Abstract:
The rural housing improvement project in northern Jiangsu Province represents a new practice of concentrated rural residential living with distinctive regional features within the context of China's Rural Revitalization Strategy. This project has effectively promoted the modernization of rural houses and villages in Jiangsu, while also significantly impacting the spatial reconstruction of the rural areas where it is implemented. Taking three typical projects in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, as case studies, this article delves into the characteristics and mechanisms of rural spatial restructuring driven by the Rural Housing Improvement Project. The research reveals that at the village domain scale, the restructuring of rural living space takes precedence, with living spaces predominantly transforming into production spaces. At the settlement scale, it exhibits characteristics of land intensification, functional improvement, and standardization of rural landscapes. Furthermore, at the singlehousehold scale, it presents features of smaller building sizes and functional simplification. From the perspective of government action, this article posits that balanced government funding, diversified goals, planning and design guidance, and departmental segmentation are the inherent driving mechanisms. Lastly, optimization strategies for the implementation of the rural housing improvement project are proposed.