A Research On The Evaluation And Optimization Of Human Settlements In Xiaoting District, Yichang City

After entering the 21th century, with the implementation of the strategy to develop central China, Xiaoting district faces unprecedented developing opportunity.It is being developed as an industrial new zone in Yichang city, making it famous in China. The convenient location in the urban fringe provides for Xiaoting district with tremendous advantages of developing outward economy. But the rapid growth of economy brings about many negative impacts, e.g., growing energy consumption, rapidly decreasing farmland, worse-getting social peace and security, serious environment pollution and resources destruction. The environment in Xiaoting district has already undergone great changes, and human settlements face a series of rigorous challenges. Based on this background, this paper does an empirical research on human settlements' present situation and characteristics of Xiaoting district in Yichang city.Based on the theories of human settlements, geography, sustainable development and urban fringe district, the paper qualitative analyzes human settlements' present situation of Xiaoting district in Yichang city, including natural and ecological environment, artificial and physical environment, economic and social environment, institutional and cultural environment. After data analysis and field cultural observation, the result indicates that the natural and ecological endowment is good, basic installation and residential construction have constantly improved, the national economy and social undertaking develop rapidly, the people life has improved greatly. But at the same time, we fine some problems of human settlements that are comparatively severe industrial pollution, insufficient infrastructure and house planning construction, weak economic development quality and social security, imperfect institutions, poor social service function and so on. On this basis the paper concludes some characteristics of human settlements in the urban fringe, such as: ecological environment, housing construction, basic installation, land utilization, economic development, lost-land farmers, social order, management system, environmental consciousness, cultural psychology.According to present situation of human settlements in Xiaoting district, and referencing the evaluation models of human settlements' quality from domestic and abroad, this paper constructs an evaluation standard system of sustainable development of human settlements. And it evaluates the sustainable development of Xiaoting district human settlements in 2005. The result shows that the sustainable development capability of Xiaoting district's human settlements is general, is still at the starting stage of sustainable development. Human hard environment has developed quickly, such as constructions and infrastructure services. But the natural and ecological environment faces great pressure, economic development is insufficient, social issue is excessive, and institutional and cultural environment is weakness.At last, according to the result of qualitative analysis and quantitative evaluation, the paper furtherly puts forward some ideas and suggestions for the optimization of the sustainable development of Xiaoting district's human settlements. The main suggestions are: protect natural resources; strengthen environment pollution control force and green field system construction; proceed to the construction of infrastructure and residential district; improve economic development quality; promote social development in an all-round way; push system innovation; enhance cultural construction and population quality.