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In China's pursuit of modernization, the government has introduced the rural revitalization strategy to combat rural decline, foster balanced urban–rural development, and reduce the urban–rural gap. Rural human settlements, as key components of this strategy, play a vital role. This paper examines the types and characteristics of human–earth relationships within rural settlements, emphasizing their significance. Using national land use and population census data, we analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of rural settlements at the county level, investigating landscape pattern changes, assessing the degree of coupling coordination between rural population and settlements, categorizing relationship types and features, and estimating the potential for remediation. Our findings reveal a growing trend in the scale of rural human settlements, particularly sourced from arable land, with significant expansions observed in the North China Plain and Northeast Plain, indicating potential for farmland reclamation and village consolidation. Landscape patterns of rural human settlements exhibit increased fragmentation, complex shapes, and aggregation. We categorize the utilization of rural human settlements into two types, each with four distinct features: human–land coordination is observed in regions characterized by either a higher rural population and larger rural settlement areas, or lower rural population and smaller rural settlement areas. Human–land trade-offs are evident in areas where there is either a higher rural population and smaller rural settlement areas, or lower rural population and larger rural settlement areas. This provides valuable insights for the Chinese government's context-specific implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. It also serves as an experiential reference for the governance of rural human settlements in other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper proposes a multi-dimensional assessment framework for cropland use stability. • Multi-dimensional cropland use characteristics present significant spatial differentiation. • Cropland stability in Northeast China Plain and Loess Plateau is the highest and lowest. • Urbanization will lead to about 9.31% of high-stability cropland losses in 2030. • Integrating landscape stability and national planning can draft a sustainable-oriented strategy. Shifting to more sustainable use can curb cropland resource degradation and improve production resilience. However, most cropland use assessments are unilaterally focused on biophysical levels and productivity, ignoring the multi-dimensional aspects of degraded cropland. This study attempts to describe cropland use stability in China by proposing a multi-dimensional assessment framework (including quantity, quality, management, service, and risk) to provide a reference for designing land degradation-neutral strategies. Results show that multi-dimensional cropland use characteristics present significant spatial heterogeneity. Western regions are reserve resource agglomerations that can replenish cropland quantity. In contrast, main grain-producing areas cover most current resources with preferably cultivation quality, management efficiency, and ecosystem services, while risk resistance is weak (especially in Middle-lower Yangtze Plain). Generally, the stability of cropland use in Northeast Plain is the highest and in Loess Plateau the lowest. Besides, urbanization will occupy about 9.31% of the high-stability cropland in 2030, of which 70.29% will occur in Northeast Plain and Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. The total potential productivity loss in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain alone will reach 100.1 kt, equivalent to supplying the food demand of 199,200 people annually. Therefore, a sustainable-oriented refined cropland management strategy should be designed according to the hierarchical nested spatial layout of comprehensive planning-stability map-multi-dimensional utilization characteristics to ensure the loss-replenishment balance and stable production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]