Abstract Rural Geography is an important branch of Human Geography. The evolution of the rural settlement is one of the key research fields in Rural Geography. Under the new economic and social development background, the importance and value rural areas of is being re-recognized. To carry out the reasonable planning and organization of it and form the settlement system in match with the regional macro-social economic background it has an important realistic meaning to the integral coordinative development of urban and rural regional space. This article expounds the evolution theories and planning organization theories of rural settlement system. As to the evolution of rural settlement system, it puts forward four steps of regional spatial course:rural society step, transition step, industrialization step and technical industry and high consumption step. This article also makes a research of the international strategic methods to rural settlement system organization, including the integration strategy of functional regions, selective spatial sealing strategy and rural urban development strategy. In combination with the case studies in Jiangsu,this paper focuses on discussing the choice and building of central towns and villages auxiliary facilities and the policies and so on?It points out:①to realize the combination and re-organization of towns and villages through the construction of central towns; ②to realize the intensive business of agricultural space through the construction of central villages; ③to realize the guide of rural settlement system optimization through auxiliary supporting systems. Besides, this article puts forward the main standards of the selection and building of central villages:①location advantage; ②connective reasonableness; ③scale economy; ④land use saving.
2002, Vol. 17 
