Research on the Adaptive Development of Rural Settlements in Hilly Areas Based on AHP-PCA Model Analysis: Taking the Survey Data of 28 Villages in Hunan as Case Study

Abstract

The development of rural settlements in hilly areas during the transitional period mainly focuses on the coordination between the built environment and the natural one, and interprets villages’ adaptability of the natural environment and the social one. However, there are few data and achievements in the study of hilly areas in Hunan. By combining and absorbing the theories and methods of interdisciplinary subjects such as the Environmental Behavior, Sociology, Architecture and ect, with 5 first level index,11 second level index, and 42 third level index of topographical environment, climatic environment, regional culture, economic condition and social environment, the author manages to establish an evaluation system for the adaptive development of rural settlements; in combination with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and SPSS Analysis, 28 typical villages in Hunan are used as samples to conduct empirical research based on the survey data of the village. The research results demonstrate that there are regional differences in the adaptive development of rural settlements in the hilly areas of Hunan: the overall comprehensive evaluation value of villages in eastern Hunan is the lowest, southern Hunan, the highest, and central Hunan, in-between. On the whole, the current situation of adaptive development in traditional villages is better than that of contemporary villages. Therefore, the development of rural settlements in the hilly areas of Hunan has differences in regions and categories, which is somewhat related to the policy support of the country and Hunan Province. It verifies the scientific nature and feasibility of the evaluation system. To better promote the rural construction and development, each region should formulate corresponding policies and guidelines to promote rural revitalization in accordance with the existing cultural environment, economic condition and social environment.