment of a rural social risk control system in the new era.