The Correlation Effects and Mechanisms of Rural Restructuring and Transformation: A Case Study of the Jianghan Plain in China

The rural decline accompanying industrialization and urbanization is a lingering puzzle in human society, while promoting rural restructuring and transformation is considered the primary task of contemporary rural development. It is the historical mission of rural geography research in the new era to scientifically understand the characteristics of contemporary rural development and accurately explain the patterns of rural reconstructing and transformation. In this paper, the Jianghan Plain in China is selected for the case study. Characteristic indexes are selected based on the “structure–function” correlation to interpret rural restructuring. Measurement benchmarks are unified through functional value marketization to interpret rural transformation. Multiple statistical analysis is adopted to identify the action paths and decipher the correlation mechanisms. The case study yields the following findings. (1) The rural restructuring on Jianghan Plain has spatial and temporal differences. Rural restructuring has roughly gone through the social restructuring-led, economic restructuring-led, and spatial restructuring-led evolution stages, showing spatially divergent patterns with high rural comprehensive restructuring index (RRC) areas concentrated around the main traffic arteries and linear low RRC areas along the Yangtze River banks. (2) Rural restructuring and transformation on Jianghan Plain show significant correlation effects. During the study period, the rural transformation magnitude (RTM) continues to increase and shows a spatial map similar to that of rural restructuring, with economic-spatial restructuring-led and economic-social restructuring-led as the main modes of rural transformation. (3) The correlation mechanism of rural restructuring and transformation on Jianghan Plain has characteristics typical of less-developed agricultural areas. The economic restructuring led by agricultural land changes and the social restructuring led by rural population outward migration remain the main paths of rural transformation, and the agricultural function still plays an important role in some rural areas. The quantitative measurement of rural region functions in this study need further optimization, and the refinement and accuracy of regional function accounting needs further exploration. The research results are expected to provide a scientific basis for stimulating rural development and promoting sustainable rural development in contemporary developing countries.