Combining weighted daily life circles and land suitability for rural settlement reconstruction

Daily life circles of farmers have a direct influence on the distribution of rural settlements. However, daily life circle has long been ignored in rural settlements reconstruction. By identifying farmers' daily life circles and integrating them with rural settlements suitability and the weighted Voronoi diagram, a rural settlement reconstruction method is developed based on a questionnaire survey in Liji Township, Hubei Province, Central China. Four types of daily life circles, including primary, general, extended, and cross-region daily life circles, are identified based on the evaluation of frequency, self-rated importance, and activity proportion. Combining with the analysis of the rural settlements' suitability and the weighted Voronoi diagram, two reconstruction directions for rural settlement relocation are offered. One direction is to the places with high suitability values within the administrative scope of a village where the removed settlements are located. The other direction is to the places with high suitability values within the weighted daily life circles; this direction is highly related to the removed settlements. The hierarchy of rural settlements planning is well reflected in the proposed reconstruction path. Farmers' willingness to participate in the reconstruction process could be improved based on the evaluation of suitability and their own demands in daily life activities. This study contributes to understanding the relationship between the daily life circles and rural settlement distribution and offers a new perspective on the spatial optimization of rural settlements.