Coupling relationship of rural settlements and rural resident population change of Chongqing

Coordination between rural residents and rural settlements is an important goal in man-land relationship system. However, the research on rural residents change and rural settlements change from rural perspective is relatively weak due to urban bias. There are few researches focusing on the coupling relationship between human-land relationship changes. Based on existing researches and cross-section data of Chongqing in 2010 and 2016, this paper first analyzed the change types of rural residents and rural settlements. The change types were divided into four types: rapidly increase type, steady increase type, steady decrease type and rapidly decrease type. Secondly, through the coupling analysis of the two, four models of the change of rural resident and rural settlements are constructed: residents decrease settlements increase, residents increase settlements decrease, residents and settlements decrease, resident and settlement increase. Finally, in order to further demonstrate the spatial trend of the coupling relationship between rural residents and rural settlements change, Rongcheng and Yangchuan were taken as transverse sample zones of western Chongqing based on the comprehensive analysis of the economic development and geographical features of the city and the availability of data; Fuling, Fengdu, Zhongxian were taken as transverse sample zones along the Yangtze river; Wenzhou and Kaizhouas longitudinal sample zones in northeast Chongqingwere used to analyze the correlation between inhabitant elasticity coefficient, economic development and topographic conditions. The results show that: 1) The change of rural residents and rural settlements in town shows more heterogeneity. Under the general trend of decreasing in number and structure of rural resident in the whole city, 43.93% of rural settlements in town area increased, and 40.60% of rural resident in town area increased. 2) There is obvious spatial correlation between the land use of rural settlements and the changing pattern of rural residents and there is a spatial overlap between high value area and low value area of number change of rural settlements. Types of "residents decrease settlements increase" and "residents increase settlement decrease" are mainly distributed in highly impoverished areas while types of residents and settlements decrease, resident and settlement increase are mainly distributed in western Chongqing and main urban areas. 3) The coupling relationship between rural residents and rural settlements change has significant zonal differentiation characteristics. Along Yangtze river and in North-South direction, the residential elasticity coefficient shows obvious zonal distribution rules. In the short term, geographical conditions have no significant effect on the coupling relationship between the number of rural settlements and the change of rural residents. However, the coupling relationship between the number of rural settlements and the change of rural residents is significantly affected by economic development. Focusing on the relationship between rural settlements and rural residents changes in towns will provide reference for the formulation of land use policies in line with the reality of rural development. © 2019, Editorial Department of the Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering. All right reserved.