Abstract：Rural settlements are places of habitation,production and the living for rural people, which are effected profoundly by the nature condition and factors of rural society, economy and culture. Rural settlement geography, as a main subject of rural geography, focuses on its structure type, distribution characteristic, evolution, the environment (natural and social) relations as well as transformation and reconstruction. Nowadays, rural settlement geography research is a hot spot, especially in recent years. The abroad research on rural settlement geography is more comprehensive. This paper, based on plentiful literature, analyses the research contents of rural settlement geography abroad. And divides the research history into four stages: embryonic stage, initial development stage, expansion and change stage, transition and reconstruction stage. Then we conclude rural settlement geography research content system abroad as follows: (1) the impact of factors of rural settlements layout; (2) the types and patterns of rural settlements; (3) the research of rural settlement land use; (4) the landscape study of rural settlements; and (5) ecological research of rural settlements. On the bases of these summarizations, we describe the research and development trends of the subject recently to provide theoretical and practical reference guides for domestic researchers. We argue that rural settlement geography abroad is paying more attention to studying on the socialization and the reconstruction of rural settlements. As we all know, the area of our country's rural region is broad with the numerous population and huge rural settlements. The domestic rural settlement geography research still needs to be strengthened. While the rural settlement of China has changed a lot with the development of society and economy, rural settlement geography research should be paid more attention. We could take the spatial transformation of rural settlements as a breakthrough point, combine with the particularity of China's current rural development, and study the rural settlement spatial reconstruction of the characteristics, the dynamic mechanism, typical patterns. This will be not only helping to build a more reasonable rural settlement spatial transformation theory system, enrich rural geography research, but also reveal the conflicts and problems in rural development. It will be provide a basis for government in formulating rural development strategies and policies to improve the spatial decision-making.
李红波, 张小林. 国外乡村聚落地理研究进展及近今趋势[J]. 人文地理, 2012, 27(4): 103-108.
LI Hong-bo, ZHANG Xiao-lin. A REVIEW AND TREND ON RURAL SETTLEMENT GEOGRAPHY ABROAD. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, 2012, 27(4): 103-108.
