Integration Of Rural Communities In The Perspective Of Spatial Interface Theory

The integration of rural communities is the common research field of Rural Economics/Rural Geography and Rural Sociology. Especially in the context of faster and greater divisions of rural communities with China’s reform and opening up, it is of positive significance to study the development issues of rural communities and relations of urban-rural areas in the perspective of integration. From the view of current research, we found that Economics paid more attention to the development and evolution of rural economy, the economic relationship between cities and countries and so on. But Geography usually study the coordination issues among housing/production and living space of rural communities from the perspective of space. Although Sociology pay more attention to the integration of rural communities, it usually attempt to ease and solve rural communities’ issues from the view of the relationship in them. The integration of rural communities focuses on the resource’s reconfiguration in space and the relationship’s rebuilding in economy and society, which in order to get higher economic efficiency and more social benefits. On regional levels, the integration of rural communities should not only concentrate on the inside of a certain rural community but also among different rural communities and urban communities. On the levels of contents, the integration of rural communities should not only focus on the integration of economic resources but also include the integration of its organizational relationships, at the same time, the integration of production and living space. Therefore, the paper studied the integration of rural communities in Xinzheng city in a comprehensive view which include the perspectives and methods among Economics/Geography and Sociology.From the evolution in rural communities point of view, we think that the integration of rural communities exists the tendency, which begins from undeveloped land to traditional agricultural land and ends at modern industrial and urban land. Therefore, the paper set up a measurable indicator, which is called Integration Degree, in order to measure the degrees of different rural communities, and Integration Degree equals to the percent that the higher economic input-output land occupied in the whole land in a certain community. The higher economic input-output land usually include industrial land/housing land/ facility agriculture land and so on. At the same time, we set up a indicator which is called Integrated changing rate, and it is used to measure the speed of rural communities’ integration. On the basis of this idea, firstly, this paper processed the land using maps of Xinzheng city in the year 1990/2000/2010/2014 with the help of ARCGIS, and got the Integration Degree of 331 rural communities in Xinzheng. Secondly, we processed the distribution of spatial interface in Xinzheng city by referring patch-corridor-matrix model in landscape ecology. Thirdly, we classified these communities by the kinds and grades of spatial interfaces, then calculated the average Integration Degree of rural communities which beside different spatial interfaces. Finally, based on theory of space interface, we made a study on the time and space types/ characteristics/dynamic mechanism and so on.Through the data analysis, we found that there is obvious relevance between rural communities and spatial interfaces.(1)There is positive correlation between the integrated degree/speed of rural communities and the amount of spatial interfaces. It means that the integration degree of the community which beside more spatial interfaces are higher than the community which beside only one spatial interface or no spatial interface.(2)The integration of the community which beside factitious interfaces is usually better than the community which beside natural interfaces.(3)The integration of the community which beside open interfaces is better than those which beside closed interfaces. And the integrated degree of the community which beside open interface has a positive correlation with the grade of spatial interfaces, the integrated degree of the community which beside closed interface has a negative correlation with the grade of spatial interfaces. At the same time, combining with the developed practice of Xinzheng’s rural communities in recent years, this paper classified the integration of rural communities into four types through the view of the types of spatial interfaces: the ecstatic and transformed integration that beside urban-rural interface, the disturbed integration which beside infrastructure interface and result from the infrastructure’s building and rebuilding, the occupied integration which beside resource interfaces and the relocated integration which away spatial interfaces. All the facts reflect that spatial interfaces determine and guide the type of rural communities’ integration in some degree. According to the results of data analysis, we think that spatial interfaces have acceerative and accelerated effect on the integration of rural communities, and the effects vary from the type of the spatial interface. From this perspective, we think that the spatial interface theory is suitable to guide the integration of rural communities with time and area.