Search

The development of rural area in suburban (RAS) is comprehensively influenced by the mixed processes of non-farming, local urbanization and rural industrialization and has distinctive multifunctional features on the socioeconomic and resource utilization. Multifunctional reconstruction in the RAS is mainly manifested by changes in the quantity and structure of the construction land use (CLU). We took Tongshan District of Jiangsu Province as the study case. Following the logic of identifying, clustering, and diagnosing, we assessed the functional features of CLU and analyzed the differentiation of the scale and structure of CLU in RAS, with the aim of identifying the types and characteristics of multifunctional development in these regions. This study found that: 1) typical RAS were experiencing multifunctional space reconstruction, and their multifunctional value was emerging and highlighted. The CLU was rapidly expanding, and the types of CLU were evolving from single to multiple uses; 2) based on the dominant function of diverse rural CLU, we classified RAS into five types, dominated by the following functions, respectively: commercial services, industrial production, residential living, basic support and public service; 3) according to the dominant function and spatial pattern, the development types of RAS were classified into agricultural service, comprehensive services, and integrated industries service, showing a circular spatial pattern from the suburbs to distant suburbs. The results can provide policy implication by creating new development impetus from rural multifunction perspective to promote the RAS revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]