Development Characteristics of Beautiful Countryside in Hangzhou, Regarding Theory of Consumption Space Production: A Comparative Study on Three Villages

摘要

In China, the Beautiful Countryside Development is a prototype of New Countryside Construction whose development mechanism is closely related to the urbanization level of the region. Regarding the consumption space production of the metropolis amid the accelerating process of urbanization since the 1990 s, the declination of traditional villages is just inevitable. Thus, under the circumstances of new urbanization, the development of traditional villages is more and more related to the expansion of urban consumption space and the modernization of agriculture, as proved by the formation of a concentric-radial pattern of rings of consumption spaces in the rural area surrounding Hangzhou. Taking three villages around Hangzhou as a typical example of the Beautiful Countryside Development, this paper puts forward a Beauty Index System to evaluate their development characteristics and analyzes their development mechanisms respectively. It proves that the three villages are all characterized by the integrity of both production space and consumption space, yet with different attributes in terms of human settlement, society and culture, and industrial structure. It concludes that this is the result of various driving forces which also result in the formation of a concentric-radial pattern of rings in rural areas amid urbanization.